3

I would like to know which is the meaning of the structure ～ずにはすまない.

According to several pages that I've found on Google, it means "must, have to" as well as ～なければならない. However, in other websites ～ずにはすまない seems to mean "not having another option than" (like ～ざるを得ない). If ～ずにはすまない means the same as ～なければならない or ～ざるを得ない, I would like to know the difference between these structures.

If besides that, you could please give me an example of ～ずにはすまない I would be really thankful.

Improve this question
  • Here's a question on a closely related pattern, but with すむ in the positive rather than the negative so that means the opposite – it's OK not to do whatever. japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/23903/… Maybe that helps at least a little? – Nanigashi Sep 23 '20 at 22:37
1

As far as I understand, ~ず is a more formal alternative to ~ないで and すむ is "to live", so it will be something along the lines of "Can't live without ~ing", which would match both "have to" and "not having another option than". and my guess about すむ　was completely off. See @Nanigashi 's comment below.

Improve this answer
  • 1
    Surely this must be ~ずには済まない, as opposed to ~ずには住まない? (And if you actually did want to say "can't live without ~ing" in Japanese, wouldn't you use 生きる rather than 住む? Maybe something like "~ずには生きられない" or "~ずには生きていけない"?) – Nanigashi Sep 23 '20 at 19:00
  • @Nanigashi I admit I was guessing (about すむ). Might be a good idea to write this comment as an answer instead – Yaroslav Fyodorov Sep 23 '20 at 19:10
  • Thanks, but I think it's better I leave this to someone else. I basically know what this pattern means, but I'm sure there are nuances that I don't fully grasp, like when and why one would choose this over other ways of saying someone "must" do something. In other words, I'm hoping someone much better qualified than I am will jump in! – Nanigashi Sep 23 '20 at 22:28
  • Doesn't seem like their are many takers )) – Yaroslav Fyodorov Sep 23 '20 at 22:29
  • I'm surprised it hasn't been asked and answered already. I wasn't able to find a question on this exact pattern on the site, though there are some on related usages of 済む. For example, here's one on ~なくてもすむ, which means one doesn't have to do something: japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/23903/… But of course, that doesn't address the OP's question about the difference between ～ずにはすまない and other patterns like ～なければならない or ～ざるを得ない. – Nanigashi Sep 23 '20 at 22:35

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.