Noun たりとも～ない
~tari tomo ~nai
JLPT N1 Very formal, literary
Formation
Noun + たりとも + Negative Verb
Used to show a strong negative: 'not even ~', 'not a single ~'.
When to use
Formal, literary "not even a single..." - absolute negation, emphatic.
Explanation
「Noun + たりとも + Negative Verb」expresses a strong negation such as 'not even one', 'not even once', or 'none at all'.
Example sentences
-
Don’t waste even a single minute.
Ippun tari tomo muda ni suru na.
-
He doesn't speak even a single word.
Kare wa hitokoto tari tomo hanasanai.
-
She has never seen that movie, not even once.
Kanojo wa ichido tari tomo sono eiga o mita koto ga nai.
-
I don't have even a single picture of it.
Watashi wa ichimai tari tomo sono shashin o motte inai.
Emphasis (Even)
- ～まで〜madeN4Indicates extent, 'until', 'up to', 'as far as', 'even'.
- ～さえ～saeN3Emphasizes a specific item or action; 'even', 'if only'…
- ～てまで〜te madeN2Express the extent someone goes in order to achieve…
- Noun ですら~desuraN1Means 'even', 'as much as', used for emphasis in formal…
- Noun にすら〜ni suraN1Expresses the concept of 'even'; 'even in', 'even as'…
- ～まで～て〜made 〜teN2Express doing something until a certain time or condition…
- Noun にもまして〜ni mo mashiteN1This expresses 'Even more than; exceeding'.
Corpus examples (11)
-
Waste not a single grain of rice!
-
I can't afford to waste a single yen.
-
She simply cannot keep her mouth shut, not even for a second.
-
Do not stay away from English, even for a day.
彼は一日たりとも自分のしたことを後悔せずに過ごした日はなかった。
Not a day passed by but he regretted what he had done.
人を殺したり怪我を負わせたりしたことなど一度たりともありません。
I have never killed nor injured anybody.
-
Let no one appropriate a common benefit.
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I cannot do without this dictionary even for a single day.
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He makes a religion of never wasting a penny.
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We can't even live for a day without water.
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He can't go without wine for even a day.