がたい on a verb's ます-stem means "hard to do", in the sense that you can
hardly bring yourself to do it: believe it, forgive it, accept it. The
difficulty is in the mind, not in the hands. It is a written, formal word, and
the result is an い-adjective.
。
What she's saying is hard to believe.
。
His rudeness is all but unforgivable.
。
That proposal is hard to accept.
。
It became a memory I will never forget.
The verbs are mostly ones of thinking and feeling: ,
, , , , .
がたい, にくい or づらい
is the everyday "hard to do", for physical and mental difficulty
alike.
is hard because it is unpleasant for the person doing it.
がたい is close to "can't": the speaker can hardly do it at all, and it
belongs in writing and formal speech. For something physically awkward, only
にくい or づらい will do.
。
This pen is hard to write with.
。
These shoes are uncomfortable to walk in.
。
His behaviour is hard to understand.
- × このペンは書きがたい → このペンは書きにくい
Before a noun
As an い-adjective, がたい goes straight before a noun. Several of these are set
phrases.
。
The pain was unbearable.
。
That is an undeniable fact.
。
It was a rare and valuable experience for me.
, "grateful", began as
plus がたい: something hard to
come by.
Lingaku