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なくもない details

write + it's not that one doesn't

kaka naku mo nai

it's not that one doesn't; sort of, up to a point

meaning: it's not that I don't write

かれぶんも、分からわからなくもない

kare no iibun mo, wakara naku mo nai.

As for his side of it, it's not that I don't understand. neutral

面倒めんどうだけど、たのまれれば手伝てつだわなくもないよ。

mendou da kedo, tanomarereba tetsudawanaku mo nai yo.

It's a hassle, but if you ask me, it's not like I wouldn't help. casual

  • alternant
  • literary
  • literary
  • past
  • polite

Examples

it's not that one doesn't — a hedged, partial yes reached by cancelling a negative

かれぶんも、からなくもない。

kare no iibun mo, wakaranakumonai.

As for his side of it, it's not that I don't understand. neutral

面倒めんどうだけど、たのまれれば手伝てつだわなくもないよ。

mendou da kedo, tanomarereba tetsudawanaku mo nai yo.

It's a hassle, but if you ask me, it's not like I wouldn't help. casual

提案ていあん趣旨しゅし理解りかいできなくもありませんが、時期尚早じきしょうそうかとぞんじます。

go teian no shushi wa rikai dekinaku mo arimasen ga, jikishousou ka to zonjimasu.

It is not that I fail to see the point of your proposal, but I believe it premature. formal

Formation

Variant notes

Notes

The two negatives cancel to a YES, never a no: かなくもない means the
speaker might well go. The hedge is in how far — never in whether.

Related patterns

Similar

  • Both are double negatives conceding a grudging yes, but they answer different questions — ないことはない concedes FEASIBILITY ("can you?" — "well, I can"), while なくもない concedes DEGREE, hedging how far the speaker agrees or is willing.

Lookalikes

  • One て apart and both opening 〜なく — なくてもいい releases you from the act (かなくてもいい, you needn't go), なくもない half-commits you to it (かなくもない, I might well go after all).

Same meaning

it's not that X can't; possible after all

PatternAttaches to
ないことはない