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ねばならない details

write + must do

kaka neba naranai

must do; is obliged to do (written)

meaning: must write

我々われわれはこの問題もんだい対処せたいしょせねばならない

wareware wa kono mondai ni taishose neba naranai.

We must deal with this problem. neutral

個人情報こじんじょうほうあつかいには、細心さいしん注意ちゅういはらわねばなりません。

kojin jouhou no toriatsukai ni wa, saishin no chuui o harawaneba narimasen.

The handling of personal data demands the utmost care. formal

  • literary
  • contraction
  • past
  • polite

Examples

must do — obligation stated as duty or principle, in written or oratorical Japanese

我々われわれはこの問題もんだい対処たいしょせねばならない。

wareware wa kono mondai ni taishosenebanaranai.

We must deal with this problem. neutral

個人情報こじんじょうほうあつかいには、細心さいしん注意ちゅういはらわねばなりません。

kojin jouhou no toriatsukai ni wa, saishin no chuui o harawaneba narimasen.

The handling of personal data demands the utmost care. formal

りがせまっている。今夜中こんやじゅうげねば。

shimekiri ga sematte iru. kon'yajuu ni kakiageneba.

The deadline is closing in. I have to get this written tonight. neutral

Formation

Variant notes

Notes

ね is the classical ぬ's conditional stem, so the whole frame hangs off the
ず-stem: する→せねば, ある→あらねば.

Related patterns

Similar

  • Same obligation, different stem and different habitat — なければならない is the modern form and appears at every register, while ねばならない rides the classical stem (せねば, never ×しねば) and is confined to editorials, speeches and formal writing.

  • ざるを得ない concedes that circumstances have closed off the alternatives; ねばならない asserts a duty that holds regardless of circumstance, which is why maxims and public exhortations take ねばならない and never ざるを得ない.

Lookalikes

  • Both end in ば off the same verb, and the vowel in front is the entire signal — けば is the conditional "if I go", かねば the classical negative plus ば, "if I don't go", which is why it reads as an obligation.

Same meaning

must do

PatternAttaches to
ないといけない
なければならない
なくてはいけない
わけにはいかない
よりほかない
ざるを得ない

classical negative (ぬ・ず・ざる)

PatternAttaches to
ざるを得ない
ずに済む
ずに