cannot, find it hard to, be unable to

Intermediate

20-25 min

common

Expert Reviewed

Explanation

Politely expresses inability or reluctance to do something.

[Verb ます-stem] + かねる

その質問にはお答えしかねます。

Sono shitsumon ni wa okotae shikanemasu.

I am unable to answer that question.

彼の行動は理解しかねる。

Kare no koudou wa rikai shikaneru.

I find it hard to understand his behavior.

Polite refusal, not inability due to external factors.

～かねない

might, could possibly, liable to

～ために (tame ni)

in order to ~, for the purpose of ~

～のに (noni)

although ~, despite ~, even though ~

～にもかかわらず

despite ~, in spite of ~

～ようになる

come to ~, become able to ~, reach the point where ~

Very useful in business contexts for polite refusals.

JLPTBooks Editorial Team

Japanese Language Education Specialists

Last updated: Jan 2

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