“wo kinjienai” Meaning — Cannot Help (feeling) 〜 (formal) [JLPT N1]
Content by NTJ Kuma · Nihongo to Japan editorial team · Updated July 27, 2026
“Can't hold back tears,” “can't help feeling angry” — an emotion welling up, formal, with examples. (JLPT N1)
「悲惨な光景に、涙を禁じ得ない」 — cannot but feel some emotion
Reading a heartbreaking news story, some emotion wells up, impossible to suppress — 「その理不尽な仕打ちには、怒りを禁じ得ない (at that unreasonable treatment, I cannot but feel anger).」 「〜を禁じ得ない」 = cannot but feel (some emotion), cannot help…. It's a solemn written expression, for some emotion (tears, anger, sympathy) welling up, impossible to suppress. This guide clarifies its core of “an emotion noun ＋ can't suppress,” that ⭐「禁」 is unrelated to “prohibition,” separating it from the colloquial 「ずにはいられない.」
Core: cannot but feel (some emotion), cannot help… (an emotion wells up, impossible to suppress)
「(emotion noun) ＋ を禁じ得ない（きんじえない）」 means “cannot but feel (some emotion), cannot help…” — some emotion (tears, anger, sympathy, surprise, disappointment) wells up naturally, impossible to suppress:
- 遺族の悲しみを思うと、涙を禁じ得ない (thinking of the bereaved's grief, I cannot but shed tears).
- あまりに理不尽な判決に、怒りを禁じ得なかった (at the utterly unreasonable verdict, I could not but feel anger).
- 彼の境遇には、同情を禁じ得ない (at his circumstances, I cannot but feel sympathy).
Feel: the core is “(some emotion) wells up naturally, (I) cannot suppress, cannot help it.” Its tone is solemn, formal, mostly for solemn feeling about social phenomena, others' plights, common in commentary, addresses, news, formal writing. ⚠️It precedes an emotion noun (涙／怒り／同情／驚き／失望／遺憾). For a colloquial “can't help,” use 「〜ずにはいられない」 (see 〈ずにはいられない〉). In English: cannot but feel ～, cannot help ～.
Attachment rules
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| emotion noun ＋ を禁じ得ない | cannot but feel (some emotion) | 涙を禁じ得ない （cannot hold back tears） |
| emotion noun ＋ を禁じ得なかった | could not but feel ～ (then) | 怒りを禁じ得なかった （could not suppress the anger） |
Examples in context
- 戦火に苦しむ人々の姿に、憐憫の情を禁じ得ない。(At the sight of people suffering from war, I cannot but feel pity.)
- あの英断には、感嘆を禁じ得ない。(At that decisive move, I cannot but feel admiration.)
- 度重なる不祥事に、失望を禁じ得ない。(At the repeated scandals, I cannot but feel disappointment.)
- 変わり果てた故郷の姿に、寂しさを禁じ得なかった。(At the utterly changed sight of my hometown, I could not but feel lonely.)
- あまりの理不尽さに、義憤を禁じ得ない。(At the sheer unreasonableness, I cannot but feel righteous indignation.)
⚠️ Easy traps to avoid
① ⭐It must precede an ‘emotion noun'; a verb must be nominalized first — don't copy the Chinese ‘can't help ＋ verb.' This is Chinese speakers' most typical error. Chinese “can't help ＋ verb” (can't help laughing, can't help crying) attaches a verb directly, easily copied into Japanese as ✗「笑うを禁じ得ない」「泣くを禁じ得ない」 (wrong — a verb can't attach directly to を禁じ得ない). Japanese 「を禁じ得ない」 must precede an emotion noun — so nominalize the action first: 笑う→「笑い」／「失笑」 (笑いを禁じ得ない = can't help laughing／失笑を禁じ得ない), 泣く→「涙」 (涙を禁じ得ない = cannot but shed tears), 怒る→「怒り」 (怒りを禁じ得ない). Test: 「を禁じ得ない」 precedes an emotion noun (涙／怒り／同情／笑い／失笑／驚き); nominalize a verb first, don't attach a verb directly.
