Meaning
〜てならない expresses emotions, sensations, or desires that naturally arise and persist despite one's effort to suppress them. It indicates a continuous, involuntary state of feeling. This pattern is used with emotional, sensory, or desire-related words, and suggests the speaker cannot avoid or control the feeling.
Formation
| Part of speech | Formation |
|---|---|
| 動詞（て形） | ならない |
| い形容词（…い）くて | ならない |
| な形容词 で | ならない |
Examples
-
あのドラマの続きが気になってならない。
I can't help but wonder what happens next in that drama. -
明日の大学の入試試験のことが心配でならない。
I'm seriously worried about tomorrow's university entrance exam. -
彼もう少し頑張れば勝てたのに、決勝戦で負けて、本当に悔しくてならない。
He could have won with just a little more effort, but losing in the finals is something I genuinely regret.
Summary
- 〜てならない emphasizes the natural, continuous emergence of emotions that cannot be suppressed, distinguishing it from てしかたがない (broader emotional/sensory expression) and てたまらない (stronger, more intense feelings)
- Cannot be used with evaluative adjectives describing object properties or with certain intransitive verbs like 思い出す or さびしくて when describing emotional actions
- Commonly appears with words expressing emotions (心配, 悔しい), sensations (気がする), or psychological states to show the speaker's ongoing, uncontrollable feelings