得難い・得がたい|えがたいegatai[3]nakadaka (mid-high)
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Which spelling to use
得難い得難い is the more common of the two written forms, so learners may encounter it more often in Japanese text.
得がたい得がたい is less common than 得難い, but it is the recommended default for beginners and is suitable for use in writing.
Definitions
- i-adjectivehard to get; hard to come by
Conjugation
| Plain form | 得難い（えがたい） |
|---|---|
| Polite (desu) | 得難いです（えがたいです） |
| Negative (kunai) | 得難くない（えがたくない） |
| polite (ku arimasen) | 得難くありません（えがたくありません） |
| Past (katta) | 得難かった（えがたかった） |
| Past negative (kunakatta) | 得難くなかった（えがたくなかった） |
| Te form (kute) | 得難くて（えがたくて） |
| Adverbial (ku) | 得難く（えがたく） |
| Conditional (kereba) | 得難ければ（えがたければ） |
| kattara | 得難かったら（えがたかったら） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
- Related手に入らないNeutralColloquial: you simply can't get or buy it; stresses the result of not obtaining it, with no sense of preciousness.
- Related入手できないWrittenWritten/formal: cannot obtain; stresses that getting it is objectively impossible.
- AntonymたやすいNeutralEasy, simple; the opposite of 「得難い」 in its sense of rare and precious.
- AntonymありふれたNeutralCommon, found everywhere; the opposite of 「得難い」 in its sense of rare and hard to come by.
Use 「得難い」 for precious people or experiences that are hard to come by, as in 「得難い経験」「得難い人材」. If you simply cannot get something, use 「手に入らない」 (colloquial) or 「入手できない」 (written). 「容易い」 and 「有り触れた」 are its antonyms.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
