〜がたい
JLPT N3:hard to
"Hard to…" in the sense of hardly being able to bring yourself to do it: 信じがたい (hard to believe).
How to form it
- Start from the ます form and replace ます with がたい: 信じます becomes 信じがたい.
- The result is an い-adjective.
- It goes with verbs of thinking and feeling, like 信じる (believe), 理解する (understand), 許す (forgive) and 忘れる (forget).
Examples
それは信じがたい話だ。
That's a hard story to believe.
忘れがたい思い出になった。
It became an unforgettable memory.
Notes
- It is formal and mostly written.
Common mistakes
- Using it for physical difficulty. Say この肉は硬くて食べにくい, not 食べがたい.
Similar meaning
- 〜にくいhard to
"Hard to", including physical difficulty.