<entry id="2095126" stat="A" corpus="jmdict" type="jmdict">
<ent_corp type="jmdict">jmdict</ent_corp>
<ent_seq>1012200</ent_seq>
<k_ele>
<keb>儘ならない</keb>
</k_ele>
<k_ele>
<keb>侭ならない</keb>
</k_ele>
<r_ele>
<reb>ままならない</reb>
</r_ele>
<sense>
<pos>&exp;</pos>
<pos>&adj-i;</pos>
<xref type="see" seq="1012190">ままならぬ</xref>
<misc>&uk;</misc>
<gloss>unable to do (as one wishes)</gloss>
<gloss>able to do only with great effort</gloss>
<gloss>almost impossible to do</gloss>
<gloss>beyond one's control</gloss>
<gloss>not always turning out as one wishes</gloss>
<gloss>not going the way one wants it to</gloss>
</sense>
<info>
<audit time="2012-02-23 14:04:33" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_name>Nils Roland Barth</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_detl>* Add alt. kanji 侭ならない (as per 侭ならぬ)
* Add link to alt form ままならぬ
(read in textbook)</upd_detl>
<upd_refs>6,670,000 ままならない
  115,000 儘ならない
   28,700 侭ならない</upd_refs>
<upd_diff>@@ -6,0 +6,3 @@
+&lt;/k_ele&gt;
+&lt;k_ele&gt;
+&lt;keb&gt;侭ならない&lt;/keb&gt;
@@ -12,0 +15,2 @@
+&lt;xref type="see" seq="1012190"&gt;ままならぬ&lt;/xref&gt;
+&lt;xref type="see" seq="1012190"&gt;ままならぬ&lt;/xref&gt;</upd_diff>
</audit>
<audit time="2012-02-23 17:14:44" stat="A">
<upd_uid>rene</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Rene Malenfant</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_detl>itaiji</upd_detl>
</audit>
<audit time="2020-05-12 12:24:26" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_uid>robin1354</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Robin Scott</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_detl>Aligning.</upd_detl>
<upd_refs>daijr</upd_refs>
<upd_diff>@@ -13,0 +14 @@
+&lt;pos&gt;&amp;exp;&lt;/pos&gt;
@@ -17 +18,4 @@
-&lt;gloss&gt;unable to have one's way with&lt;/gloss&gt;
+&lt;gloss&gt;beyond one's control&lt;/gloss&gt;
+&lt;gloss&gt;not always turning out as one wishes&lt;/gloss&gt;
+&lt;gloss&gt;not going the way one wants it to&lt;/gloss&gt;
+&lt;gloss&gt;unable to do (as one wishes)&lt;/gloss&gt;</upd_diff>
</audit>
<audit time="2020-05-12 12:33:45" stat="A">
<upd_uid>jwb</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Jim Breen</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
</audit>
<audit time="2021-02-17 17:45:20" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_detl>I know this is used in maxims such as 人生はままならない but the phrase is used in much more mundane contexts too such as this quote from A dog of Flanders:

ジェハンじいさんは自分一人で食べていくことすらままならない状態でした。
The old man could ill contrive to support himself

And this quote from Fate/Stay Night:
息をする事さえままならない体で、ぼんやりと空を眺めていた。
He was looking idly up at the sky though he could breathe only with great effort.

And this examlpe from Daijisen:
多忙でデートもままならぬ unable to go on dates due to being too busy

And many others that were linked above.

And I think that these 3 glosses "beyond one's control; not always turning out as one wishes; not going the way one wants it to" (Good for the maxims) are distracting from this meaning. It is only the "unable to do" gloss that fits this arguably very common mundane use.

So in the light of this I propose moving that gloss up, and adding 2 more.</upd_detl>
<upd_refs>https://ejje.weblio.jp/sentence/content/%22%E3%81%BE%E3%81%BE%E3%81%AA%E3%82%89%E3%81%AA%22
http://yourei.jp/%E3%81%BE%E3%81%BE%E3%81%AA%E3%82%89%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84
https://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E3%81%BE%E3%81%BE%E3%81%AA%E3%82%89</upd_refs>
<upd_diff>@@ -17,0 +18,3 @@
+&lt;gloss&gt;unable to do (as one wishes)&lt;/gloss&gt;
+&lt;gloss&gt;able to do only with great effort&lt;/gloss&gt;
+&lt;gloss&gt;almost impossible to do&lt;/gloss&gt;
@@ -21 +23,0 @@
-&lt;gloss&gt;unable to do (as one wishes)&lt;/gloss&gt;</upd_diff>
</audit>
<audit time="2021-03-03 04:26:34" stat="A">
<upd_uid>jwb</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Jim Breen</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
</audit>
</info>
</entry>