Hard to bring oneself to 〜がたい

Meaning

"Hard to ~", "impossible to bring oneself to ~".

Formation

[verb ます-stem] + がたい

Notes

Psychological impossibility rather than practical difficulty — 信じがたい, 想像しがたい, 忘れがたい. It combines only with a small set of verbs of perception and judgement; for everyday difficulty use にくい.

Examples

彼（かれ）の話（はなし）は信（しん）じがたいです。

His story is hard to believe.

Breakdown

はなし話 story しんじがたい信じがたい hard to believe

忘（わす）れがたい思い出（おもいで）になりました。

It became an unforgettable memory.

Breakdown

わすれがたい忘れがたい hard to forget おもいで思い出 memory になりました became

その結果（けっか）は想像（そうぞう）しがたいものでした。

The outcome was hard to imagine.

Breakdown

けっか結果 outcome そうぞうしがたい想像しがたい hard to imagine

彼（かれ）の態度（たいど）は理解（りかい）しがたいです。

His attitude is hard to understand.

Breakdown

たいど態度 attitude りかいしがたい理解しがたい hard to understand

これは動（うご）かしがたい事実（じじつ）です。

This is an unshakeable fact.

Breakdown

うごかしがたい動かしがたい impossible to shift じじつ事実 fact

⚠️ Often confused with

〜やすい

Easy to 〜やすい

"Easy to ~", "tends to ~". Attaches to a verb stem and turns the whole thing into an i-adj...

〜にくい

Hard to 〜にくい

"Hard to ~", "does not easily ~". The opposite of 〜やすい.