～がたい (difficult to do)

• Reading: がたい
• Romaji: gatai
• Formation: Verb ます-stem + がたい

Meaning

An auxiliary adjective attached to the ます-stem of verbs expressing that something is psychologically or emotionally difficult to do. It conveys the idea that something is hard to accept, believe, or carry out.

がたい expresses difficulty that is primarily psychological, emotional, or circumstantial — not physical difficulty. It differs from にくい, which covers general difficulty including physical actions. For example, 信じがたい (hard to believe) implies emotional resistance, while 読みにくい (hard to read) refers to physical difficulty like small print. がたい is used with a more limited set of verbs, typically those involving cognition, emotion, or judgement: 信じる, 理解する, 許す, 忘れる, 耐える, 想像する. It carries a formal, somewhat literary tone and is common in written Japanese, news commentary, and formal speech. The resulting form conjugates like an い-adjective.

Examples

1. この結果は信じがたいものだった。 This result was hard to believe.
2. 彼の行動は理解しがたい。 His behaviour is difficult to understand.
3. 許しがたい行為だと批判された。 It was criticised as an unforgivable act.

Usage Guide

Context: written, formal speech, news

Tone: serious

Do Say

• 想像しがたい規模の被害が出た。
• 受け入れがたい条件を提示された。
• あの日の感動は言い表しがたい。

Don't Say

• この漢字は書きがたい。(Physical difficulty of writing uses にくい, not がたい) → この漢字は書きにくい。
• この靴は歩きがたい。(Physical discomfort in walking uses にくい, not がたい) → この靴は歩きにくい。

Origin & History

がたい derives from the classical adjective かたし (difficult), which attached to verb stems in the same manner. The voiced form がたい developed through sequential voicing (連濁).

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal