Not necessarily with 〜わけではない

Usage Notes

わけではない follows the plain form of a verb or い-adjective. In the non-past, な-adjectives and nouns take な, or である in formal writing: 嫌(きら)いなわけではない, 学生(がくせい)なわけではない. Past and negative forms attach directly: 嫌(きら)いだったわけではない. Casual speech uses わけじゃない, and the polite form is わけではありません, わけじゃありません, or わけじゃないです. わけではなかった puts the denial in the past.

という, or casual って, can wrap any clause before わけ: 全員(ぜんいん)が学生(がくせい)というわけではない, 冗談(じょうだん)ってわけじゃない. On its own, そういうわけじゃない means “that’s not it” or “that’s not what I mean”.

The real explanation often follows: 〜わけじゃないけど… “it’s not that…, but…”, or 〜わけじゃなくて… “it’s not that…, it’s…”. わけでもない adds も: “nor is it that…”, or just a softer “it’s not really that…”. When a speaker breaks off, only わけじゃ… or わけでは… may be left, and the context has to finish the denial.

Formation

Heading Off a Misunderstanding

The speaker rejects a conclusion the listener has drawn, or might draw, from what was said or what happened. The real reason often follows, after 〜わけじゃないけど or in a 〜だけだ sentence.

• 怒(おこ)ってるわけじゃないよ。ちょっと疲(つか)れてるだけ。
• It's not that I’m angry. I’m just a little tired.

わけじゃなくて, or written わけではなく, sets the wrong reading and the right one side by side: “it’s not X, it’s Y”.

Example 1 of 2: Receiving praise with 〜れる

Example 1 of 2

Cocoa prepares to teach Chiya, Chino, and Rize how to bake bread.

リゼ:

「それにしてもココアがパン作(つく)れるって意外(いがい)だったな」

“Still, I didn't expect you to know how to bake bread, Cocoa.”

ココア:

「えへへー」

“Hee hee!”

チノ:

「褒(ほ)められてるわけじゃないと…」

“It's not like you're being praised...”

View Full Example

Rize says she didn’t expect Cocoa to know how to bake bread, and Cocoa giggles as if she’s been complimented. Chino thought heads off that reading: 褒(ほ)められてるわけじゃないと…, “it’s not like you’re being praised…”. She doesn’t include what Rize did mean. わけじゃない only rules out the conclusion Cocoa drew.

Example 2 of 2: Not doing it on purpose with 〜わけじゃない

Example 2 of 2

Hase suspects Kujou knows something about Fujimiya’s past, so he decides to get closer to him and takes him to a family restaurant after school. Over dinner, Kujou mentions he moved to Hokkaido for his father’s job and later came back. Hase asks whether moving bothered him, and Kujou says not really. Hase tells him he seems somehow detached, and Kujou answers, “…I wonder.” Hase asks if he’s always been like that.

九条(くじょう):

「そんなのよくわかんねーよ」

“I don't really know about that stuff.”

「意識(いしき)してやってるわけじゃないし」

“It's not like I'm doing it on purpose.”

「ただ」

“It's just…”

View Full Example

Over dinner, Hase tells Kujou he seems detached and asks if he’s always been that way. Kujou says he doesn’t really know, since it isn’t something he does consciously: 意識(いしき)してやってるわけじゃないし. He doesn’t deny being detached. わけじゃない only rules out the idea that he does it on purpose.

Qualifying a Generalization

With words like みんな “everyone”, 全部(ぜんぶ) “all”, いつも “always”, or 必(かなら)ずしも “necessarily”, わけではない denies that something holds in every case. It may still hold in some.

• 日本人(にほんじん)がみんな寿司(すし)が好(す)きなわけではない。
• Not all Japanese people like sushi.

Ninako confessed to Ren and was turned down, since he already has a girlfriend. Manabu has been pushing Ren to admit he has feelings for Ninako. After Ren leaves, Manabu insists to Yuu that Ren really does like her. Yuu answers, “So what?”

