N189/186

だに + しない

Noun + だに + しないPronoun/phrase + だに + しないVerb/phrase + だに + しない

Meanings

  • Not even
  • Not at all
  • Never could have

About this pattern

Explanation

だに emphasizes extreme contrast or impossibility by highlighting a small or obvious thing as a basis for the statement. When paired with しない, it expresses that not even that small, obvious thing is possible or done. It conveys a sense of astonishment or strong negative emphasis about one’s actions or outcomes. This pattern is often used in formal or literary contexts and tends to appear in spoken language with a touch of emphasis or irony. Typical contexts include criticizing someone for failing to do something that should be trivial, or describing something so unlikely that even the simplest example would not occur.

Learn in context

Example sentences

こんな簡単な課題だにしないとは、彼は本当に怠けているのか。

Not even such an easy task can he bring himself to do? Is he really being lazy?

子供だにできない人が大人になるなんて信じられない。

I can’t believe someone who can't even do something as easy as this becomes an adult.

そんなごく普通のことを忘れるだに、彼はどうしても思い出せない。

He won’t even remember something this ordinary; there’s no way he can recall it.