少なくない | Grammar

Structure

[noun] + は/も/が + 少なくない [verb (plain)] + ことも + 少なくない

Description

少なくない is the negative of すくない少ない, "few", and means "quite a few", "not uncommon". The thing being counted takes は or も, often after a clause that describes it: "people who think so are not few".

。

Quite a few people think so.

。

Quite a few students struggle with this problem.

。

Earthquakes are not uncommon in this area.

It belongs to writing, news and formal speech. In conversation you would say おおい多い or けっこういる.

少なくない or 多い

says outright that there are many. 少なくない is more guarded: there are more than you might think, enough that they cannot be ignored. Reports and essays prefer it because it claims less.

。

There are also quite a few objections.

。

There are a lot of objections.

Usage notes

These go beyond counting people or things.

ことも少なくない

After a clause and ことも, it says something happens fairly often.

、。

I'm so busy that I quite often skip lunch.

Polite and past forms

少なくない is an い-adjective form. Its polite forms are すくなく少なくありません and すくなくないです少なくないです, and its past is すくなくなかった少なくなかった.

。

Quite a few young people feel anxious about living alone.

。

There were quite a few participants.

Examples

。

Quite a few people have that kind of experience.

。

Earthquakes are not uncommon in this area.

。

There are quite a few foreigners who study Japanese.

。

There are also quite a few students who make the same mistake.

。

There were not a few people who opposed it.

。

There is quite a lot of stress in this job.

。

Not a few young people feel anxious about living alone.

。

Quite a few writers were influenced by him.

。

Quite a few employees would probably agree with that plan.

、。

There are also quite a few issues, so we should think about it a bit more.

References

すくなくないBunpro