Meaning & usage
ないまでも softens a strong description by saying something falls short of that extreme but comes close to it. It follows a negative predicate, most often in the set patterns とは言わないまでも and とは言えないまでも placed before a milder description. The contrastive は inside those patterns is required and cannot be omitted. The pattern belongs to formal written style and often pairs a blunt word like 太っている with a softer one like 大柄だ.
Example sentences 5
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昨晩は、寒いとはいわないまでも涼しかった。
It was cool, not to say cold last night.
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彼女は太っているとはいえないまでも大柄な人だ。
She is large, not to say fat.
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彼は過激とは言わないまでも非常に進歩的だ。
He is very progressive, not to say radical.
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彼はけちとは言わないまでも倹約家だ。
He is thrifty, not to say stingy.
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君のレポートは、優秀とは言えないまでもかなりよい。
Your report is pretty good, if not excellent.
In past JLPT papers
This came up in 4 past exam questions.
