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Formation: V-て form + ならない; い-adj (〜くて) + ならない; na-adj + で + ならない

〜てならない expresses a feeling that keeps welling up on its own and cannot be held back. It attaches to emotion words such as 不安, 心配, 残念 and 悔しい. It is especially typical with spontaneous verbs like 思える, 思われる, 気がする, 気になる and 感じられる (思えてならない, 気がしてならない). It is somewhat formal and written in tone, and it describes the speaker's own feelings; for another person, add ようだ or らしい. Compared with 〜てたまらない, it sounds calmer and is less used for physical sensations: 暑くてたまらない is natural, 暑くてならない much less so. 〜てしょうがない is the casual spoken equivalent.

Variants: 〜てなりません

Examples

• 将来のことが不安でならない。
  I can't help feeling anxious about the future.
• 彼が何か隠しているように思えてならない。
  I can't shake the feeling that he's hiding something.
• 故郷の母のことが気になってならない。
  I can't stop worrying about my mother back home.

In real texts 0 occurrence(s)

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