忍びない

• 読み: しのびない
• ローマ字: shinobinai
• 漢字の分解: 忍 (nin/shino) — endure, conceal, bear; ない — negative suffix (cannot)
• 発音: /ɕi.no.bʲi.na.i/

意味

Unbearable; intolerable; hard to endure. Used to express that one cannot bring oneself to do or witness something, out of compassion or strong emotion.

A fixed expression (literally 'cannot endure/suppress') that typically appears in the pattern 〜には忍びない, meaning it is unbearable to... or I cannot bear to... It conveys a moral or emotional reluctance — the speaker is restrained by conscience, pity, or grief from acting or watching. Rooted in classical Japanese with a long literary tradition.

例文

1. 長年育てた庭を手放すのは忍びなかったが、引っ越しの決意は揺るがなかった。
2. 苦労して書き上げた原稿を削除するのは忍びない。
3. 悲しむ友人の顔を見るのは忍びなく、思わず目を伏せた。

使い方ガイド

場面: literature, sentiment, ethics, everyday emotion

トーン: compassionate

起源と歴史

From 忍ぶ (shinobu, to endure/bear/conceal), combined with the negative suffix ない. Literally 'cannot endure/conceal one's emotion.' Used in classical literature to express the limits of emotional endurance.

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: Adults

社会的背景: General