② ⭐「禁」 is unrelated to ‘prohibition'! It's ‘can't suppress the emotion,' not ‘not allowed.' This is another misunderstanding. 「禁じ得ない」's 「禁」 easily leads learners (especially those associating from the kanji 「禁」) to think of “禁止（きんし, prohibition）,” mistaking this grammar for “not allowed, can't do.” In fact it's entirely unrelated to rules, permission! 「禁じる（きんじる）」 here means “suppress, restrain (an emotion)” (not “forbid (someone from doing something)”), and 「禁じ得ない」 = “(can't suppress =) can't suppress, cannot but.” So 「涙を禁じ得ない」 = “can't suppress the tears = cannot but shed tears,” not “not allowed to cry.” Test: 「を禁じ得ない」 = “can't suppress, cannot but (feel some emotion),” entirely unrelated to “prohibition, not allowed, can't do” (「禁じる」 here = suppress an emotion).
③ It's a written, formal, solemn expression; everyday speech uses 「ずにはいられない.」 This is the register point. 「を禁じ得ない」 is a written, formal, solemn expression, mostly for solemn feeling about social phenomena, others' plights, common in commentary, addresses, news, formal writing: この惨状には、怒りを禁じ得ない (at this devastation, I cannot but feel anger — a solemn commentary tone). Everyday speech almost never uses it (too stilted). For everyday “can't help, cannot but ～,” speech more often uses 「〜ずにはいられない」 (see 〈ずにはいられない〉). Test: for formal, written, solemn feeling → を禁じ得ない; for a colloquial “can't help” → ずにはいられない.
④ Separate it from 「ずにはいられない」 — を禁じ得ない takes an emotion noun (written), ずにはいられない takes a verb. Both express “can't help, cannot but,” but differ in attachment, register. 「(emotion noun) を禁じ得ない」 = cannot but feel (some emotion) (precedes an ‘emotion noun,' written, solemn): 涙を禁じ得ない (cannot but shed tears — the emotion noun 「涙」), 同情を禁じ得ない (cannot but feel sympathy). It precedes an emotion noun, more written, formal. 「(verb) ずにはいられない」 = can't help ～ing (precedes a ‘verb,' spoken and written, see 〈ずにはいられない〉): 泣かずにはいられない (can't help crying — the verb 「泣く」), 同情せずにはいられない (can't help sympathizing), 笑わずにはいられない (can't help laughing). It precedes a verb (ない-form), more general. Difference: 「を禁じ得ない」 takes an emotion noun (涙／怒り ＋ を禁じ得ない, written solemn); 「ずにはいられない」 takes a verb (泣かず／笑わず ＋ にはいられない, more general, see 〈ずにはいられない〉). Test: to take an emotion noun, written and solemnly say “cannot but feel (some emotion)” → を禁じ得ない (涙を禁じ得ない); to take a verb and say “can't help (doing something)” → ずにはいられない (泣かずにはいられない).
🔄 Compare: を禁じ得ない／ずにはいられない／てならない／を抑えられない
| Form | Meaning | Precedes | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 〜を禁じ得ない | cannot but feel (some emotion) | emotion noun (written solemn) | 涙を禁じ得ない （cannot hold back tears） |
| 〜ずにはいられない | can't help ～ing (see 〈ずにはいられない〉) | verb (ない-form) | 泣かずにはいられない （can't help crying） |
| 〜てならない | ～ terribly (wells up naturally) | verb て／adjective | 気になってならない （can't stop worrying about it） |
| 〜を抑えられない | can't restrain ～ | emotion noun (more colloquial) | 笑いを抑えられない （can't hold back laughter） |
💡 The one thing to remember
「〜を禁じ得ない」 = cannot but feel (some emotion), cannot help… — three points: ①⭐it precedes an emotion noun (涙／怒り／同情／失望), and a verb must be nominalized first (don't copy the Chinese “can't help ＋ verb” as ✗笑うを禁じ得ない — use 「失笑を禁じ得ない」); ②⭐「禁」 is “suppress the emotion,” entirely unrelated to “prohibition (not allowed)”; ③ it's a written, solemn expression; for a colloquial “can't help” use 「ずにはいられない (takes a verb, see 〈ずにはいられない〉)」. This expression has a real solemn, weighty gravity — at society's injustice, another's plight, one 「怒りを禁じ得ない」「涙を禁じ得ない」 renders, solemnly and movingly, that unsuppressible emotion. To solemnly express “cannot but feel (some emotion)” in commentary or an address, 「を禁じ得ない」 has the most weight; for everyday speech, use 「ずにはいられない.」 (Note: though this article's id is wo-kinikake, its true topic is 「を禁じ得ない.」)
❓ Questions you might have
Q: Is 「笑うを禁じ得ない」 correct? I want to say ‘can't help laughing.'
