べくもない

JLPT N1approx.Written
Meaning

Expresses that something is utterly impossible, usually because of circumstances: one cannot even hope for, know, or compare it. It is used with a limited set of verbs such as 望む and 知る.

Formation
Verb (Dictionary form)+べくもない
する→すべくもないするべくもない
PastVerb (Dictionary form)+べくもなかったe.g. 望むべくもない, 知るべくもなかった
Examples
庶民しょみんには、あの豪邸ごうていなど望のぞむべくもない。
For ordinary people, a mansion like that is something they could never hope for.
当時とうじの私には、彼かれの真意しんいなど知しるべくもなかった。
Back then, there was no way I could have known his true intentions.
Usage

A literary, written expression found in essays, narratives and formal commentary. It typically appears with verbs like 望む, 知る, 比べる and 疑う, and the thing in question is often followed by など, which downplays it or presents it as an example. Compared with everyday negatives of impossibility, it sounds stiff and emphasizes that the situation itself puts the matter beyond reach.

Watch out

Do not attach べくもない freely to any verb; it mainly combines with a small set such as 望む and 知る.

Learners should avoid it in casual conversation, where it sounds overly literary; everyday speech prefers plainer negatives of impossibility.

Note that it expresses impossibility, not prohibition or lack of necessity, despite containing べく.

Easily confused with
  • っこないN2「っこない」also flatly denies possibility, but it is casual spoken language: it attaches to the masu-stem and often follows potential verbs. 「べくもない」is stiff and literary, attaches to the dictionary form, and works with only a limited set of verbs, so the two differ in register and should not be swapped directly.
  • はずがないN4「はずがない」is a logical, common-sense inference that something cannot hold true; it attaches to verbs, adjectives, and nouns, and is used in both speech and writing. 「べくもない」means that circumstances make something utterly out of the question; it takes only a few verbs and is literary, so the two are generally not interchangeable.
  • わけがないN3「わけがない」concludes from plain reason that something cannot be true; it attaches to verbs, adjectives, and nouns with a neutral register. 「べくもない」says that objective circumstances make something simply out of the question; it takes only a few verbs and is written style.
  • ようがない / ようもないN2「ようがない」attaches to the masu-stem with a neutral register and stresses the lack of any means or way to do something; it also has the usage seen in 「言いようのない」, which describes an extreme degree. 「べくもない」attaches to the dictionary form, leans literary, and pairs with only a limited set of verbs.
  • べからずN1「べからず」expresses prohibition ('must not...'), with 「べからざる」modifying nouns to mean 'that must not be...'; it appears mostly in signs and regulations. 「べくもない」expresses sheer impossibility rather than prohibition, and although both are literary and take the dictionary form, they cannot be swapped.
  • までもないN1「までもない」means 'there is no need to do it' — the action is possible but pointless — while 「べくもない」means 'utterly impossible, out of the question,' so the meanings differ and they cannot be interchanged. Also, 「までもない」works in speech as well, whereas 「べくもない」is confined to writing.

っこない, はずがない and わけがない are more conversational denials of possibility, and ようがない / ようもない stresses having no means or method, whereas べくもない is a literary 'out of the question' used with a few fixed verbs. べからず expresses prohibition ('must not'), and までもない means there is no need to do something, not that it is impossible.

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

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