No way, not a chance: 〜っこない
Verb (stem) + っこない
Verb (stem) + っこない: “no way, not a chance”, impossibility asserted forcefully. Very casual; in writing or polite contexts, わけがない or はずがない.
In short
〜っこない asserts forcefully that something is impossible: “no way”, “not a chance”. It's a very casual construction, among friends or family, used mainly with verbs of ability or success (できる, わかる, 勝てる, 間に合う, 当たる). In writing or with a superior, you say わけがない or はずがない.
- そんなこと、できっこないよ。そんなこと、できっこないよ。That? No way, come on!
- 宝くじなんて、当たりっこない。たからくじなんて、あたりっこない。The lottery? You never win.
- 今から走っても、間に合いっこない。いまからはしっても、まにあいっこない。Even if we run now, there's no way we'll make it in time.
The basics
っこない comes from an old spoken construction (〜っこ, “the act of…”) followed by ない: “there's no possible…”. It's a categorical, subjective negative: the speaker is sure of themselves, often to discourage, reassure or cut someone short.
You mostly hear it in replies: 「できるかな？」「できっこないよ」.
Even if we run now, there's no way we'll make it in time.
- noun
- verb
- grammatical form
- あの二人が仲直りするなんて、ありっこないよ。あのふたりがなかなおりするなんて、ありっこないよ。Those two making up? It'll never happen.
How to form it
Take the verb stem (the ます-form without ます) and add っこない. The potential (できる, 勝てる, 読める) is very common, since it's about ability.
| Verb | Stem | + っこない |
|---|---|---|
| できる | でき | できっこない |
| わかる | わかり | わかりっこない |
| 勝てる | 勝て | 勝てっこない |
| 間に合う | 間に合い | 間に合いっこない |
| 来る | 来（き） | 来っこない |
- いくら説明しても、彼にはわかりっこない。いくらせつめいしても、かれにはわかりっこない。However much you explain, he'll never understand.
- こんな雨の日に、客なんか来っこないよ。こんなあめのひに、きゃくなんかきっこないよ。In weather like this, no customers are going to come, that's for sure.
っこない, わけがない, はずがない, 得ない
わけがない (N3) denies on logical grounds, in speech and writing. はずがない rests on deduction: “from what I know, it's ruled out”. 〜得ない (N2) is written and abstract (起こり得ない). っこない is the most casual and emotional of the four.
| Construction | Nuance | Register |
|---|---|---|
| 〜っこない | impossible, blunt and emotional | casual speech |
| 〜わけがない | impossible, it would be illogical | neutral |
| 〜はずがない | ruled out from what one knows | neutral |
| 〜得ない | impossible in principle | written |
- そんな簡単な問題を、彼が間違えるはずがない。そんなかんたんなもんだいを、かれがまちがえるはずがない。He can't have got such a simple question wrong. (はずがない)
- このような事故は、本来起こり得ない。このようなじこは、ほんらいおこりえない。This kind of accident shouldn't, in principle, be able to happen. (written)
Common mistakes
- Using it in writing or with a superior: switch to わけがない, はずがない, or 〜そうにありません.
- Attaching it to the dictionary form (×できるっこない): you start from the stem, できっこない.
- Using it for a refusal (“I don't want to”): っこない states impossibility, not unwillingness.
8 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N2 point is on the JR Chūō Line (Nature and the seasons) of the Nagoya lines.