はずがない
- 1There is no way that something is the case; the speaker judges it impossible based on what they know.Ex. 1
- 2Firm disbelief or denial that someone would do something, often in reaction to a claim or rumor.Ex. 2
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Used in both conversation and writing to deny a possibility firmly. It is typically grounded in facts or someone's known character, making it the negative counterpart of はずだ. It can also voice an instinctive, emotional refusal to believe something, as in the exclamation そんなはずがない！ わけがない is close in meaning and somewhat more colloquial, while っこない is a casual, spoken alternative.
Learners sometimes use はずがない to state their own decision not to do something; use つもりはない for intentions instead.
Do not confuse はずがない (it's impossible) with はずじゃなかった, which means something was not supposed or expected to happen.
Note that nouns take の and な-adjectives take な only in non-past forms; in the past they take だった, as in 学生だったはずがない.
- わけがないN3「わけがない」also means 'impossible' and is interchangeable with「はずがない」in most cases, but it sounds more subjective and more emphatic. When following a noun, it takes「の」or「である」, as in「嘘のわけがない」.
- はずだN4「はずだ」is an evidence-based affirmative inference meaning 'should be...', and with「はずだった」or「はずなのに」it can express expectations that fell through. Its negative「ないはずだ」only means 'probably not,' which is less emphatic than「はずがない」.
- っこないN2「っこない」also asserts 'absolutely impossible,' but it attaches only to the masu-stem of verbs (often the potential form) and is casual spoken language with a stronger, subjective emotional tone, not used in formal settings. Colloquial verb-attaching forms are mostly interchangeable with「はずがない」.
- ものかN2When negating possibility,「ものか」is close to「はずがない」but more subjective and emotional, mostly in speech. It can also express a determined refusal of 'never...', which「はずがない」cannot. After a noun it takes「な」, not「の」.
- わけではないN3「わけではない」politely negates an inference or claim, implying it's partly true or there's another reason, often followed by a「が」clause; 「はずがない」flatly declares something impossible with a strong tone, so they cannot be swapped. After a noun,「わけではない」takes「な／である」while「はずがない」takes「の」.
- に違いないN3「に違いない」is an affirmative guess meaning 'must be...', leaning on subjective conviction; 「はずがない」logically concludes 'impossible...', the opposite direction, so they cannot be swapped. 「に違いない」attaches to nouns and na-adjective stems without adding「の」or「な」.
はずがない denies a possibility and is the negative counterpart of the affirmative convictions はずだ ("should be") and に違いない ("must be"). わけがない is close in meaning but somewhat more colloquial, っこない and ものか are casual, emphatic denials, and わけではない is not a denial of possibility at all but a partial negation ("it's not that…").
