ないことはない details
write + not + it's not that you can't do
kakanai koto wa nai
it's not that you can't do; possible after all, if reluctantly
meaning: can write after all
忙しいけど、手伝わないことはないよ。
isogashii kedo, tetsudawanai koto wa nai yo.
I'm busy, but I can help after all. casual
予算的に厳しいが、妥協しないことはない。
yosanteki ni kibishii ga, dakyoushinai koto wa nai.
Budget-wise it's tight, but we can compromise after all. neutral
- colloquial
- formal
- past
- polite
Examples
it's not that you can't; possible after all — a grudging concession of possibility, via double negative
忙しいけど、手伝わないことはないよ。
isogashii kedo, tetsudawanaikotohanai yo.
I'm busy, but I can help after all. casual
予算的に厳しいが、妥協しないことはない。
yosanteki ni kibishii ga, dakyoushinaikotohanai.
Budget-wise it's tight, but we can compromise after all. neutral
ご要望に応じないことはございませんが、多少お時間をいただきます。
go youbou ni oujinai koto wa gozaimasen ga, tashou o jikan o itadakimasu.
It's not that we cannot accommodate your request, but it will take some time. formal
Formation
{V-nai}ことはないattaches to ない-form
Variant notes
- ないこともない — は→も softens the concession further into a hedge — "not entirely unable to," common in casual speech.
- ないことはございません — ある keigos to ございます, for a grudging concession in service or business language.
Notes
implies a but (budget, mood, difficulty) even when left unspoken. Never
confuse with 〜ことはない (see lookalike), which negates necessity instead.
Related patterns
Similar
ことができる states plain ability with no editorializing; ないことはない hedges the same possibility as a grudging concession, implying reluctance or difficulty that ことができる never signals.
Lookalikes
One ない apart with opposite logic — ことはない says an act is UNNECESSARY ("no need to"), while ないことはない is litotes for POSSIBILITY ("it's not that you can't") — skimming past the extra ない swaps "don't need to" for "can, grudgingly."
Same meaning
it's not that X can't; possible after all
no other patterns in this meaning class yet