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Grammar detail: わけではない

JLPT:

わけではない - ~ is not (the reason), ~ doesn't mean (that)

My current mastery of this grammar:

ではない means 'is not', and わけ can mean either 'reason' or 'expected result', together わけ + ではない means 'is not the reason', 'doesn't mean that', 'is not the situation', or 'is not the expected result'.

の

えを

たとしても、カンニングをしたわけではない。
Just because I looked at his paper doesn't mean I was cheating.

As this example shows, the phrase is often used when expressing something contrary to what the speaker thinks the listener believes.

ふざけて

しただけだよ。

のことが

いなわけではないよ。
I was only messing around when I tricked you. It doesn't mean that I hate you.

この

はページが

いけれども、

しいわけではない。
This book has many pages, but that doesn't mean it's difficult.

As here, the phrase often carries the implication that something is not necessarily the case.

One common variation is to replace the は with も, for わけでもない. も is a particle which is used to enumerate a list of options, and so using it here adds the implication that, in addition to this reason not being the case, there are other reasons/situations that are also not the case. Here's an example that neatly illustrates the difference:

して

れたわけ？
Are you late because you slept in?

DETAILS

そういうわけではない。
No, that's not it.

じゃ、

でもあるわけ？
Well, is something troubling you?

DETAILS

いや、そういうわけでもない。
No, it's not that either.

In this expression, as is usually the case when で and は appear together, they can be replaced with the slightly less formal じゃ with no change in meaning. Similarly, the ない can become the slightly more formal ありません. These variations can be combined, so in fact you may encounter any of four variations of this phrase: わけではない, わけじゃない, わけではありません and わけじゃありません。

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