っこないThere is no chance of, There is no way of, Impossible

Structure

Verb［ます］+ っこない

Details

About っこない

っこない is a combination of the suffix っこ, and the い-Adjective ない. When attached to the conjunctive form of verbs, it creates new い-Adjectives that express the impossibility of (A). (A) being whichever verb is used.

Common translations of っこない include 'there is no chance of (A)', or 'doing (A) is impossible'.

Caution

Although extremely rare, as っこ stems from the kanji 子(こ), this grammar point may occasionally be seen in its kanji form.

明日(あした)までに５(ご)ページのレポートとか、絶対(ぜったい)書(か)けっ子(こ)ないよ。

There is no way that I can write a 5 page essay by tomorrow.
こんな漢字(かんじ)だらけの新聞(しんぶん)なんて読(よ)めっ子(こ)ない。

There is no way I can read this newspaper that is filled with kanji.

Synonyms

Examples

--:--

練習(れんしゅう)をたくさんしなくては、楽器(がっき)の演奏(えんそう)なんかできっこない。[できる]

If you do not practice a lot, there is no way you will be able to do a musical performance.

「今(いま)持(も)っているスキルでリングは何(なに)も滅(ほろ)ぼせっこありません。」

'The ring cannot be destroyed by any craft that we possess.'

日本語(にほんご)で書(か)かないと日本語(にほんご)の書(か)き方(かた)が分(わ)かりっこない。[分(わ)かる]

If you do not write in Japanese, there is no way you will understand how to write in it.

練習(れんしゅう)をたくさんしなくては、楽器(がっき)の演奏(えんそう)なんかできっこない。

If you do not practice a lot, there is no way you will be able to do a musical performance.

日本語(にほんご)で書(か)く練習(れんしゅう)をしないと、日本語(にほんご)で書(か)けるようにはなりっこない。

If you do not practice writing in Japanese, there is no way you will become able to write it.

Get more example sentences!
Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.
Try Bunpro

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

Try Bunpro

Online
There are no Online resources listed for 「っこない」.
You can . Resources are constantly updated, come back later to see new additions!

Offline
There are no Offline resources listed for 「っこない」.
You can . Resources are constantly updated, come back later to see new additions!
Track Resources!
Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.
Try Bunpro

っこない – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

Slysoft
grasper
@Slysoft Did you understand the grammar point better by now? Even though most of the time, the potential verbs stem is used for the grammar point also in examples on other websites, sometimes the dictionary verb stem is used, and I cannot figure out why.
okayfrog
I’m having a hard time figuring out how the verb is supposed to be conjugated for this grammar point.