JLPT N1 · い-adjective

かなわない (kanawanai)

かなわない is a Japanese い-adjective meaning “no match for; cannot compete with”. It is usually written in kana. It appears in JLPT N1 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.

Reading: かなわない
Romaji: kanawanai
Word class: い-adjective
Level: JLPT N1 (unofficial)

Meaning

no match for; cannot compete with; not in the same league as; powerless against · い-adjective · usually written in kana
cannot stand; cannot bear; cannot put up with; unbearable; intolerable · い-adjective · usually written in kana · oft. after an adjective as 〜て(は)かなわない
unable to do; cannot do; impossible · い-adjective · usually written in kana, dated

Example sentences

料理ということになれば、誰もメアリーにはかなわない。

When it comes to cooking, no one can equal Mary.

Tatoeba #77941

料理では私は彼女にかなわない。

I am no match for her in cooking.

Tatoeba #77942

私は退屈でかなわない。

The boredom is unbearable.

Tatoeba #155232

Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.

Conjugation of かなわない

い-adjective. Plain and polite forms below; try any other word in the Japanese verb conjugator.

Form	Japanese	Reading
Present	かなわない	かなわない kanawanai
Negative	かなわなくない	かなわなくない kanawanakunai
Past	かなわなかった	かなわなかった kanawanakatta
Negative past	かなわなくなかった	かなわなくなかった kanawanakunakatta
Te-form	かなわなくて	かなわなくて kanawanakute
Adverb (~ku)	かなわなく	かなわなく kanawanaku
Conditional (~ba)	かなわなければ	かなわなければ kanawanakereba

Source: JMdict entry 1002950 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.