Meaning/Breakdown of 答えの出しようのない疑問


I saw this sentence in a book:

> そんな **答えの出しようのない疑問** を、おそらくこの場に集められたプレーヤー全員が考えたのだろう。

The fan translation I had reads:

> Most players who had been forced here would have been asking this **answer-
> less question**.

I am somewhat confused by the 出しよう part, what is this formed from? I have a
guess. I found a discussion about this in German on a
[forum](http://www.japanisch-
netzwerk.de/Thread-%E5%8A%9B%E3%81%AE%E5%87%BA%E3%81%97%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84%E3%82%82%E3%82%93%E3%81%AA).
Someone said:

> 力の出しようがない＝力を出せない:  
>  One is unable to bring their strength to bear (man kann seine Kraft nicht
> aufbieten)

That example made the expression しょうがない come to mind which I understand to
mean literally "there is no way of doing it".

If xしよう is "way of doing x", is x出しよう "way of 出すing x"? Or for the phrase in
the question title: "question for which there is no way of exposing the
answer".

Does verb stem + よう generally mean "way of doing [verb stem]?" It seems like
that's where this is headed but I'm not having much luck finding any
explanations to that effect on the web.




You're on the right track. [A
dictionary](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/226119/meaning/m0u/%E3%82%88%E3%81%86/)
specifically defines this usage of よう as:

> ６ **実現の可能性** の意を表す。「あの男がそんな悪いことをしようはずがない」

It's usually used in the form of `masu-stem + よう + が + ある` or `masu-stem + よう
+ が + ない`, which mean "there's a way of ～ing" or "there's no way of ～ing",
respectively.

So, yes, 答えの出しよう[の](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/12825/5010)ない疑問
literally means "question for which there is no way of giving the answer".
Simply put, an unanswerable question.

Other examples:

>   * 言いようのない不安 indescribable anxiety
>   * 忘れようのない事件 incident I can never forget
>   * 信じようがない説明 explanation I can never believe
>

There is another adjective し **ょ** うがない (≒there's no use ～ing), occasionally
also written as し **よ** うがない, but that's a different thing. 答えを出してもしょうがない疑問
would mean "a question which is not worth solving".

* * *

**EDIT** : I said しょうがない is different, but etymologically, the [i-adjective
しょうがない](http://jisho.org/search/%E3%81%97%E3%82%87%E3%81%86%E3%81%8C%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84)
(of no use, meaningless; can't be helped, nothing can't be done) is from `し +
よう + が + ない` (no way of doing anything). It won't be directly preceded by
another verb.




You're on the right track. [A
dictionary](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/226119/meaning/m0u/%E3%82%88%E3%81%86/)
specifically defines this usage of よう as:

> ６ **実現の可能性** の意を表す。「あの男がそんな悪いことをしようはずがない」

It's usually used in the form of `masu-stem + よう + が + ある` or `masu-stem + よう
+ が + ない`, which mean "there's a way of ～ing" or "there's no way of ～ing",
respectively.

So, yes, 答えの出しよう[の](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/12825/5010)ない疑問
literally means "question for which there is no way of giving the answer".
Simply put, an unanswerable question.

Other examples:

>   * 言いようのない不安 indescribable anxiety
>   * 忘れようのない事件 incident I can never forget
>   * 信じようがない説明 explanation I can never believe
>

There is another adjective し **ょ** うがない (≒there's no use ～ing), occasionally
also written as し **よ** うがない, but that's a different thing. 答えを出してもしょうがない疑問
would mean "a question which is not worth solving".

* * *

**EDIT** : I said しょうがない is different, but etymologically, the [i-adjective
しょうがない](http://jisho.org/search/%E3%81%97%E3%82%87%E3%81%86%E3%81%8C%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84)
(of no use, meaningless; can't be helped, nothing can't be done) is from `し +
よう + が + ない` (no way of doing anything). It won't be directly preceded by
another verb.

