modality N3 common casualpolitewritten
てしかたがない — can't help (feeling) ~
てしかたがない
Builds on て形
Meaning
- can't help ~ing / extremely ~ / ~ beyond control — a feeling or sensation the speaker can't suppress
Key sentence
朝から眠くてしかたがない。
I've been unbearably sleepy since this morning.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| い-adjective (drop い) + くて | Adj(−い) + くて + しかたがない | 退屈 → 退屈でしかたがない |
| な-adjective + で | な-adj + で + しかたがない | 心配 → 心配でしかたがない |
| Verb (たい-form / 〜て) | V-たくて + しかたがない | 知りたくてしかたがない |
Examples
彼のことが気になってしかたがない。
I can't stop thinking about him.
新しいスマホが欲しくてしかたがない。
I want the new phone so much I can't help it.
When you can't use it
- Like the other 'can't help' patterns, it centers on the speaker's own uncontrollable feeling, so it pairs with emotion/sensation/desire words, not deliberate actions. 'I can't help studying' (a chosen act) is not 勉強してしかたがない.
Easily confused with
〜てたまらない Very close in meaning. てたまらない leans toward a sharp, almost physical 'I can't stand it' intensity; てしかたがない is the everyday 'can't help feeling ~,' often about a feeling you can't shake. 〜てならない てならない is more literary/written and restricted to spontaneous feelings and impressions. てしかたがない is the most conversational of the three and very common in speech.
Notes
- The casual spoken variant is てしょうがない (and the rough てしようがない). 漢字 form: 〜て仕方がない.
See てしかたがない in real sentences
Jengo shows てしかたがない the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar, A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.