The answer to this question eludes me


I quite like the expression "... eludes me" (or in French "... m'échappe"). I
can express this with something like 分からない, 理解できない but this is not faithful to
the expression "... eludes me".

Indeed, "... eludes me" describes something that you can't catch, the thing
itself try to not come close to you so as not to be caught. That is the thing
eludes you on its own. On the other hand, 理解できない or わからない only tells that you
can't understand but misses the nuance that the thing tries not to be caught.

Is there a word in Japanese that matches this nuance?




The first phrase that comes to mind is:

> 「ピンと[来]{こ}ない」

or

> 「いまいちピンと来ない」

At least those are natural-sounding phrases often used by native speakers (and
are less boring and far less dictionary-like than [理解]{りかい}できない or わからない).




The first phrase that comes to mind is:

> 「ピンと[来]{こ}ない」

or

> 「いまいちピンと来ない」

At least those are natural-sounding phrases often used by native speakers (and
are less boring and far less dictionary-like than [理解]{りかい}できない or わからない).

