Lesson 20
Evaluation: worth it / can't bear it / too much
- 1 〜に足る ~ni taru worthy of ~ / enough to ~ 'Enough to trust', 'enough to convince' — a stiff way of judging that something meets the bar.
- 2 〜に値する ~ni atai suru deserves ~ / worth ~ 'Deserves praise', 'worth a read' — a stiff, written way of saying something has real value.
- 3 〜に堪えない ~ni taenai too awful to ~ / unbearable to ~ So bad you can't bear to watch, hear or read it — a harsh verdict on something outside you.
- 4 〜といったらない ~to ittara nai so ~ it's beyond words Cold, beauty, tiredness — so extreme that words fall short; a spoken form full of surprise.
- 5 〜にもほどがある ~ni mo hodo ga aru there's a limit to ~ / that's going too far Angry criticism when someone's behaviour crosses the line — 'there's a limit to this!'
- 6 〜ばきりがない ~ba kiri ga nai if you start ~, there's no end Complaints, worries, wants — start and they never end, so you have to stop somewhere.
- 7 〜とは ~to wa to think that ~! (surprise) 'I can't believe it!' at a fact you just learned — the second half is often left unsaid.
Lesson check
All 7 forms of this lesson together — pick the right one from its look-alikes, the way the exam does. 6/8 completes the lesson.
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「彼は、どんな仕事でも安心して任せる＿＿人物だ。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:'Good enough to entrust' + a noun after it.
任せるに足る人物 = a person worthy of being entrusted. 「にもほどがある」is criticism, 「といったらない」is amazement at a degree, 「ばきりがない」only follows the ば-form.
「人の悪口ばかりの彼の話は、聞く＿＿＿。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:Nothing but badmouthing — can you bear to listen?
聞くに堪えない = too awful to listen to. 「に値する」「に足る」= worth / worthy — the opposite of badmouthing; 「聞くとは」makes no sense here.
「夜中の三時に電話してくるなんて、非常識＿＿＿。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:Anger: 'you've crossed the line!'
非常識にもほどがある = there's a limit to inconsiderateness. 「に足る」「に値する」judge worth, and 「ばきりがない」only follows the ば-form.
「災害の時に地域の人を助けた彼の行動は、称賛＿＿＿。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:'Deserves praise' — stiff news language.
称賛に値する = deserves praise. 「称賛にもほどがある」and 「称賛といったらない」are not said, and 「ばきりがない」needs a ば-form.
「初めて見たヒマラヤの朝日の美しさ＿＿＿。」— to say 'beautiful beyond words'?
💡 Hint:The extreme degree of something good.
美しさといったらなかった = the beauty was beyond words. 「にもほどがある」is only criticism, 「に堪えない」is for awful things, 「に足らない」= not worth it.
「日本での生活の不満は、＿＿＿。でも、ここで頑張りたい。」— to say 'start listing complaints and there's no end'?
💡 Hint:A repeatable act + the ば-form.
言えばきりがない = start saying them and it never ends. 「言うに足る」= worth saying, 「言うとは」= to think one would say! (surprise), and 「言うに堪えない」= too awful to say — wrong meaning.
「まさか、あの真面目な彼が会社をやめる＿＿＿。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:「まさか」+ surprise, with the second half left out.
やめるとは = to think he would quit! 「に値する」「に足る」are judgements of worth, and 「ばきりがない」needs a ば-form.
「出どころが分からないその情報は、信頼＿＿ものではない。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:'Enough to trust' + a noun (もの), negative at the sentence end.
信頼に足るものではない = not something worthy of trust. 「とは」and 「にもほどがある」can't be followed by 「もの」here, and 「ばきりがない」needs a ば-form.
Your score: /8