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Last Updated :2026/07/25

しょうがない

Kanji
仕様がない
Hepburn romanization
Pitch accent
Adjective
of a task or probability of an event of a person

(of a task or probability) of no use, impossible; hopeless, doomed, screwed / (of an event) unavoidable, inevitable / (of a person) impossible or difficult (to deal with)

With only 10 minutes left until the deadline, it's impossible to fix everything from now.

Word Forms

The basic and commonly used forms of this adjective.

Basic forms
Form Word form Usage
Imperfective form (mizenkei)
Alternative: 仕様がなかろ しようがなかろ
Used in forms such as karou; mainly literary.
Continuative form (renyokei)
Alternative: 仕様がなく しようがなく しょうがなかっ 仕様がなかっ しようがなかっ
Used in forms such as kute and kunai.
Conclusive form (shushikei)
Alternative: 仕様がない しようがない
Ends a sentence.
Attributive form (rentaikei)
Alternative: 仕様がない しようがない
Modifies a noun.
Conditional form (kateikei)
Alternative: 仕様がなけれ しようがなけれ
Expresses a condition with kereba.
Imperative form (meireikei)
Alternative: 仕様がなかれ しようがなかれ
Rarely used in modern Japanese.
Common forms
Form Word form Usage
Te-form
Alternative: 仕様がなくて しようがなくて
Connects clauses with kute.
Ta-form
Alternative: 仕様がなかった しようがなかった
Expresses the past with katta.
Nai-form
Alternative: 仕様がなくない しようがなくない
Expresses negation with kunai.
Ba-form
Alternative: 仕様がなければ しようがなければ しょうがなきゃ 仕様がなきゃ しようがなきゃ
Expresses a condition with kereba.
Notes
  • 「仕様がない」の仮名書きとして「しょうがない」が一般的。くだけた表記・発音として「しようがない」も用いられる。
  • 命令形「しょうがなかれ」は文語的・まれ。
  • 否定形「しょうがなくない」は形態上可能だが、意味・用法によっては不自然に感じられる場合がある。

Japanese - Multilingual

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