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> 「どうせ誰も **いはしない** と高をくくっていたところもある。」

This one's throwing me for a bit of a loop. The translation says "He also
didn't really take the possibility of anyone being there seriously."

It makes sense to me except for the いはしない part. What does this mean?

I looked up い and saw that it can mean stomach, so my first thought was that
いはしない was perhaps some idiom like "not doing his stomach" that means "not
being there" but I can't find any evidence to justify that on the internet so
I have to assume it's wrong.
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2015-07-16T00:41:38.800
25727
2021-10-05T04:52:14.303
2019-11-25T08:50:35.417
10407
question
grammar particle-は renyōkei
Meaning of 誰もいはしない in this sentence
The sentence is _**not**_ about someone's stomach. If it were, 「い」 would have
certainly been written in kanji as 「胃{い}」. Besides, 「胃はしない」 makes no sense to
begin with.

> 「Verb in 連用形{れんようけい} (continuative form) + は + しない」
>
> = "would not (verb) one bit" ← rather emphatic

「い」 is the 連用形 of the verb 「いる」 ("to be", "to exist").

> 「誰{だれ}も **い** はしない」, therefore, means " _ **no one would be (there)**_ "

You will encounter this grammar pattern over and over. That I can guarantee.

Note that the 「は」 is occasionally replaced by a 「や」 in more informal speech.

I have noticed over the years that when the single-syllable 連用形 of some of the
two-syllable verbs (two in dictionary forms) is used in phrases and sentences,
quite a few Japanese-learners do not seem to even notice that they are
seeing/hearing a verb there. Verbs are too important to just not notice in any
language. Those verbs include:

「い」 for 「いる」

「し」 for 「する」

「き」 for 「来{く}る」 and 「着{き}る」

「み」 for 「見る」, etc.

「し」 is the one most often used and this website is indeed full of questions
regarding phrases containing it.
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2015-07-16T00:56:58.110
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2021-10-05T04:52:14.303
2021-10-05T04:52:14.303
25727
answer