Wednesday, March 29, 2017

word choice - What is the difference between 「はずがない」 and 「わけが ない」?


I know the following two sentences give implication that "not expecting me to understand (it)" but I have a feeling that they give different nuances that I just can't put my finger on:




それは分{わ}かるわけがないでしょう。 sore wa wakaru wake ga nai deshou.


それは分{わ}かるはずがないでしょう。 sore wa wakaru hazu ga nai deshou.



Would someone explain what is the difference of the two sentences, and also how to choose between using はず and わけ?



Answer



disclaimer: not a native speaker


I think 'wake' implies that things happened as expected, where as 'hazu' implies that what happened is not what was expected.


Or, 'wake' is a bit more neutral, a "matter of fact", where as 'hazu' is more of a personal opinion/subjective kind of thing.


This is how I would understand the difference:




それは分かるわけがないでしょう。 sore ha wakaru wake ga nai deshou.



You're not meant to understand this .. it's normal.



それは分かるはずがないでしょう。 sore ha wakaru hazu ga nai deshou.



I see no reason you could understand this .. so what's going on?


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