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JLPT N3 · Guessing & hearsay

わけがない (wake ga nai)

～わけがない — “there’s no way ～”

In short · Strongly says that something cannot be true, based on the speaker’s judgment: “there’s no way ～.” It attaches to the plain form of a verb or adjective (な-adj + な, noun + の). It is emotional and used mostly in speech.
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Pattern

  • 普通形＋わけがない it can’t be that ～
  • 普通形＋わけはない same meaning, slightly softer (が → は)

Strong disbelief

The speaker is sure that something cannot be so, using common sense or the situation as the basis. こんな簡単な問題、間違えるわけがない: it is far too easy to get wrong.

Connection

Verbs and い-adjectives use the plain form (負けるわけがない, 高いわけがない). な-adjectives take な (静かなわけがない), nouns take の (嘘のわけがない). The past can also be used: 負けたわけがない.

Compared with ～はずがない

The two are almost identical. ～わけがない is more emotional and used in speech; ～はずがない sounds a bit more logical. Not the same as ～わけではない (“not necessarily”).

Examples

  • こんな簡単（かんたん）な問題（もんだい）、間違（まちが）えるわけがない。

    Konna kantan na mondai, machigaeru wake ga nai.

    There’s no way I’d get such an easy problem wrong.

  • あんなに練習（れんしゅう）した人（ひと）が、負（ま）けるわけがない。

    Annani renshuu shita hito ga, makeru wake ga nai.

    There’s no way someone who practiced that hard would lose.

  • 子（こ）どもにこの重（おも）い荷物（にもつ）が持（も）てるわけがない。

    Kodomo ni kono omoi nimotsu ga moteru wake ga nai.

    There’s no way a child could carry this heavy luggage.

Common mistakes

  • It is a strong claim, so it can sound rude when aimed at a person. Be careful in polite conversation.
  • It means “impossible”, not “don’t want to”. For “can’t afford to”, use ～わけにはいかない.

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