でも何でもない|でもなんでもない

JLPT N1approx.Casual
Meaning
  1. 1Rejects a status or label as inapplicable to someone or something.Ex. 1
  2. 2Rejects a description of something as having a particular quality.Ex. 2
Formation
Noun+でも何でもない
na-adj. stem+でも何でもない
i-adj. (te-form)+も何でもない高くても何でもない
Politeでも何でもありません
Examples
彼かれはプロでも何なんでもない、ただの趣味しゅみでやってるだけだ。
He’s no professional or anything like that; he just does it as a hobby.
この料理りょうりは特別とくべつでも何なんでもない、普通ふつうの味あじだ。
There’s nothing special about this dish; it tastes ordinary.
Usage

Used in conversation and casual writing to reject a label or description emphatically, often before giving a plainer characterization such as ただの~ or 普通の~. Unlike でしかない and 〜にすぎない, it denies that something is X rather than saying it is merely X.

Watch out

Note that the い形容詞 attachment uses the て-form plus も何でもない, not でも何でもない directly after the adjective.

Note that this emphatic wording can sound dismissive when applied to someone else’s status or work.

Easily confused with
  • でしかないN2でも何でもない flatly denies that something is A, while でしかない admits it is A but limits it to 'nothing more than A' and can also emphasize positive feelings. The two are not interchangeable, and でしかない works in both speech and writing.
  • 〜にすぎないN2〜にすぎない means 'nothing more than A': it admits something is A and only limits its degree, whereas でも何でもない denies being A altogether. 〜にすぎない has a calm tone, is mostly used in writing, and can attach to nouns, verbs, and adjectives, so the two are not interchangeable.
  • わけではないN3わけではない politely negates an inference or misunderstanding and can also express partial negation, in a neutral register; nouns and な-adjectives must add な/である before it. でも何でもない is an outright, blunt denial, so the two should not be swapped.
  • やしないN1やしない attaches to the ます-form of verbs (する-verbs use しやしない) and strongly denies that someone will do or can do something, while でも何でもない attaches to nouns and な-adjectives to deny identity or nature. Both are colloquial, but their attachments differ, so they cannot be interchanged.
  • ものかN2ものか uses a rhetorical question for strong denial; with verbs it can express the will of 'never...' or 'how could...'. でも何でもない denies identity, nature, or state and does not express will, and when denying identity ものか takes な after the noun (noun + な + ものか).

でしかない and 〜にすぎない say something is merely X; でも何でもない emphatically denies that it is X. わけではない negates a proposition without the same emphatic dismissal, やしない emphatically negates a verb, and ものか expresses a forceful rhetorical rejection.

Grammar · JLPT grammar levels are community estimates, not official (no official lists have been published since the 2010 revision).

Say it right, write it right

Core lookup works fully offline, with cloud pronunciation and one-tap save & review. Free, no sign-up.

Free downloadWindowsFree downloadmacOSDownload on the App StoreGet it on Google Play
MobileiOS / Android

Android

QR code for the Google Play pageGet it on Google Play

Scan it with your Android phone to install, or search for “Tomoshi” on Google Play.

iOS

QR code for the App Store pageDownload on the App Store

Scan it with your iPhone camera to install, or search for “Tomoshi” in the App Store.

Install the browser extensionLook words up on any web page · Chrome / Edge / Safari

Screenshot of a Tomoshi lookup resultScreenshot of Tomoshi lookup results on a phone

Windows macOS Chrome / Edge / Safari extension iOS / Android