Japatan
Formation
- Vます形 + っこない
Explanation
Used to strongly deny a possibility: "there is no way ~." It often follows わかる, できる or potential forms such as 書ける or 勝てる. It is a casual, spoken expression that shows the speaker's strong feeling. The meaning is close to わけがない, but more conversational.
Examples
こんなに難しい問題、子どもに 解けっこないよ。
There's no way a child could solve such a difficult problem.
一晩で百ページの報告書なんて、書けっこない。
There's no way I can write a hundred-page report in one night.
この渋滞じゃ、八時の新幹線に 間に合いっこない。
With this traffic, there's no way we'll make the eight o'clock bullet train.
いくら頼んでも、父は 許してくれっこないよ。
No matter how much I ask, my father will never let me.
Notes
It attaches to the ます-stem: わかりっこない and できっこない, not わかるっこない. Because it is casual, avoid it in writing or when speaking to superiors.
Related grammar
Mini quiz
1「この荷物、一人で運べる？」
「こんなに重いの、一人じゃ（ ）よ。」
Answer and explanation
Answer: 3 運びっこない
"Can you carry this by yourself?" "Something this heavy? There's no way I could carry it alone." っこない attaches to the ます-stem; the stem of 運ぶ is 運び, so 運びっこない is correct. The ない-form, dictionary form, and た-form cannot take っこない.
2彼女はとても真面目だから、約束の時間に（ ）。
Answer and explanation
Answer: 2 遅れっこない
"She is very serious, so there's no way she'll be late." 遅れかねない means she might be late, which contradicts 真面目だから. The other two do not fit the meaning.
3彼の気持ちなんて、私に（ ）よ。
Answer and explanation
Answer: 1 わかりっこない
"There's no way I could understand how he feels." Use the ます-stem わかり + っこない. The form っこある does not exist.
