ないではいられない details
write + not + cannot help doing
kakanai de wa irarenai
cannot help doing; cannot keep oneself from doing
meaning: can't help writing
あの光景を思い出すと、今でも泣かないではいられない。
ano koukei o omoidasu to, ima demo nakanai de wa irarenai.
When I call that scene to mind, even now I can't help crying. neutral
彼女の生き方には、感嘆せずにはいられない。
kanojo no ikikata ni wa, kantan sezu ni wa irarenai.
One cannot but marvel at the way she lives. neutral
- literary
- past
- polite
Examples
cannot help doing — a feeling so strong the speaker cannot hold the act back
あの光景を思い出すと、今でも泣かないではいられない。
ano koukei o omoidasu to, ima demo nakanaidehairarenai.
When I call that scene to mind, even now I can't help crying. neutral
彼女の生き方には、感嘆せずにはいられない。
kanojo no ikikata ni wa, kantan sezu ni wa irarenai.
One cannot but marvel at the way she lives. neutral
一連の対応につきましては、疑問を抱かないではいられません。
ichiren no taiou ni tsukimashite wa, gimon o idakanai de wa iraremasen.
As regards the handling of this whole affair, I cannot but harbour doubts. formal
Formation
{V-nai}ではいられないattaches to ない-form{V-zu-stem}ずにはいられないattaches to ず-stem
Variant notes
- ずにはいられない — the classical-stem twin, and much the commoner surface in print — する→せずにはいられない, never ×しずには.
Notes
internal, so a verb of neutral action (書く, 行く) needs a feeling
behind it before the frame will take it.
Related patterns
Similar
ざるを得ない yields to outside circumstance and reports a decision taken under it (認めざるを得ない, conceding to the evidence); ないではいられない yields to a feeling welling up inside, so what follows is a reaction the speaker cannot suppress rather than a course chosen.
つい〜てしまう is how conversation reports the same loss of self-control, after the fact and with a shrug; ないではいられない declares it in written register and sounds theatrical said out loud.
Lookalikes
ないで alone says the act did NOT happen (泣かないで帰った, left without crying); in ないでは the ない is what cannot be sustained, so 泣かないではいられない asserts the crying instead of denying it.
Same meaning
can't help feeling; unbearably
| Pattern | Attaches to |
|---|---|
koto-ka (planned) | — |
te-naranai (planned) | — |
te-tamaranai (planned) | — |