わけがない

No Way/impossible

Level 3Sounds Like wakeganai

わけがない is used when you are absolutely certain that something is impossible. It translates to "There is no way that..." or "It's impossible that...". It is much stronger than a simple negative sentence.

How It Works

1. Meaning and Nuance
わけがない is used to reject a possibility entirely based on logic or evidence. It doesn't just mean something is unlikely; it means it is fundamentally impossible given the circumstances. In casual speech, the particle が is often dropped (わけない), or replaced with は (わけはない) for emphasis.

2. How to Form
It attaches to the plain form of verbs and adjectives:

In formal writing, である may be used instead of な for な-adjectives or の for nouns (e.g., 暇（ひま）であるわけがない or 嘘（うそ）であるわけがない).

3. Expressing the Past
To express that something was impossible in the past, it is most common to change the preceding verb to the past tense while keeping わけがない in the present. This expresses a current conviction about a past event:

While you can say わけがなかった, this is used when looking back at a past situation where something was impossible at that specific time. In most cases, learners should use た form + わけがない.

4. Double Negatives
You will often see 〜ない わけがない. This creates a very strong positive statement: "There is no way it's NOT..." (meaning: "It definitely is!"). For example: おいしくない わけがない (There's no way it's not delicious!).

Examples (5)

  1. こんなに難しい問題、私にわかるわけがない。

    There is no way I could understand such a difficult problem.

    Word by Word: This kind of difficult problem, to me understand reason is not.

    The speaker uses わけがない to emphasize that because the problem is so difficult, understanding it is an impossibility for them.

  2. あんなに練習したんだから、負けるわけがないよ。

    We practiced that much, so there's no way we'll lose.

    Word by Word: That much practiced because, lose reason is not.

    Here, the conviction is based on the effort put in. The speaker finds the idea of losing unthinkable after so much practice.

  3. 彼が犯人のわけがない。昨日はずっと私と一緒にいたんだから。

    It's impossible that he's the culprit. He was with me the whole time yesterday.

    Word by Word: He (subject) culprit (possessive) reason is not. Yesterday (topic) always me with was because.

    This shows a denial based on a factual alibi. Note the use of 'no' (の) to connect the noun 'culprit' (犯人) to わけがない.

  4. あのおいしいレストランが、暇なわけがない。

    There is no way that delicious restaurant is empty (not busy).

    Word by Word: That delicious restaurant (subject), free/empty reason is not.

    Note that for な-adjectives like 暇（ひま）, you must use 'na' (な) before わけがない.

  5. 一生懸命頑張ったんだから、合格しないわけがない。

    I worked as hard as I could, so there's no way I won't pass.

    Word by Word: With all my might worked because, pass not reason is not.

    This is a double negative (〜ない わけがない) used to express the strong belief that the speaker will definitely pass.

Common Mistakes

  • Confusing 'impossible' with 'it's not that...'

    忙しいわけがない、行きたくないだけだ。
    忙しいわけではない、行きたくないだけだ。

    わけがない means 'impossible.' If you want to say 'It's not that I'm busy (but I just don't want to go),' you must use わけではない (partial negation).

  • Forgetting the 'no' or 'na' for nouns and な-adjectives.

    嘘わけがない！
    嘘のわけがない！

    Nouns require の (or な in some cases) before わけがない. You cannot attach them directly.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

わけがないLevel 3No Way/impossible

Learn This First

To understand 'wake ga nai', you first need to understand the noun 'wake' (reason/circumstance) and how it is modified by preceding clauses. The pattern literally translates to 'there is no reason/possibility that...', so knowledge of the subject marker 'ga' and the existence verb 'nai' (the negative of 'aru') is essential.

Words in This Pattern

わけがない訳