A2 Japanese Grammar || Can’t Help But… in Japanese
Today we will study a very useful component of the language, how to say “can’t help but…” in Japanese.
There is several ways to express this, so make sure to read attentively for the nuances of each way.
This can be a little confusing in Japanese, but by the end of this article you should be able to express yourself with ease.
Can’t Help But in Japanese | Can’t help but..
Can’t Help But in Japanese | Have no choice but to..
Can’t Help But in Japanese | Can’t help but feel..
Can’t Help But in Japanese | I can’t bear…
Can’t Help But in Japanese | Can’t help but (Formal)
Can’t Help But in Japanese | Which one to use?
Can’t Help But in Japanese | FAQ’s
Can’t Help But in Japanese | ずにはいられない (zu ni ha irarenai)
This means “can’t help but…”. Simply:
- take the ない nai form of a verb,
- take off the ない nai,
- stick on ずにはいられない zu ni ha irarenai
- and you’re there!
The ず zu form is used in writing, but in speaking we’d say ないではいられない nai de ha irarenai.
For example:
| 食べる taberu (to eat) | 食べない tabenai | 食べずにはいられない tabezu ni ha irarenai |
| 泣く naku (to cry) | 泣かない nakanai | 泣かずにはいられない nakazu ni ha irarenai |
| する suru (to do) | しない shinai | せずにはいられない sezu ni ha irarenai |
NOTE || する suru is often different in verb conjugations. Here, it turns into せずにはいられない (sezu ni ha irarenai) rather than しずにはいられない (shizu ni ha irarenai).
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| 子供を気の毒に思わずにはいられなかったのだ。 | Kodomo wo ki no doku ni omowazu ni ha irarenakatta no da. | I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the children. |
| その様子にいらだちを覚えずにはいられなかった | Sono yousu ni iradachi wo oboezu ni ha irarenakatta. | I couldn’t help but feel annoyed at the situation. |
| これは泣かずにはいられない美しい歌です。 | Kore ha nakazu ni ha irarenai utsukushii uta desu. | This song is so beautiful It’ll make you cry. (Direct translation: The song is so beautiful you can’t help but cry.) |
When translating between Japanese and English, there are often times that you use grammar points slightly differently. Take a good look at the examples to get a general feel of how to use this.
Can’t Help But in Japanese | ざるを得ない (zaru wo enai)
This one is closer to “have no choice but to…”
This expressed obligations more than things you voluntarily want to do. To make it:
- take the ない nai form of a verb,
- take off the ない nai
- stick on ざるを得ない zaru wo enai
- and you’re there!
For example:
| 食べる taberu (to eat) | 食べない tabenai | 食べざるを得ない tabe zaru wo enai |
| 泣く naku (to cry) | 泣かない nakanai | 泣かざるを得ない naka zaru wo enai |
| する suru (to do) | しない shinai | せざるを得ない se zaru wo enai |
Let’s check some examples:
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| いやな仕事でも子供たちのためにはつづけざるを得ない。 | Iya na shigoto demo kodomotachi no tame ni ha tsudzuke zaru wo enai. | Even if it’s work you don’t like, you have to carry on for your children’s sake. |
| お爺さんが急に入院したので、旅行をキャンセルせざるを得ない。 | Ojiisan ga kyuu ni nyuuin shita node iku no wo kyanseru se zaru wo enai. | My grandfather was suddenly hospitalised so I had no choice but to cancel the trip. |
| パフォーマンスをしたいのはわかるが、このびょうじょうでは、えんきせざるをえないだろう。 | Pafo-mansu wo shitai no ha wakaru ga kono byoujyou de ha enki se zaru wo enai da rou. | I get that you want to do the performance but you have no chance but to postpone with your current medical condition! |
Can’t Help But in Japanese | てならない (te naranai)
This one is used mostly to express how you “can’t help but feel …” or that you’re “extremely (emotion)”.
It’s also used to express you “can’t help but do…” It can be used with verbs or adjectives.
- For verbs, take the て te form and add てならない te naranai.
- For な na adjectives just add でならない de naranai.
- For i adjectives, take the て te form and add てならない te naranai. This isn’t used in speaking, just writing.
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| イギリスで生活した時、不安でならなかった。 | Igirisu de seikatsu shita toki, fuan de naranakatta. | I was so nervous when I lived abroad. (I couldn’t help but feel nervous when I lived abroad.) |
| あの二人はどうして喧嘩したのか、知りたくてならない。 | Ano futari ha doushite kenka shita no ka, shiritakute naranai. | I can’t help but want to know why those two were fighting. |
| 妹の結婚式に出席できないのが残念でならない。 | Imouto no kekkon shiki ni shusseki dekinai no ga zannen de naranai. | I’m so disappointed I can’t go to my sister’s wedding. (I can’t help but be disappointed that I can’t go to my sister’s wedding.) |
Can’t Help But in Japanese | てたまらない (te tamaranai)
This one is formed in the same way as てならない te naranai.
