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JLPT N4Modal Expressions

はずがない— There's no way / Cannot possibly be

The negative counterpart of はずだ. Strongly denies a possibility based on logic, facts, or knowledge of someone's character.

Grammar path · 練習

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Pro lessonUNIT 17 · MODAL EXPRESSIONS

Structure · 形

[Plain form] + はずがない / はずはない

Examples · 例文

  • あんなに練習したのに、失敗するはずがない。

    Anna ni renshū shita noni, shippai suru hazu ga nai.

    After practicing that much, there's no way he'd fail.

    Strong logical denial based on evidence

  • 彼女が嘘をつくはずがない。

    Kanojo ga uso o tsuku hazu ga nai.

    There's no way she would lie.

    Based on known character

  • こんなに安いはずがない。何かあるんじゃないか。

    Konnani yasui hazu ga nai. Nanika aru n ja nai ka.

    There's no way it's this cheap. Something must be up.

    Logical impossibility

Usage notes · 注意

  • Key Concept: はずがない expresses strong logical impossibility.
  • Detail: more confident than かもしれない (uncertainty).
  • Contrast: はずだ (should be) ↔ はずがない (cannot possibly be).
  • Similar: わけがない (no way, more colloquial), に違いない (must be, positive certainty).

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones はずがない is tested against.

vsはずだ (should be)

Same reasoning base, opposite polarity: はずだ = 'logically expected to be true'; はずがない = 'logically cannot be true.'

vsわけがない

わけがない is more colloquial/emotional ('no way!'), while はずがない frames the denial as a reasoned deduction. They overlap heavily but はずがない sounds slightly more logical.

vsないはずだ

ないはずだ = 'it is expected NOT to happen' (negates the content). はずがない = 'there is no basis to expect it at all' (negates the expectation itself), which is a stronger denial.

More modal expressions

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