Grammar › N1 · 08 Extremes and impossibility

〜べくもない: no way to; cannot hope to

N1 · 08 Extremes and impossibility

Says that something is so far out of reach that it is not even worth hoping for.

Dictionary form of a verb + べくもない (する becomes するべくもない or すべくもない). Literary and fixed: 望むべくもない, 知るべくもない. Stronger and more formal than 〜ようがない; often used about hopes, chances, or comparisons.

Examples

彼かれの実力じつりょくには、私わたしなど及およぶべくもない。

Someone like me cannot hope to match his ability.

当時とうじの貧まずしい暮くらしでは、進学しんがくなど望のぞむべくもなかった。

With the poverty of those days, going on to higher education was out of the question.

Study 〜べくもない in the course →