modality N2 uncommon politewritten
〜ずにはいられない — cannot help but ~
〜ずにはいられない
Builds on 〜ずに
Meaning
- can't help ~ing / can't keep oneself from ~ing — an urge or emotion so strong that the action happens almost involuntarily
Key sentence
その映画を見て、泣かずにはいられなかった。
Watching that movie, I couldn't help crying.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (ない-stem) + ずにはいられない | V(ない-stem) + ずにはいられない | 笑わずにはいられない / 心配せずにはいられない |
Variants
〜ないではいられない — same meaning, built on the ないで negative instead of ずに — see [[nai-dewa-irarenai]]
Examples
あの店のケーキを見ると、買わずにはいられない。
Whenever I see that shop's cake, I just can't help buying it.
彼の努力を知って、応援せずにはいられなかった。
Knowing how hard he'd worked, I couldn't help rooting for him.
When you can't use it
- Irregular する becomes せずにはいられない, not しずに〜 (心配せずにはいられない).
Easily confused with
ないではいられない Identical meaning; ずにはいられない (with ずに) is the more formal, written-leaning form, ないではいられない slightly softer and more spoken. てしかたがない てしかたがない describes a feeling/state that overwhelms you ('can't help feeling ~'); ずにはいられない is about an involuntary action you can't stop yourself from doing. てはいられない てはいられない = 'can't afford to keep ~ing' (no time to stay doing it); ずにはいられない = 'can't help ~ing' (compelled to do it). Opposite stances despite the similar shape.
Notes
- The subject is usually the speaker or someone the speaker empathizes with — the feeling overrides the will.
See 〜ずにはいられない in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜ずにはいられない 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.