Possibility and difficulty

～っこない

there is no way; absolutely not going to

AI-written, reviewed by AI (ChatGPT)

Practise this point

ShareFacebook (opens in a new tab)

How to form it

  • Verb (ます-stem) + っこない

Register: Casual; spoken

Explanation

Strongly says that something is not going to happen or cannot be done, based on the speaker's judgement.

Casual and emphatic. Often used with potential forms such as できっこない and 勝てっこない.

Examples

  1. そんなこと、できっこないよ。

    そんなこと、できっこないよ。

    There's no way you could do that.

  2. 彼に勝てっこない。

    かれにかてっこない。

    There's no way I can beat him.

  3. 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.

Compare with

  • ～わけがない: わけがない is a firmer, more neutral denial; っこない is casual and emotional.

Common mistakes

  • Using it in formal writing. It is only for casual speech.