ではないか

ではないか
expression
isn't it?; surely ...; could it be that ...
formalgrammatical
1. isn't it?; surely ...; could it be that ...
A rhetorical question form used to press a point the speaker takes to be true, to voice a guess, or to register surprise at what one finds. It follows a plain-form clause or a noun, and expects agreement rather than information.
それでいいではないか。
Surely that's fine, isn't it?
彼(かれ)は何(なに)か隠(かく)しているのではないか。
Could it be that he's hiding something?
開(あ)けてみると、中(なか)には何(なに)も入(はい)っていないではないか。
I opened it, and what do you know — there was nothing inside.

Usage

Written and formal-sounding on its own; the everyday spoken equivalents are じゃないか and, more politely, ではありませんか / じゃないですか. With のではないか it becomes a hedged conjecture ("I suspect that ..."), the form most common in essays and reports.

Common patterns

Similar words

Related Words

Compare: じゃないか (the casual contraction, also used…)
Compare: でしょう (probably)
general
Added 2026.8.14 3:28 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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