Welcome back to our “Video & Article” series with tutor Miki. In this article and video we will take a look at expressing positive statements by using double negatives in Japanese. For example: “よくないことはない”. Learn how to express subtle nuances by using double negatives in Japanese!
| Table of Contents [Introduction] [Grammatical Patterns] [Purpose of the Double Negative] |
[Introduction]
In today’s lesson we will take a look at using a double negative statement to express a positive statement. This is usually done to soften the statement or to convey subtle nuances or vagueness. First of all, we will take a look at how to form double negative statements grammatically. Then we will move on to a couple of examples. While the art of using two negatives to make a positive statement can also be utilised in English (“This isn’t not good!”), it seems to be a lot more common in Japanese.[Grammatical Patterns]
The double negative is called “二重否定 ” in Japanese. Let’s take a look at two patterns used to express a double negative in Japanese:1) ～なくはない
2) ～ないことはない
The two uses of a grammatical negative cancel each other out, ultimately forming a positive statement.
ない+ない=ある
Let’s look at some examples:
その曲 は良 くないことはない。
Literal: This song is not not good.
Meaning: This song isn’t bad.
弱音 を吐 かなくはない。
Literal: I don’t don’t whine.
Meaning: I do whine.
This is the general grammatical structure for “なくはない”:
（弱音 を）吐 か（なくはない） (direct object)(double negative) It's not that I don't whine.
Before the double negative “なくはない” you can only use i-adjectives and non-volitional, including the potential form. For the conjugation you replace the “い” of the negative ending “ない” with “く” and the connect it with “はない”: “なくはない”.
To make a grammatically correct sentence with “ないことはない” you simply connect the negative form of the preceding verb or adjective with the nominalizer “こと” and then add “はない”.
その曲 は良 くないことはない。 (subject/topic) (double negative) It’s not that the song is not good.
Lastly, let’s look at one more example before we move on:
| その営業成績 もよくないこともない。 |
| The results for that business weren’t not good. |
その成績 は良 かった。 The results were good.
[Purpose of the Double Negative]
So why do people choose to use the double negative form instead of directly saying what they want to say? There are three situations in which you can make use of the double negative.1) When you generally agree with a statement but something doesn’t feel right, and you want to softly convey this.
Look at this example:
| A: これ可愛 いから欲 しいなぁ。 |
| A: I want this because it’s cute. |
| B: これはどう？ |
| B: What about this one? |
| A: うーん、これは可愛 くない訳 ではないけれど、なんか探 してたものと違 うんだよなぁ。 |
| A: Hm, it’s not like that one isn’t cute, but it’s not quite what I was looking for. |
Let’s move on! 2) You can use double negative for poetry or meaningful statements
This may not be very useful for daily conversations, but important to know. To express the meaning of something, double negative is often used in poetry or song lyrics. For example:
| 無 きにしも非 ず |
| Not completely lacking, a little (existent) |
| 勝利 の希望 も無 きにしも非 ずだ。 |
| We are not entirely without the hope of winning. |
| A: 宿題 やった？ |
| A: Did you do your homework? |
| B: 宿題 やってないわけではない。 |
| B: It’s not that I didn’t do my homework. |
In an argument, for example, you can make your intention of politely disagreeing sure and then use the double negative form:
| 賛成 できないわけではないけど、－のため、反対 です。 |
| It’s not that I cannot agree, but because of X Y and Z, I have to disagree with you. |
That is everything for today’s lesson. We hope that this helps you understand and utilize double negative sentences in Japanese. If you would like to learn more about this topic, feel free to book a lesson with one of our native, qualified Japanese tutors anytime!
単語リスト（Vocabulary list）
| 二重否定 | Double negative |
| 重 ねる | To pile up, to add, to repeat |
| 表現 方法 | Way of expressing something |
| 曖昧 | Vague, ambiguous |
| 曖昧 な言 い方 | Vague way of talking |
| 曖昧 さ | Ambiguity |
| 強調 | Emphasis |
| 物事 | Things, everything |
| 場面 | Setting, scene |
| 肯定 | Positive |
| 弱音 を吐 く | To whine |
| 営業 | Business, trade |
| 成績 | Results, grades |
| 賛成 | Approval, agreement |
| 賛成 する | To approve, to agree |