「～がたい」- Difficulty in Doing Something

Explanation

Grammar: Verb ます-stem + がたい
～がたい is used to express that something is difficult to do, hard to achieve, or difficult to accept. It is equivalent to "hard to..." or "difficult to..." in English and conveys the speaker's subjective feelings.

Grammar Pattern

Grammar Point	Connection	Explanation
～がたい	Verb ます-stem + がたい	Expresses the speaker's psychological difficulty in achieving or accepting something.

Basic Usage

• Typically used in the first person to express personal feelings.
• Not used to describe others' feelings or abilities.

Examples

• 信しんじがたがたい話はなしだが、実際じっさいに起おこった出来事できごとだ。
• Shinjigatai hanashi da ga, jissai ni okotta dekigoto da.
• It's a hard-to-believe story, but it actually happened.
  

• 彼女かのじょの行動こうどうは理解りかいがたい。
• Kanojo no koudou wa rikai gatai.
• Her behavior is hard to understand.
  

• その問題もんだいは解決かいけつがたい。
• Sono mondai wa kaiketsu gatai.
• That problem is hard to solve.
  

Deep Dive

～がたい emphasizes something that is almost impossible to do, reflecting the speaker's subjective feelings. It is often used in literary works or formal written language, effectively conveying the speaker's deep feelings about a situation.

• Exceptions:
• Not suitable for expressing the listener's emotions.
• Cannot be used to express reasons for feelings, such as dislike or other subjective emotions.

Comparison and Differences

「～がたい」vs.「～にくい／～づらい」

Form	Meaning	Usage
～がたい	Almost impossible to do	Emphasizes psychological difficulty, often used for subjective feelings.
～にくい	Difficult but possible	More often used to describe objective situations, indicating that something is troublesome to do.
～づらい	Difficult but possible	Also used to describe objective situations, with a nuance of inconvenience.

Grammar Knowledge

～がたい historically evolved from the classical form of 「難い」, so in some contexts, the older spelling 「難い」 can still be seen. In modern Japanese, ～がたい is often used to express the speaker's inner feelings or evaluations of an action, reflecting a subjective sense of difficulty. It is frequently used in literary works or formal written language, effectively conveying emotions and depth.

Summary

～がたい is a Japanese expression used to convey psychological difficulty in accepting or understanding something, primarily emphasizing subjective feelings. Comparing it with similar expressions helps better understand its usage and semantic differences.