JLPT N1ComparisonUpdated 2026-09-25

〜ずにはいられない vs 〜てやまない vs 〜を禁じ得ない zu ni wa irarenai · te yamanai · wo kinjienai

〜ずにはいられない means “cannot help doing”; 〜てやまない expresses a continuing feeling; 〜を禁じ得ない means “cannot suppress” an emotion. 泣かずにはいられない describes an urge to cry. 祈ってやまない is a formal way to express sustained wishing or praying. 驚きを禁じ得ない is a formal statement that astonishment cannot be contained. The last pattern takes an emotion noun with を.

also written zunihairarenai / teyamanai / o kinjienai

can't help doing · never cease to · cannot suppress

Sentences

6 sentences, word by word

an impulse, obeyed

polite

、。

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あの

that (over there)

demonstrative · あの for something we both know

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映画

えいが［1］

film; movie

noun · 映 project ＋画 picture

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を

marks the direct object

particle · pronounced お

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見る

みる［1］

to watch

dictionary form · と needs the dictionary form in front of it

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と

with; and

particle · joins nouns, or marks who you did it with

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泣かずにはいられません

なかずにはいられません

can't help crying

ない-stem 泣か＋ずにはいられない · the crying actually happens

〜ずにはいられないN1can't help

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I can't help crying when I watch that film.

the same urge, built from ない

polite

、。

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あの

that

demonstrative · unchanged from the sentence above

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映画

えいが［1］

film

noun · same as above

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を

marks the direct object

particle · pronounced お

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見る

みる［1］

to watch

dictionary form · same as above

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と

with; and

particle · joins nouns, or marks who you did it with

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泣かないではいられません

なかないではいられません

can't help crying

plain negative 泣かない＋ではいられない · identical meaning, slightly softer register

〜ないではいられないN1can't help

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I can't help crying when I watch that film.

a wish that never stops

polite

。

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皆様

みなさま［2］

everyone (respectful)

noun · 皆さん one step politer — the standard address in speeches

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の

links noun to noun

particle · A の B = B belonging to A

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ご健康

ごけんこう

your health

honorific ご＋健康 · ご attaches to Sino-Japanese nouns, お to native ones

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を

marks the direct object

particle · pronounced お

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祈ってやみません

いのってやみません

never cease to pray for

て-form 祈って＋やまない · a formal closing line, essentially a set phrase

〜てやまないN1never cease to

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I never cease to pray for everyone's good health.

the plain version of the same wish

polite

。

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皆様

みなさま［2］

everyone

noun · unchanged from the sentence above

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の

links noun to noun

particle · A の B = B belonging to A

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ご健康

ごけんこう

your health

honorific ご＋健康 · same as above

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を

marks the direct object

particle · pronounced お

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心から

こころから［2］

sincerely; from the heart

心 heart ＋から · carries the warmth that やまない was carrying

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祈っています

いのっています

am praying for

polite ている of 祈る · ongoing, but without the literary weight

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I sincerely hope you are all in good health.

composure failing, in writing

polite

、。

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彼

かれ［1］

he; him

pronoun · the の after it makes 彼の possessive

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の

links noun to noun

particle · A の B = B belonging to A

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突然

とつぜん［0］

sudden; suddenly

noun and adverb · 突然の before a noun, 突然 alone before a verb

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の

links noun to noun

particle · A の B = B belonging to A

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辞任

じにん［0］

resignation (from a post)

noun · 辞任 leaves a position, 退職 leaves a company

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には

at; when it comes to

に＋は · marks what the emotion is aimed at, with contrastive weight

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驚き

おどろき［0］

astonishment

ます-stem of 驚く used as a noun · 禁じ得ない demands a noun

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を

marks the direct object

particle · pronounced お

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禁じ得ません

きんじえません

cannot suppress

禁じる forbid ＋得ない cannot · written register only

〜を禁じ得ないN1cannot suppress

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I cannot suppress my astonishment at his sudden resignation.

the same reaction, one register down

polite

、。

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彼

かれ［1］

pronoun · unchanged from the sentence above

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の

links noun to noun

particle · A の B = B belonging to A

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突然

とつぜん［0］

sudden

noun · same as above

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の

links noun to noun

particle · A の B = B belonging to A

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辞任

じにん［0］

resignation

noun · same as above

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には

at; when it comes to

に＋は · same as above

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驚かずにはいられません

おどろかずにはいられません

can't help being astonished

ない-stem 驚か＋ずにはいられない · the verb form, where 禁じ得ない needed the noun

〜ずにはいられないN1can't help

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I can't help being astonished at his sudden resignation.

