Please teach me the difference between “そうではない” and “そうでもない”.

Mx. m

Please tell me the difference between “そうではない” and “そうでもない”.

Answer that was chosen as the BEST ANSWER

Mx. k

You use “そうではない” when you negate the other party’s opinion or method. It is an expression where you completely object to them.

e.g…. 「失業するのは、本人にやる気がないからだ」[1] 「そうではないよ. この不況のせいだ」[2]

(To a person who is composing a document) 「そうではない、ここは改行して一段下げるのだ」[3]

You use “そうでもない” when you express “I do not completely agree”, “There are also different opinions” or “It is not to that degree” about the other party’s opinion. It is a manner of speaking where you partially object to them.

e.g…. 「失業するのは、本人にやる気がないからだ」[1] 「そうでもないよ. やる気があっても、この不況では仕事がなくなることもある」[4]

「Ａさん、失業して困っているだろうなあ」[5] 「そうでもないよ. もともと裕福な家なので、のんびり好きなことをしているみたいだ」[6]

[1] “Losing their job is because there is no motivation in the person in question.” [2] “It is not so, I tell you. It’s because of this recession.” [3] “On the contrary, it is that you start a new paragraph and bring it down a column here.” [4] “Not really. Even if there is motivation, there will also be times when jobs disappear in this recession.” [5] “Mx. A'll lose their job and be in trouble, I should say.” [6] “Not really. Because they are originally a rich family, it seems that they'll be doing what they like at their leisure.”

Answer other than the BEST ANSWER

Mx. i

“そうではない” → Complete negation “そうでもない” → Negation of the negation (Because it is an inverse of the inverse, an affirmation)

Source

 * https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1329780083

Other Language

 * 「そうではない」「そうでもない」の違いを教えてください.