Learn Japanese Pod with Ami and Alex
Podcast 18: How to say must in JapaneseIn this lesson you will learn the following:✓​ How to say you must do something in Japanese✓​ Learn useful verbs for daily life for expressing something has to bedone
LEVEL: Upper Beginner
SITUATION: You are telling your friend that you have to do some things.

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Introduction
In this lesson you are going to learn how to say "must" in Japanese. Here's the problem. There are a
confusing number of ways to say it. Just look at this list of phrases which all mean the same thing:How to say I must do something in Japanese.
しなければなりません
しなければいけません
しなくてはいけません
しなくちゃいけません
しなきゃいけません
しないといけません
しなくちゃ
しなきゃ
しないと

Shinakereba narimasen
Shinakereba ikemasen
Shinakute wa ikemasen
Shinakucha ikemasen
Shinakya ikemasen
Shinai to ikemasen
Shinakucha
Shinakya
Shinai toNot only that but each way of saying "must" in Japanese has a different level of politenessassociated with it for different social situations. It's also quite common for Japanese schools andtextbooks to only teach the formal way of saying of "must". However, in daily life in Japan, you will
notice that most of the time, people tend to use the casual form.
But fear not dear student of Japanese, Learn Japanese Pod will help you to navigate this linguistic
confusion. We are all about teaching you the most useful and natural Japanese for daily life inJapan. Therefore, this lesson will exclusively focus on the casual form which in my experience is themost useful form to know.
But before we do, let's briefly study the grammar and a little of the culture behind this.

Grammar: How to say "must" in Japanese
One of the most formal and common ways you will be taught "must" in Japanese is:
しなければなりません

Shinakereba narimasen

Learn Japanese PodThis is made from two parts "Shinakereba" which means "If I do not" and "Narimasen" whichmeans "It is not allowed". So this literally means, "it is not allowed if I do not do it" or "It will bebad if I don't do it".
This two part form is used for most levels of politeness
If I don't do it
Shinakereba
Shinakereba
ShinakyaIt will not be allowedNarimasen
IkemasenIkemasen

There is no direct way of saying must in Japanese so this indirect double negative form is used.
This roundabout way of saying "must" in Japanese perhaps reflects the way Japanese shy awayfrom direct language and confrontational statements.

The most common way to say "must" in Japanese
As you will discover when you come to Japan, most people in daily conversation use thecommon form. Instead of using the tongue twisting "​Shinakereba narimasen​" you can drop the-nakereba narimasen​ and simply add ​-kya​ to give you shinakya - I must do something.
The formal way of saying I have to clean the house is:掃除しなければなりません - S​ō​ji shinakereba narimasen - I have to clean (the house)
However, the more common and easy way to say that is
掃除しなきゃ - S​ōji shinakya - I have to cleanLearn Japanese Pod

How to construct the casual form of "must" in Japanese
To say you must do something using other verbs using the casual form, simply follow thesesteps:
Step 1) Take the negative casual form of a verb, for example:
しない
ShinaiDon't do
行かないIkanai
Don't go
食べないTabenai
Don't eat
買わないKawanai
Don't buy
Step 2) Replace the ​-i​ at the end of the verb with ​-kya
しなきゃShina​kya
I must do (something)
行かなきゃIkana​kya
I must go (somewhere)
食べなきゃTabena​kya
I must eat (something)
買わなきゃKawana​kya
I must buy (something)
Finally, there are three common casual forms:
1) しなきゃ2) しなくちゃ3) しないとShinakya
Shinakucha
Shinai toSometimes people will add いけない to the end of these forms to make:
しなきゃいけない
しなくちゃいけない
しないといけない
You can use any of these forms in a casual setting to say you must do something. This lesson
will focus on using just ​shinakya​.

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Main Dialog
A:

ごめん、もう行かなきゃ。

Gomen mō ikanakya.

Sorry, I have to go.

B:

え？なんで？

E? Nande?

Eh? Why?

A:

明日早く起きなきゃ。

Ashita hayaku ikinakya.

Tomorrow I have to wake upearly.

B:

何かあるの？

Nani ka aru?

Do you have something?

A:

明日色々しなきゃいけないんだよね。

Ashita iroiro shinakya ikenain
da yo ne.

Tomorrow I have to do variousthings.

B:

何を？

Nani o?

What?

A:

まず部屋が汚いから掃除しなきゃ。後、彼女が来るから料理作らなきゃ。じゃあ...

Mazu, heya ga kitanai kara sōjishinakya. Ato, kanojo ga kuru
kara ryōri o tsukuranakya.
Jaa...

First, as my room is dirty I
have to clean. Then because
my girlfriend is coming I haveto make some food. Right...

B:

ちょっと待て、お会計は？

Chotto matte, okaikei wa?

Wait, what about the bill?

A:

そうだった、お金払わなきゃね。

Sō datta, okane harawanakya.

Oh right. I have to pay!

Learn Japanese Pod​Other examples

Here are some more examples of how you can say you must do something:１）

明日5時に起きなきゃ、めどくさい。
Ashita goji ni okinakya, mendokusai
Tomorrow I have to wake up at 5am, what a hassle.

２）

まずいけど薬飲まなきゃ。
Mazui kedo kusuri nomanakya
It doesn't taste good but I have take (drink) this medicine

３）

あ、買い物忘れちゃった、買わなきゃ！
A, kaimono wasurechatta, kawanakya!
Ah, I forgot the shopping. I have to buy something!

４）

もう時間だ。行かなきゃ！
Mo jikan da. Ikanakya!
It's time. I have to go.

５）

この部屋超汚い、掃除しなきゃ！
Kono heya chō kitanai, sōji shinakya.
This room is super dirty, I have to clean it.

６）

明日テストがあるから勉強しなきゃ。
Ashita tesuto ga aru kara benkō shinakya.
Tomorrow I have a test so I have to study.

７）

東京がゴジラに攻められてるから逃げなきゃ。
T​ōkyō ga gojira ni semerareteru kara nigenakya.
Godzilla is attacking Tokyo so we have to run!

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Random Phrase of the Week
飯テロ Meshi Tero
This is used to make fun of people post pictures what they are eating on social media. It also
refers to the way your friends are “terrorised” by the these pictures especially when they are
hungry.

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