がたい

Auxiliary Adjective (い) (Intermediate ㊥ 50)

An auxiliary adjective which expresses the idea that for someone to do something is virtually impossible or impossible.

Equivalent: Cannot; un—able; can hardly; difficult to; impossible

彼のしたことは許しがたい。
What he did is unforgivable.
この旅行は私にとって忘れがたい思い出になるだろう。
This trip will be an unforgettable one (literally: memory) for me.
彼の行為は理解しがたい。
His behaviour is hard to understand.
あの先生は偉すぎて私には近寄りがたい。
That professor is so respected that I can hardly approach him.
この二つの作品は甲乙付けがたい。
Between these two works, it is hard to say that one is better than the other.
このプロジェクトは成功したとは言いがたい。
It is hard to say that this project was a success.
ジョーンズ氏は得がたい人物だ。
Mr. Jones is an irreplaceable person (literally: a person hard to get).
我々は彼の犯行に関する動かしがたい証拠をつかんだ。
We obtained an indisputable piece of evidence concerning his crime.
私は過去に彼から耐えがたい屈辱を受けた。
I was intolerably humiliated by him in the past. (literally: received an intolerable humiliation from him.)

Formation

Vます がたい  
 信じがたい Hard to believe; unbelievable

Notes