Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 8: 23/23

考(かんが)えられないUnthinkable, Inconceivable, Unimaginable, Cannot think

Structure

Noun + など(1) + 考(かんが)えられない
Phrase + ということは(2) + 考(かんが)えられない

(1) なんて、は
(2) ことは、など、なんて

Details

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About 考えられない

考(かんが)えられない is the negative potential form of the る - Verb 考(かんが)える 'to consider'. It will regularly be used after the adverbial particle など (なんか, or なんて), or any expression that nominalizes a phrase, like ということは.

考(かんが)えられない is regularly translated as '(A) is unimaginable', or '(A) is unthinkable', which is quite close to the literal meaning.

Caution

While 考(かんが)えられない refers to the inability to think of a certain thing, 考(かん)えない 'to not consider', or 考(かんが)えていない 'to not be considering' express something that the speaker has control over. Due to this, only 考(かんが)えられない may be used when implying something that is unbelievable.

  • 死(し)んだ後(あと)のことなどほとんど考(かんが)えない。
    I don't think about what happens after dying.
  • 結婚(けっこん)した後(あと)の事(こと)など考(かんが)えていない。
    I'm not thinking about stuff like what happens after getting married.
  • 妻(つま)と離婚(りこん)することなど考(かんが)えられない。
    It is unimaginable that I would get a divorce with my wife.

Examples

--:--

    「ほかの方法(ほうほう)は考(かんが)えられない。」

    'I cannot think of another way.' (unthinkable)

    論文(ろんぶん)：「チタンは考(かんが)えられないほど硬(かた)いので、飛行機(ひこうき)によく使用(しよう)される。」

    Article/essay: 'Since titanium is unthinkably strong, it is often used in airplanes.'

    ブログの投稿(とうこう)：「君(きみ)の事(こと)以外(いがい)は何(なに)も考(かんが)えられない。」

    Blog post: 'I cannot think about anything but you.' (unthinkable)

    友達(ともだち)との話(はなし)：「子供(こども)がそんな難(むずか)しい数学(すうがく)の問題(もんだい)を解(と)くということは考(かんが)えられない。」

    Chat between friends: 'It is unthinkable for a child to solve such a difficult mathematical problem.'

    ブログの投稿(とうこう)：「電気(でんき)なしの生活(せいかつ)は私(わたし)には考(かんが)えられない。」

    Blog post: 'Life without electricity is unimaginable for me.' (unthinkable)

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      考えられない – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (2 in total)

      • MZa

        MZa

        In this grammar point, although we have the potential form of 考える we do not use the が particle but the は particle. I was wondering whether it is to use the contrastive function of the は particle.

      • Daru

        Daru

        Yeah! It marks the stop where you say: ‘All of this sentence, THAT is unthinkable.’ Good catch!

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