Structure

How do you form these three?

Verb［ない-stem］＋ずにはいられない

泣く → 泣かずに, 言う → 言わずに. する is the exception: せずにはいられない, never しずに.

Verb［ない-form］＋ではいられない

泣かないではいられない. Built from the plain negative, so する behaves normally: しないではいられない.

Verb［て-form］＋やまない

祈ってやまない, 願ってやまない, 愛してやまない. The verb list is short — this is nearly a set phrase.

Emotion noun＋を禁じ得ない

驚きを, 怒りを, 同情を, 涙を. Takes a noun, never a verb. Read きんじえない.

Meaning

What's the difference between ずにはいられない, てやまない and を禁じ得ない?

Three shapes of “I couldn't stop myself,” each with its own register.

ずにはいられない expresses an urge hard to suppress. 泣かずにはいられません — I could not help crying. It takes almost any verb, it appears in ordinary polite speech, and it often expresses an urge that may or may not have already led to action; tense and context decide.

てやまない is a wish that does not stop. ご健康を祈ってやみません — I never cease praying for your health. It attaches to verbs of ongoing feeling, including 祈る, 願う, 愛する, 期待する. Warm, formal, and almost always positive.

を禁じ得ない is composure failing in writing. 驚きを禁じ得ません — I cannot suppress my astonishment. It takes an emotion noun, not a verb, and it belongs to editorials, formal statements and condolences. Saying it to a friend would be comic.

The practical test is what follows the blank. A verb stem means ずにはいられない; a て-form of a wishing verb means てやまない; a bare emotion noun with を means を禁じ得ない. On the JLPT that alone answers most questions.

Watch out

Where does this go wrong?

しずにはいられない

する is irregular here: it becomes せずにはいられない. 同情せずにはいられない, 期待せずにはいられない. The ないで version escapes this — しないではいられない is regular.

てやまない on the wrong verb

It is not a general intensifier. 食べてやまない is not Japanese. The verb has to name a lasting wish or feeling — 祈る, 願う, 愛する, 期待する, 尊敬する.

を禁じ得ない with a verb

驚くを禁じ得ない is wrong; it needs the noun, 驚きを禁じ得ない. And the noun has to be an emotion — 怒り, 同情, 涙, 失望 — never a physical action.

Also asked

Questions people ask about ずにはいられない, てやまない and を禁じ得ない

Is ずにはいられない the same as 〜てしまう?

No, though both describe things you didn't fully choose. てしまう reports that it happened, often with regret. ずにはいられない reports the pressure that made it impossible not to. One is about the outcome, the other about the urge.

Which of these will I actually use?

ずにはいられない is genuinely usable in careful speech. The other two are reading vocabulary — てやまない in speeches and letters, を禁じ得ない in editorials. Producing them casually would sound stagey.

Can を禁じ得ない be positive?

Occasionally — 感動を禁じ得ない, I cannot suppress how moved I am. But the pattern leans toward the uncomfortable: surprise, anger, sympathy, disappointment, tears.

What's the difference between ず and ないで?

ず is the classical negative and carries the formality with it. ないで is the modern equivalent. Attached to はいられない they mean the same thing; the ず version simply reads as more literary.

Is 〜ざるを得ない related?

It is another 得ない pattern but a different idea. ざるを得ない is external compulsion — I have no choice but to. ずにはいられない is internal — I couldn't stop myself. That pair has its own page, linked below.

How does てやまない conjugate?

As the negative of 止む, so the polite form is 〜てやみません and the past is 〜てやまなかった. In practice you will meet it in the present, closing a formal paragraph.

References