わけにはいかない details
write + can't very well do
kaku wake ni wa ikanai
can't very well do; have no choice but to do
皆が残って頑張ってるのに、自分だけ先に帰るわけにはいかないよ。
minna ga nokotte ganbatteru noni, jibun dake saki ni kaeru wake ni wa ikanai yo.
Everyone else is staying and working hard — I can't just go home early by myself. casual
先輩に頼まれたら、断らないわけにはいかないよね。
senpai ni tanomaretara, kotowaranai wake ni wa ikanai yo ne.
If a senior asks me, I can't really refuse, can I. casual
- contraction
- formal
- past
- polite
Examples
can't very well do; can't just do — an act circumstances or social duty rule out, even if it looks like the easy option
皆が残って頑張ってるのに、自分だけ先に帰るわけにはいかないよ。
minna ga nokotte ganbatteru noni, jibun dake saki ni kaeru wake ni wa ikanai yo.
Everyone else is staying and working hard — I can't just go home early by myself. casual
一度引き受けた仕事を、今さら断るわけにはいかない。
ichido hikiuketa shigoto o, imasara kotowaru wake ni wa ikanai.
I can't very well turn down a job I already agreed to take, not at this point. neutral
お客様からお預かりした情報を、社外にお出しするわけにはまいりません。
okyakusama kara o azukari shita jouhou o, shagai ni o dashi suru wake ni wa mairimasen.
We cannot possibly send information entrusted to us by customers outside the company. formal
have no choice but to do; can't NOT do — a double negative that forces the act
先輩に頼まれたら、断らないわけにはいかないよね。
senpai ni tanomaretara, kotowaranai wake ni wa ikanai yo ne.
If a senior asks me, I can't really refuse, can I. casual
締め切りが明日なので、今夜中に終わらせないわけにはいかない。
shimekiri ga ashita na node, kon'yajuu ni owarasenai wake ni wa ikanai.
The deadline is tomorrow, so I have no choice but to finish it by tonight. neutral
株主の皆様に、経営状況をご説明しないわけにはいかない。
kabunushi no minasama ni, keiei joukyou o go setsumei shinai wake ni wa ikanai.
We have no choice but to explain the business situation to our shareholders. formal
Formation
{V}わけにはいかないattaches to dictionary form{V-nai}わけにはいかないattaches to ない-form
Variant notes
- わけにいかない — は drops in fast casual speech — 今[いま]さら断[ことわ]るわけにいかないよ。
- わけにはまいりません — まいる is humble 行[い]く — the business/customer-facing refusal register.
Notes
…わけにはまいりません register. Both rows read more colloquial and personal
than なければならない／なくてはいけない — this names a situation's pull, not a
stated rule.
Related patterns
Similar
なければならない cites a rule or plain necessity; the ないわけにはいかない row instead frames the act as forced by THIS situation, often naming the reason in the same breath (頼[たの]まれた以上[いじょう]、断[ことわ]らないわけにはいかない) — it reads personal and circumstantial, not rule-like.
ざるを得ない is written/formal and concedes to impersonal circumstances beyond anyone's control; ないわけにはいかない stays spoken-neutral and concedes instead to a social or moral pull — a debt owed to a specific person or situation.
Lookalikes
Same わけ opening, unrelated grammar — わけがない denies that a PROPOSITION is true, and takes any predicate with any subject (高[たか]いわけがない、田中[たなか]さんが知[し]っているわけがない); わけにはいかない denies that an ACTION is permissible, and takes only a controllable verb with a speaker or in-group subject (行[い]くわけにはいかない, never ×降[ふ]るわけにはいかない).