- For i-adjectives it’s てたまらない te tamaranai
- For na-adjectives it becomes でたまらない de tamaranai
- For verbs do just use the て te form and add the ending
This one has more of an “I’m at breaking point with …” compared to てならない te naranai because 堪る tamaru means to bear something. Saying てたまらない te tamaranai literally means “I can’t bear …”
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| 彼氏に会いたくてたまらない。 | Kareshi ni aitakute tamaranai. | I want to see my boyfriend so damn bad. |
| 北海道の冬は寒すぎてたまらない。 | Hokkaido no fuyu ha samu sugite tamaranai. | I can’t stand Hokkaido’s cold winters. |
| ママのこと心配でたまらない。 | Mama no koto shinpai de tamaranai. | I’m so worried about my mom. |
Can’t Help But in Japanese | てしょうがない (te shouganai)
This one is formed in the same way as てならない te naranai.
てしょうがない te shouganai and て仕方がない te shikataganai (more formal) are interchangeable and both mean “can’t help but” or “extremely”.
This one is used to talk about things that are out of the control of the speaker or a natural feeling.
A few examples:
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| わたしはそれがきになってしょうがない。 | Watashi ha sore ga ki ni natte shouganai. | I can’t help but think about that. |
| チケットをくれて、嬉しくてしょうがない。 | Chiketto wo kurete, ureshikute shouganai | I so happy I was given a ticket! |
| 車で行くのは、時間がかかってしょうがない。 | Kuruma de iku no ha, jikan ga kakatte shouganai. | Going by car takes more time, but it can’t be helped. |
Which One Should You Use?
The latter 3 examples are all incredibly similar and to be honest, you could use them interchangeably and people wouldn’t think you were terrible at Japanese. But for those of you that are very interested, the slight nuance difference is below.
| Example | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 会いたくてならない aitakute naranai | I want to see you so bad and the feeling is taking over me. | This is cold and wouldn’t be used if you were talking to, for example, a partner. (Reached the state of x nuance) |
| 会いたくてたまらない aitakute tamaranai | I want to see you so bad, I can hardly bear it. I love you so much! | Self-control related nuance |
| 会いたくてしょうがない aitakute shouganai | I want to see you so bad, but I know that there’s nothing we can do about it. | Hopelessness nuance |
I know those examples are very ambiguous and that’s because the nuance is hard to define.
For context, I got a Junior High School Japanese teacher to try and explain the nuance and he couldn’t; he even got other teachers involved and not one Japanese person in the room could explain a tangible nuance difference. So, I wouldn’t worry about them too much for now. Just enjoy using them interchangeably.
And that’s it! You now know several ways to express “can’t wait but” in Japanese.
To sum up:
- ざるを得ない (written and spoken): express obligations of things you didn’t choose to have to do. Somewhat formal.
- ずにはいられない (written only): expresses something you can’t help but do. This one is quite neutral. Remember, it’s ないではいられない when speaking.
- てならない (written) / てたまらない (written and spoken) /てしょうがない (written and spoken): Can all be used for verbs and adjectives and express “I can’t help but”/”I feel extremely…” There’s a nuance difference but it’s very hard to distinguish so for now just explore using them interchangeably.
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Can’t Help But… in Japanese | FAQ’s
How to express can’t help but in Japanese?
ずにはいられない (zu ni ha irarenai) means can’t help but in Japanese.
Simply:
– take the ない nai form of a verb,
– take off the ない nai,
– stick on ずにはいられない zu ni ha irarenai
– and you’re there!
The ず zu form is used in writing, but in speaking we’d say ないではいられない nai de ha irarenai.
Examples:
子供を気の毒に思わずにはいられなかったのだ。
Kodomo wo ki no doku ni omowazu ni ha irarenakatta no da.
I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the children.
How to express have no choice but to in Japanese?
ざるを得ない (zaru wo enai) means have no choice but to in Japanese.
This expressed obligations more than things you voluntarily want to do. To make it:
– take the ない nai form of a verb,
– take off the ない nai
– stick on ざるを得ない zaru wo enai
and you’re there!
Example:
お爺さんが急に入院したので、旅行をキャンセルせざるを得ない。
Ojiisan ga kyuu ni nyuuin shita node iku no wo kyanseru se zaru wo enai.
My grandfather was suddenly hospitalised so I had no choice but to cancel the trip.
How to express can’t help but feel in Japanese?
てならない (te naranai) is used mostly to express how you “can’t help but feel …” or that you’re “extremely (emotion)”.
It’s also used to express you “can’t help but do…” It can be used with verbs or adjectives.
– For verbs, take the て te form and add てならない te naranai.
– For な na adjectives just add でならない de naranai.
– For i adjectives, take the て te form and add てならない te naranai. This isn’t used in speaking, just writing.
Example:
イギリスで生活した時、不安でならなかった。
Igirisu de seikatsu shita toki, fuan de naranakatta.
I was so nervous when I lived abroad.
(I couldn’t help but feel nervous when I lived abroad.)
What is the Japanese possession particle?
Th Japanese possession particle is の (no).
We add the particle の to show the possession of something. It is like adding ‘s to the end of a word.
彼の帽子 kare no boushi | His hat
犬の毛 inu no ke | Dog’s fur
What are the Japanese location particles?
The Japanese location particles are に ni and で de.
に is used for the state of existing or being somewhere.
に is also used for time, helping set the scene of a verb.
で is used to mark the location of an action.
Where to learn more Japanese grammar?
You can learn more grammar like this in our Japanese Grammar Bank.
If you’d like to study with a teacher, you should have a look at our online lessons on Flexi Classes (we even have a 7 day free trial!)
Would you rather study Japanese in Japan? We offer group and individual classes in Tokyo.