Difficult to do with 〜がたい

Grammar: Difficulty » 〜がたい

The auxiliary adjective がたい is used to express that something is “very difficult” or “nearly impossible” to do, often with a nuance of psychological or emotional difficulty.

Usage

The primary purpose of がたい is to convey that an action or state is extremely difficult to achieve, often implying a sense of impossibility or strong resistance, either due to external circumstances or internal feelings.

It is typically used in formal, written, or literary contexts and carries a stronger sense of difficulty compared to similar expressions like にくい or づらい.

The term often reflects the speaker’s subjective judgment, emphasizing emotional or psychological barriers, such as reluctance or inability despite a desire to act.

It’s commonly used with verbs that reflect mental or emotional processes, such as 言(い)う (to say), 信(しん)じる (to believe), 忘(わす)れる (to forget), or 理解(りかい)する (to understand), rather than routine physical actions. For instance, 食(た)べがたい (“hard to eat”) is rare, while 理解(りかい)しがたい (“hard to understand”) is common.

Formation

1. Verb stem + がたい
   • 言(い)う (to say) → 言わがたい (difficult to say)
   • 忘(わす)れる (to forget) → 忘れがたい (difficult to forget)

The kanji form 難い is commonly used, though it may also appear in hiragana as がたい.

Examples

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Difficult to discard a photo with 〜がたい

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.”

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.

Difficult to pass on with 〜がたい

Visiting her new friend’s family’s café, Cocoa ponders over which menu item to order.

ココア:

「わー抹茶(まっちゃ)パフェもいいし　クリームあんみつ白玉(しらたま)ぜんざいも　捨(す)てがたいなあ」

“Wow, the green tea parfait is good, but the cream anmitsu and dumpling red bean soup are difficult to pass on.”

Hard to believe with 〜がたい

A student from a lower grade enters the classroom. She stops and stares at Asuka Jr., one of the boys in the class.

涼子(りょうこ):

「ある特定(とくてい)のところに集中(しゅうちゅう)してない？　しかも」

“Isn't she focused on one particular area? And on top of that...”

恭子(きょうこ):

「ものすごく信(しん)じがたいところに……」

“It's in a frightfully hard to believe area...”