なくはない
- 1Expresses reluctant or partial willingness or feeling (“it's not that I don't want to…”), often followed by a reason for not acting on it.Ex. 1
- 2Concedes that a quality holds to some degree (“I won't deny it's X”), often before a counterpoint or overall judgment.Ex. 2
This browser can't play pronunciations (needs Safari 18.4 or later, or Chrome / Edge / Firefox).
Used in conversation and writing to soften a statement or avoid committing fully. A けど or が clause often follows and gives the speaker's real point or reason, but it can also end a sentence on its own as a hedged answer. It is nearly interchangeable with なくもない and sounds slightly more compact than ないことはない.
Learners sometimes attach はない directly to ない (×行かないはない); the final い must change to く first: 行かなくはない.
Note that this expresses only weak, partial affirmation, so do not use it when you mean a clear, enthusiastic yes.
Note that it can stand alone, but when it does, it still signals reservation rather than simple agreement.
- 〜なくもないN2「なくもない」 means almost the same as 「なくはない」 and can generally be used interchangeably, with basically the same conjugation; it is used more frequently. The pattern 「名詞＋が＋なくもない」 (e.g., 「可能性がなくもない」) is also common, meaning the possibility is not zero.
- ないことはないN3「ないことはない」 is basically the same in meaning as 「なくはない」, and they are interchangeable in most cases. Its conjugation keeps 「ない」 and adds 「ことはない」, as in 「行かないことはない」; it often follows the potential form to mean 'it's not impossible,' with a slightly more direct tone.
- ないものでもないN1「ないものでもない」 has a similar meaning but is more written-style and stiff in tone. It generally attaches only to the plain negative form of verbs, carries a reluctant-concession nuance and even a condescending flavor, and is often paired with conditions like 「なら」 or 「次第では」; use caution with superiors or clients.
- わけではないN3「わけではない」 negates a conclusion or misunderstanding drawn from the preceding text and is often used to make excuses, whereas 「なくはない」 reluctantly acknowledges that something is true to some extent. 「わけではない」 attaches to the plain form; 「ないわけではない」 is close in meaning to 「なくはない」.
- にしてもN2「にしても」 expresses concession ('even if') or parallel listing ('AにしてもBにしても'), attaches to the plain form or nouns, and introduces a following judgment; 「なくはない」 is a reluctant partial affirmation used as a predicate and often followed by 「けど」. The two cannot be interchanged.
〜なくもない and ないことはない express the same hedged double-negative affirmation, and ないものでもない is a more formal, literary version often tied to a condition. わけではない instead denies an assumed conclusion (“it doesn't mean that…”), and にしても is a concessive “even if / granted that,” not a double negative.
