JLPT N2 grammar

〜ようがない／ようもないmeaning and usage

Meaning

There is no method/way to do A

How to form it

  • verb (masu-stem)ようがない/ようもない
  • nounのしようがない

How it is used

There is no means of doing A, even if one wants to, as in 「説明のしようがない」 (no way to explain it). Unlike a plain negative potential, it stresses that no method exists rather than a lack of ability.

Examples

  1. アイスは箸で食べようがない。

    There is no way to eat ice cream with chopsticks.

  2. 住所も電話番号も分からないので、連絡しようがない。

    I don't know the address or the phone number, so there's no way to get in touch.

  3. こんなに壊れていては、直しようもない。

    It's so badly broken that there's no way to fix it.