GRAMMAR DETAIL
〜っこない
Colloquially and emphatically rejects a possibility with the speaker's firm conviction.
Examples
彼が大切な約束を忘れるなんて、ありっこない。
There is no way he would forget such an important promise.
Words used
そんな遠い場所へ一日で行けっこない。
There is no way we could reach such a distant place in a single day.
Words used
Study notes
1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning
- Structure:
っこないattaches to a verb's masu-stem and colloquially rejects a possibility with strong conviction. - Basic usage:
そんな遠い場所へ一日で行けっこない。emphatically rules out being able to reach such a distant place in one day.
2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions
- Connecting to a potential stem
行けっこないattaches to the stem of potential行けるto deny being able to go.分かりっこないattaches to the stem of分かるto say there is no way to know, using the masu-stem rather than the full dictionary form.
- Strong conversational certainty
理解できませんpolitely reports an inability to understand.理解できっこないmore strongly rules out understanding as possible and can sound categorical or dismissive when judging someone else's ability.