No! 「を禁じ得ない」 must precede an ‘emotion noun'; a verb can't attach directly. This is Chinese speakers' most typical error. Chinese “can't help ＋ verb” (can't help laughing, can't help crying) attaches a verb directly, easily copied into Japanese as ✗「笑うを禁じ得ない」「泣くを禁じ得ない」 — wrong, because 「を禁じ得ない」 must precede a noun (with を), not a verb directly. To say “can't help laughing,” you must nominalize 「笑う (verb)」 into 「笑い」 or use 「失笑」: ○「笑いを禁じ得ない」 (can't help laughing), ○「失笑を禁じ得ない」 (can't help a wry laugh). Likewise: “can't help crying” → 「泣く」 nominalized as 「涙」 → 「涙を禁じ得ない」 (cannot but shed tears), “can't help getting angry” → 「怒る」 as 「怒り」 → 「怒りを禁じ得ない.」 Test: 「を禁じ得ない」 precedes an emotion noun (涙／怒り／同情／笑い／失笑／驚き／失望), nominalize a verb first (笑う→笑い, 泣く→涙, 怒る→怒り), don't attach a verb directly. If you want to attach a verb directly for “can't help ～,” use 「〜ずにはいられない」 (泣かずにはいられない = can't help crying, see 〈ずにはいられない〉) — that's the one that takes a verb.
Q: Is the 「禁」 of 「禁じ得ない」 ‘prohibition'? Does it mean ‘not allowed'?
No! Here 「禁」 means ‘suppress (an emotion),' entirely unrelated to ‘prohibition (not allowed).' This is a misunderstanding easily arising from the kanji 「禁.」 Because 「禁」 also appears in 「禁止（きんし, prohibition）」「禁じる (forbid),」 learners (especially those associating from the kanji) easily mistake 「を禁じ得ない」 for “not allowed, can't do.” But in fact, 「禁じ得ない」's 「禁じる（きんじる）」 here means “suppress, restrain (one's own emotion)” (not “forbid someone from doing something”), and 「禁じ得ない」 = “(can't suppress =) can't suppress, cannot but.” So 「涙を禁じ得ない」 = “(I) can't suppress the tears = cannot but shed tears,” by no means “(I'm) not allowed to cry”! It's about “(some emotion) wells up naturally, (I) can't suppress it, can't help it,” utterly unrelated to rules, permission, prohibition. Test: 「を禁じ得ない」 = “(some emotion) can't be suppressed, cannot but, cannot help ～” (「禁じる」 = suppress an emotion); it's unrelated to “prohibition, not allowed, can't do.” On seeing 「禁じ得ない,」 read it as “(an emotion) can't be helped, can't be suppressed,” don't be misled by the kanji 「禁」 into “prohibition.”
🖊️ Practice Questions (5)
Q1. 「その光景に、私は涙___。」(Couldn't hold back tears)
(A) を禁じ得なかった (B) に堪えた (C) に当たらない (D) を余儀なくされた
Q2. 「を禁じ得ない」の前に来るのは?
(A) Emotion nouns（怒り・涙・同情） (B) Verb て-form (C) い-adjective (D) Question word
Q3. 「怒りを禁じ得ない」の意味は?
(A) Can't help feeling anger
(B) No anger
(C) Suppressed the anger
(D) Pretends to be angry
Q4. 「を禁じ得ない」の文体は?
(A) Written, formal
(B) Intimate colloquial
(C) Children's language
(D) Imperative language
Q5. 接法が正しいのは?
(A) 同情を禁じ得ない。 (B) 同情するを禁じ得ない。
(C) 同情してを禁じ得ない。 (D) 同情だ禁じ得ない。
Answer Explanations
1. (A) を禁じ得なかった ── Couldn't hold back tears.
2. (A) ── Attaches to an emotion noun.
3. (A) ── Can't help feeling anger.
4. (A) ── Written, formal.
5. (A) ── 「同情を禁じ得ない」 (noun) is correct.