～がたい

How to form it

• Verb (ます-stem) + がたい

Register: Formal, written

Explanation

Says that something is hard to do because of feeling, belief or its nature, not because of physical difficulty.

Used with verbs of thinking and feeling (信じがたい, 理解しがたい, 忘れがたい).

Examples

1. 彼の行動は理解しがたい。

   かれのこうどうはりかいしがたい。

   His behaviour is hard to understand.

2. 信じがたい話だが、本当だ。

   しんじがたいはなしだが、ほんとうだ。

   It is hard to believe, but it is true.

3. この気持ちは言葉で表しがたい。

   このきもちはことばであらわしがたい。

   This feeling is hard to express in words.

Compare with

• ～づらい: づらい is hard because it is uncomfortable or painful; がたい is hard because of the nature of the thing.
• ～ようがない: ようがない says there is no means; がたい says it is hard to do.

Common mistakes

• Using it for physical difficulty. It is mainly used with verbs of thinking and feeling, such as 信じがたい. Forms like 食べがたい are rare.