Grammar › Emotion & Intensity
にたえない — “cannot bear to, (too emotional) to…”
Says an emotion or sight is so overwhelming that reacting normally becomes impossible
Noun + にたえない says a feeling is so intense, or a sight so distressing, that the speaker (or anyone) can barely stand it — “unbearably X” or “cannot bear to Y.” With emotion nouns like 感謝/感激 it flips positive, meaning the feeling is overwhelming in a good way (“moved beyond words”).
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Noun + にたえない | 見るにたえない光景 — a sight too painful to look at |
| Emotion noun + にたえない | ご支援に感謝の念にたえません — I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for your support |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| あまりの惨状に、見るにたえなかった。 | あまりのさんじょうに、みるにたえなかった。 amarinosanjouni、mirunitaenakatta。 | The scene was so devastating I could barely bear to look at it. |
| 皆様のご厚意に、感謝にたえません。 | みなさまのごこういに、かんしゃにたえません。 minasamanogokouini、kanshanitaemasen。 | I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone's kindness. |
| 彼の身勝手な言い訳は聞くにたえなかった。 | かれのみがってないいわけはきくにたえなかった。 karenomigattenaiiwakehakikunitaenakatta。 | His selfish excuses were unbearable to listen to. |
🔊 Tap any Japanese sentence to hear it; kanji link to their study pages.
Watch out
にたえない splits into two unrelated senses depending on the noun — 見るにたえない (too awful to watch) is negative, while 感謝にたえない (overwhelmed with gratitude) is a positive, formal expression of deep feeling; check which noun you're pairing it with.