GrammarJLPT N5
→ is not ... either
Is Not … Either / Neither … Nor
JLPT N5Fixed phraseNeutral
でもない is used to negate something while implying that other things have already been negated or are also not the case, giving it the meaning of "is not … either" or "neither … nor." It is formed by attaching でもない to a noun, where で is the copula だ in its conjunctive form, も is the inclusive particle meaning "also/even," and ない is the negation. This distinguishes it from ではない, which is a straightforward negation ("is not X"), whereas でもない adds the nuance that X is not the case in addition to something else not being the case. It frequently appears in the paired pattern AでもなければBでもない ("neither A nor B"), but it can also stand alone when context makes the "either" implication clear. The expression belongs to a neutral register and is common in both spoken and written Japanese.
Functions
#1 Negation with 'either' nuance
Structure
Noun + でもない
あの人は友達でもない。
Here でもない is attached to the noun 友達 to say that the person is not a friend, with the particle も implying that other relationships (family, coworker, etc.) have also been ruled out or are also not the case. The speaker is adding another negation on top of what has already been stated or implied in context, producing the sense of "not … either."That person isn't my friend, either.
Structures
- Noun
- Noun + でもない
- Neither … nor …
- Noun A + でもなければ + Noun B + でもない
Common mistakes
A common error is confusing でもない with ではない. While both negate nouns, ではない is a simple "is not X," whereas でもない carries the added nuance of "not even X" or "not X either," so substituting one for the other changes the meaning. Another mistake is trying to use でもない directly after verbs or adjectives; this pattern attaches to nouns (or noun-like expressions), not to verb plain forms. Learners also sometimes forget that in the "neither … nor" construction, the first clause should use でもなければ (not simply でもない twice), as the conditional form is needed to link the two negated items grammatically. Finally, some learners confuse でもない with わけでもない, which carries a softer, more hedging tone of "it's not that …" rather than a flat additional negation.
Related
ではないでもなければ～でもないもないわけでもないというわけではないでもなんでもない