日本語道場

Nihongo Dojo — N3 → N2

Grammar

N2· hand-written

~ようがない / ~ようもない

~ yō ga nai / ~ yō mo nai

There is no way to ~ ; it is impossible to ~ ; nothing can be done about ~.

When to use it

Polite, factual way to say a thing genuinely can't be done — not because you refuse, but because the means/conditions don't exist. Common when explaining hard limits to clients, regulators, or counterparties without sounding defensive. Cleaner than できません because it externalises the impossibility ("there is no method"), not the speaker's effort.

Formation

  1. 先方からの返答が一切ないため、現時点では判断のしようがございません。 Senpō kara no hentō ga issai nai tame, genjiten de wa handan no shiyō ga gozaimasen. As there has been no response whatsoever from the counterparty, at this point there is no way for us to make a judgement.

  2. 原本が紛失しており、契約条件の確認のしようがない状況です。 Genpon ga funshitsu shite ori, keiyaku jōken no kakunin no shiyō ga nai jōkyō desu. The original has been lost, so we are in a situation where there is no way to verify the contract terms.

  3. ここまで市場が冷え込むと、追加の打ち手の出しようもございません。 Koko made shijō ga hiekomu to, tsuika no uchite no dashiyō mo gozaimasen. With the market this depressed, there isn't even a way to deploy additional measures.

Examples

  • As there has been no response whatsoever from the counterparty, at this point there is no way for us to make a judgement.

  • The original has been lost, so we are in a situation where there is no way to verify the contract terms.

  • With the market this depressed, there isn't even a way to deploy additional measures.