日本語道場

Nihongo Dojo — N3 → N2

Grammar

N2

～に足りない

~ni tarinai

not worth, insufficient

When to use it

Use ～に足りない (also ～に足らない) in formal writing and stiff spoken registers to say that something does not merit a given action — it is not worth doing, or falls short of deserving it. It survives mainly in fixed collocations like 取るに足りない (trivial), 恐れるに足りない (nothing to fear), 論ずるに足りない (not worth debating), 信ずるに足りない (not credible). In ordinary business speech you would say ～する価値がない or ～する必要はない; reserve に足りない for reports, minutes, and written assessments.

Formation

  • Verbs: dictionary form + に足りない / に足らない — 取るに足りない、恐れるに足りない、論ずるに足りない。Classical bases survive in set forms: 恐るるに足らず、信ずるに足りない。
  • Negative-polite endings: に足りません / に足りないものだ / に足らぬ (highly literary).
  • i-adjectives · na-adjectives · nouns: do not attach directly. Nominalize with a verb first — 「問題と言うに足りない」「検討に足りる資料ではない」.
  • Note the contrast with affirmative ～に足る (worthy of): 信頼に足る取引先 / 一読に足る報告書.

Examples

  • It's a trivial discrepancy, so I'll leave it out of the report.

  • We concluded the competitor's new feature is nothing to fear.

  • Figures with no stated source are not worth trusting.

  • That change in terms doesn't warrant internal discussion.

  • His concern is by no means a trivial one.