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わけではない (wakedehanai)

It is not the case that; not always so

Meaning & usage

わけではない denies a conclusion or weakens a claim to mean it is not the case that something holds. It is often used to correct a misunderstanding or to show that something is not always true, as in 高い店がおいしいわけではない. It follows the plain form, such as する, しない, した, i-adjectives like 高い, na-adjectives with な like 静かな, and nouns with である or だ, as in 学生であるわけではない. The tone is explanatory and neutral, and care is needed to keep the negation on わけ rather than making the predicate itself fully negative.

Example sentences 6

In past JLPT papers

This came up in 7 past exam questions.

And 3 more tests.

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