Meaning & Usage
✨ Basic Meaning
To be unable to do something; to find it difficult to do something; to be reluctant to do something.
🎯 Primary Function
To politely express inability, difficulty, or reluctance to perform an action, often when declining a request or explaining a limitation.
📋 Grammar Structure
Verb ます-stem + かねる (e.g., 行く → 行きかねる, する → しかねる, 受ける → 受けかねる)
🎭 Usage Contexts
Formal Situations
Frequently used in business meetings, formal requests, and official communication.
Informal Situations
Almost never used. Sounds overly stiff and unnatural.
Written Language
Common in formal letters, emails, and official documents.
Spoken Language
Used in formal speeches, presentations, or polite interactions in business settings, but not in everyday casual talk.
💡 Common Applications
Declining requests politely
Used to turn down a request in a very polite and indirect manner, indicating that fulfilling the request is difficult or impossible for reasons beyond one’s immediate control or personal desire.
Example: 誠に申し訳ございませんが、その件についてはお引き受けしかねます。 (I am truly sorry, but regarding that matter, I find it difficult to accept [the request].)
Expressing difficulty in understanding or believing
Used to state that one cannot understand or believe something, often implying that it is unreasonable or hard to accept.
Example: その主張は、私には理解しかねます。 (That assertion is difficult for me to understand/accept.)
Stating an inability to judge or decide
Used to express that one is not in a position to make a judgment or decision, or finds it hard to do so.
Example: どちらの案が良いか、現時点では判断しかねます。 (As for which proposal is better, at this point, I find it difficult to judge.)
Frequency
Moderately frequent in formal and business contexts. Rare in casual conversation.
Difficulty
Advanced (N1)
Example Sentences
この件に関する詳細については、現時点ではお答えしかねます。
Regarding the details concerning this matter, at this point, I am unable to answer.
その提案には賛成しかねる点がございます。
There are points in that proposal that I find difficult to agree with.
個人的な事情により、ご要望にお応えしかねる状況です。
Due to personal circumstances, it is a situation where I find it difficult to meet your request.
Notes & Nuances
📌 Important Points
Fixed expressions
Often appears in fixed or common polite phrases when declining or expressing difficulty.
Example: お答えしかねます (cannot answer), お引き受けしかねます (cannot accept), 判断しかねます (cannot judge), 理解しかねます (cannot understand/accept).
Expresses reluctance/difficulty, not physical inability
While translated as “cannot,” it implies a reluctance or difficulty due to circumstances, policy, or principle, rather than a simple physical inability.
Example: 走れますが、明日は忙しいので、マラソンに参加しかねます。(I can run, but I’m busy tomorrow, so I find it difficult/am reluctant to participate in the marathon.) – This is correct usage. ⇔ 私は足がないので、走しかねます。(I don’t have legs, so I find it difficult to run.) – This is incorrect/unnatural; use ～走れません or ～走ることができません.
⚠️ Common Mistakes
❌ Using it for simple physical inability
✅ Use ～できません or ～ことができません.
～しかねる implies difficulty or reluctance due to circumstances, not a lack of physical capability.
❌ Using it in casual conversation
✅ Use less formal expressions like ～できません or ～のは難しいです.
～しかねる is highly formal and sounds unnatural in informal settings.
🏛️ Cultural Context
Politeness Level: Very high.
Social Situations: Business meetings, official replies, formal apologies, declining formal invitations/requests.
Regional Variations: Standard Japanese; generally understood across regions in formal contexts.
🔍 Subtle Differences
～しかねる vs. ～できません
～しかねる is more polite, formal, and implies reluctance or difficulty due to circumstances/principle. ～できません is a more direct statement of inability or impossibility.
When to use: Use ～しかねる in formal situations where politeness and indirectness are valued. Use ～できません in various situations, formal or informal, when stating a factual inability.
～しかねる vs. ～にくい
～しかねる means “cannot/find it difficult (due to circumstances/reluctance)”. ～にくい means “is difficult to do” or “hard to X” (often inherent difficulty or unpleasantness).
When to use: Use ～しかねる when politely declining or stating inability in a formal context. Use ～にくい when describing something that is inherently hard or unpleasant to perform (e.g., 飲みにくい beverage, 分かりにくい explanation).
～しかねる vs. ～かねない
Completely different meanings! ～しかねる means “cannot/find it difficult”. ～かねない means “might happen” or “is likely to do something undesirable”.
When to use: Use ～しかねる to express polite inability. Use ～かねない to express a possibility, usually negative (e.g., 事故を起こしかねない – might cause an accident).
📝 Conjugation Notes
Always attaches to the ます-stem of a verb. It does not attach to nouns, adjectives, or other verb forms.
🔊 Pronunciation Tips
Pronounced “shikaneru”. The “ka” part is distinct from “kaneru” (to serve concurrently/hold).
🧠 Memory Tips
Think of “しか” as potentially related to “仕方がない” (it can’t be helped) implying difficulty, and “かねる” as the verb stem meaning “to be unable to do” in this specific construction. “しかねる” = “Cannot help but find it difficult to do X.”
Practice Exercises
次の文の（ ）に入る最も適切な表現を選びなさい。大変申し訳ございませんが、個人的な理由で、その会議には（ ）。
行けしかねます
行きかねません
行きかねます
行くしかねます
「この問題は、私には理解しかねます。」この文の「理解しかねます」の最も適切な意味は？
理解したくないです。
理解することができません（状況的に難しい）。
理解するのが下手です。
理解しないかもしれません。
I’m a software engineer based in Japan, with experience in developing web and mobile applications. I’m passionate about technology, especially in DevOps, AI, and app development using platforms like AWS, Flutter, and Node.js. My goal is to build a website that shares knowledge about the Japanese language and IT, helping everyone learn and grow more easily in the digital era.
