Japanese "Must" and "Have to"
Actually more complicated than I thought. Lot of forms to memorize…
Sources:
Tae Kim’s Guide to Japanese - Must
Must
Structure:
-
V in negative te-form +
は+だめ/いかない/ならない(or distal equivalents). Note the negative te form used here is theなくてone. -
V in negative plain form +
とconditional +だめ/いかない/ならない. The shortest one, so commmonly used. -
V in negative plain form +
ばconditional +だめ/いかない/ならない
Differences:
だめ is casual.
いかない is when you “have to do” something. More of “can’t go forward” which is more subjective, based on when the speaker thinks there is no other choice.
ならない is more like “must do”. More objective. Based on things that are independent from your will like laws or stuff. Less colloquial, used in legal documents and stuff like that. Last two are similar tho.
Ex.
今晩、宿題をしなくてはだめです - “I have to do homework tonight”
来週、先生と合わなくてはなりません - “I must meet with my teacher next week”
週末に母のために食料品を買いに行かなくてはいけない - “I have to go grocery shopping for my mother this weekend”
本当にもっと勉強しないといけない - “I really have to study more”
仕事を見つけないとだめですよ - “You have to find a job”
子犬と子猫を食べなければいけない - “I have to eat a puppy and a kitten”
ゲームをしながら音楽を聞かなければならない - “I have to listen to music while playing games”
Must Not
Same as #1 of “must” but with the positive te-form. ONLY #1 (te-form). Same differences too.
Ex.
家を出てはだめよ - “You must not leave the house”
殺してはならない - “You must not kill”
学校に遅く来てはいけません - “You cannot come to school late”
Short Cuts
Must
Shorten the form and drop the ending word.
なくて => なくちゃ
なければ => なきゃ
と => と
Ex.
すぐ食べなきゃ = “Gotta eat soon”
今帰らなくちゃ = “Gotta go now”
学校に行かないと = “Gotta go to school”
Must Not
Shorten it here, but you need the next word after
ては => ちゃ
では => じゃ
Ex.
その部屋に入っちゃだめだった - “I could not enter that room”
見ちゃいけない - “You cannot look”
読んじゃだめ - “Don’t read”
It's ok if do or don't
We learned this as a permission form. But it also means its okay whether you do it or not.
全部食べてもいいよ - “You can go ahead and eat all of it” / “It’s okay even if you eat it all.”
トイレに行ってもいいですか - “May I go to the bathroom?” / “Is it okay even if I go to the bathroom?”
Vocab:
Here are some kanji from the lessons that I wasn’t really familiar with at this point:
- none