Grammar › No Choice & Difficulty
にかたくない — “not hard to (imagine, guess, understand)”
Says a conclusion is easy to reach, based on the evidence already given
Noun + にかたくない (attached almost exclusively to 想像 “imagine” or 理解 “understand”) says that, given the circumstances described, reaching that conclusion requires little effort — “it's not hard to imagine/understand X.” It's formal and mostly written.
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Noun + にかたくない | その苦労は想像にかたくない — It's not hard to imagine how much hardship that took |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 彼がどれほど悲しんだかは、想像にかたくない。 | かれがどれほどかなしんだかは、そうぞうにかたくない。 karegadorehodokanashindakaha、souzounikatakunai。 | It's not hard to imagine how sad he must have been. |
| 長年の努力があったことは理解にかたくない。 | ながねんのどりょくがあったことはりかいにかたくない。 naganennodoryokugaattakotoharikainikatakunai。 | It's not hard to understand that years of effort went into it. |
| 彼女が驚いた表情は想像にかたくない。 | かのじょがおどろいたひょうじょうはそうぞうにかたくない。 kanojogaodoroitahyoujouhasouzounikatakunai。 | It's not hard to picture her surprised expression. |
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Watch out
にかたくない almost always pairs with 想像 or 理解 specifically — it isn't a general-purpose “not hard to do X” for arbitrary verbs; for that, 〜のは難しくない is the plain, flexible option.