ようとしない

The grammar pattern ～ようとしない expresses that someone refuses to try or makes no effort to do something. It carries a nuance of willful reluctance – the person could attempt the action but deliberately chooses not to. This often implies the speaker's frustration, disappointment, or criticism toward the subject's lack of effort.

The pattern is formed by combining the volitional form (ぼるとVきごう[よう]) with としない (the negative form of とする, meaning "to try to").

Distinction from ようとしなかった (past tense)

The past form ～ようとしなかった describes a situation where someone refused to try in the past.

Comparison with ～ない

Simply using the negative form of a verb (e.g. たべない食べない) states that someone doesn't do something. In contrast, ～ようとしない emphasizes that the person won't even try – there is a deliberate refusal or unwillingness involved.

Compare:

• べんきょう勉強しない – doesn't study (neutral statement)
• べんきょう勉強しようとしない – won't even try to study (implies frustration at their unwillingness)

Important note on subject

Because this pattern describes someone's willful refusal, it is almost always used to talk about other people (third person). Using it about yourself would sound unnatural in most contexts, since you would normally just say you don't want to do something.

Contrast with ～ようとする

The affirmative ようとする describes someone attempting an action, so ～ようとしない is its direct negation: the person will not even make the attempt.