裕(ゆう):

「本当(ほんとう)がいつも正(ただ)しい訳(わけ)じゃないだろ」

“What's true isn't always what's right.”

View Full Example

Manabu insists that Ren has feelings for Ninako, even though Ren already has a girlfriend. Yuu answers that the truth isn’t always right. With いつも, 訳(わけ)じゃない denies only “always”: being true doesn’t make something right in every case. Yuu isn’t saying the truth is never right.

Double Negatives with 〜ないわけではない

When the word before わけではない is already negative, the two negatives make a qualified yes. 〜ないわけじゃない means “it’s not that I don’t…”: the speaker admits something, often followed by a reservation or the real reason.

• 行(い)きたくないわけじゃないんだ。時間(じかん)がないだけだ。
• It's not that I don’t want to go. I just don’t have time.

With 全然(ぜんぜん) or 全(まった)く, わけではない denies only the extreme. 全然(ぜんぜん)眠(ねむ)れないわけではない, “it’s not that I can’t sleep at all”, leaves room for some sleep, just not easily.

Kumada wishes the bear that lives with him were as cute as the neighborhood cat that visits. Later, he watches a TV segment in which a woman gushes about her dog. It’s part of the family, it sleeps with her at night, and life with a pet is the best.

(熊田(くまだ)):

「ペットのいる暮(く)らしに憧(あこが)れがないわけじゃない」

“It's not that I've never longed for a life with a pet.”

View Full Example

Kumada has just watched a TV segment about a woman and her beloved dog, while his own roommate is a bear. 憧(あこが)れがない, “I have no longing”, is already negative, and わけじゃない rejects it. The two negatives add up to a reluctant yes: he has wanted a pet since he was a boy.

Just Because X Doesn’t Mean Y

だからといって refers back to something already said: “but that doesn’t mean…”. 〜からといって, casually 〜からって, attaches to the premise itself: “just because…”. わけではない then rejects the conclusion that seems to follow.

• 高(たか)いからって美味(おい)しいわけじゃない。
• Just because it’s expensive doesn't mean it tastes good.

The teacher has declared a day of team-against-team battles. Benisumomo, a senior on Touwata’s team, challenges Tsubaki’s team, and Tsubaki accepts. Sazanka whispers that they should pick another team, since Touwata never gives up, Mizubashou is too good at setting traps, and Benisumomo is extremely strong. Benisumomo overhears and agrees: “Well, I am a genius.”

トウワタ:

「だからっていつもダラダラしていいわけじゃないでしょー！！」

“That doesn't mean you get to laze around all the time!!”

「一(いち)に努力(どりょく)二(に)に努力(どりょく)！！」

“Effort first, effort second!!”

View Full Example

Benisumomo, Touwata’s senior, has just called herself a genius. Touwata doesn’t argue with that. だからって points back to it, and いいわけじゃない rejects what Benisumomo thinks it allows: talent doesn’t make it okay to laze around all the time.

Not Really with 別に

別(べつ)に often comes with the denial. English renders 別に〜わけじゃない as “not really…” or “it’s not like … or anything”. 特(とく)に means “particularly”: 特(とく)に高(たか)いわけじゃない, “it isn’t particularly expensive”. 別に〜わけじゃない can be a plain, sincere denial: 別(べつ)に反対(はんたい)する訳(わけ)ではない, “it’s not that I object”.

In manga, the same words often come from a character who obviously does care, and the scene makes the denial ring false. That’s the tsundere line:

• 別(べつ)にあんたのために作(つく)ったわけじゃないからね。
• It’s not like I made it for you or anything.

Related Grammar

• No way with 〜わけがない
  • わけがない rules out a possibility as unthinkable. わけではない rejects one reading of the facts.
• Logical conclusion with 〜わけだ
  • The affirmative pattern draws a conclusion. わけではない blocks one.
• Not at all with 全然〜ない
  • 全然〜ない means "not at all". It can sit inside わけではない, as in 全然(ぜんぜん)眠(ねむ)れないわけではない, "it's not that I can't sleep at all".