日本語道場

Nihongo Dojo — N3 → N2

Grammar

N2

~てならない

~te naranai

can't help feeling

When to use it

Use ~てならない in written or formal spoken Japanese to say that a feeling or impression keeps welling up and you can't suppress it — typically 思えてならない, 気がしてならない, 残念でならない. It suits reports, emails and speeches where you want to convey strong personal conviction or regret without sounding emotional or colloquial. Compared with ~てたまらない (physical urges, casual) it is more literary and limited to inner feelings and spontaneous perceptions.

Formation

  • Verbs: て-form + ならない, but restricted to spontaneous emotion/perception verbs — 思えてならない、感じられてならない、気がしてならない、気になってならない、悔やまれてならない (note the potential/spontaneous forms 思える・感じられる, not 思う・感じる)
  • い-adjectives: ~くて + ならない → 悔しくてならない、腹立たしくてならない
  • な-adjectives: ~で + ならない → 残念でならない、心配でならない、不安でならない
  • Nouns: not used directly; only 心配・残念 etc., which behave as な-adjectives
  • Polite/negative-past: conjugate ならない itself — ~てなりません / ~てならなかった

Examples

  • I can't help feeling the client's response is unnatural.

  • I can't help regretting that we pulled out of that project.

  • Something about this quarter's figures worries me no end.

  • I can't shake the feeling the price cut was premature.

  • I can't stop wondering about his silence at the negotiation.