Japanese with Manga

Difficult to discard a photo with 〜がたい

Grammar Explanation: Difficult to do with 〜がたい

Manga panel from 思い、思われ、ふり、ふられ showing example of Difficult to discard a photo with 〜がたい.
思い、思われ、ふり、ふられ » Volume 7 » Page 30

Inui’s class is gathering photos of couples for a school festival contest. Another couple comes to join in.

乾(いぬい):
「どっちの画像(がぞう)プリントします？」
“Which image should I print?”
彼女(かのじょ):
「えーーー　どうするー？」
“Oh my gosh... What should we do?”
彼氏(かれし):
「どっちも捨(す)てがたいねーーー」
“Both are hard to abandon.”
Literal: “Both are difficult to throw away.”

The verb 捨てる means to discard or abandon. Because the couple has to select an image to print, the other image will be “thrown away” in the sense that it won’t be printed for the contest. In English, it’s more natural to say it’s different to choose between the two, while still retaining the same general meaning.

Key Points

1Formal register with ます
  • Inui is speaking politely here because he’s in the role of a service worker speaking to a customer.
2捨てがたい means hard to discard or choose against
  • The couple is deciding between two images, so 捨(す)てがたい means each photo is hard to reject.
  • It is not about physical difficulty; it is emotional or evaluative difficulty.
3どっちも makes both options equal
  • どっちも means “both”, so neither image is easy to give up.
4〜がたい sounds more considered than 〜にくい
  • In this scene, 捨(す)てがたい gives the choice a slightly dramatic, heartfelt tone.
  • That suits a couple choosing a photo for a contest.

Vocabulary

(Image)

画像(がぞう) means an image, and ranges from a drawn or painted portrait, to a projection displayed on a television screen or computer monitor, to graphics created on a computer or photographs taken on a digital camera.

See Also

思い、思われ、ふり、ふられ © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.