わけがないthere's no way
You rule something out flat: it isn't so, and it couldn't be. In conversation it shortens to わけない.
There is no way he would believe a story like that.
There's no way it will all get done in such a short time.
How to form it
Plain form + わけがない
A な-adjective or a noun takes な: 簡単なわけがない, 本物なわけがない. Polite: わけがありません. わけはない means the same.
- Before it
- The idea you are ruling out. Very often a "can" form: できるわけがない, 勝てるわけがない, わかるわけがない.
- Tone
- Certain, often heated. Said back to someone, it brushes their idea aside, and it stays blunt even as わけがありません.
In use
There is no way you can win without having practiced even once.
It's this cheap, so there's no way it's the real thing.
There is no way she would get angry for no reason.
I hear Tanaka is quitting the company.
No way. He only just became section chief last month.
そんなわけない, "no way", is the reply you will hear most.
After a negative: a strong yes
Rule out "he didn't know", and what is left is "he must have known".
After all that explanation, there is no way he did not know.
The four わけ
Four endings are built on わけ, the reason behind something, and they mean quite different things.
わけだN3
"So that's why", "no wonder", "which means": it all adds up.
The window is open. No wonder it's cold.
わけではないN3
"It's not that…", "not exactly": it takes back a conclusion without saying the opposite.
This job is not exactly easy, but it is rewarding.
わけにはいかないN3
"I can't very well…": you could, but duty, manners or your position stop you. After a negative, "I can't very well not": you have to.
My staff are still working, so I can't very well be the only one to go home.
Close neighbours
はずがないN4
Much the same. It reasons from what you know, such as a schedule; わけがない often has more feeling in it.
If this train is a local, there is no way it gets there by ten.
っこないN3
Casual, on a verb's ます-stem: "no way anyone could".
There's no way I can do a problem like that.
まさかN3
"Surely not", for what you can hardly believe. As a reply, そんなわけない says the news can't be right; まさか！ is a cry of disbelief.
What? No way!
Said back to the same news: Tanaka is quitting.
Check yourself
1What is B saying?
A
Choose an answer to see why.
2What does this mean?
彼女が
Choose an answer to see why.
More sentences
There is no way he would forget his promise.
There is no way everything will fit in this small box.
There is no way that cautious person decided without checking.
There is no way anyone could understand everything after reading the explanation only once.
There's no way such a big problem will be solved in one day.