ねばならない - Grammar Discussion

Grammar Points
#1

must
have to
should

Structure

  • Verb[ない] + ない ねばならない
    :warning:する → せ ねばならない

硬

:warning: Rarely used in modern Japanese; mostly used in literature

[ない can be changed to ぬ]

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#2

Since 〜ねばらない is “rarely used in modern Japanese; mostly in literature” it doesn’t seem helpful to include sentences that are modern, e.g. “You guys have to be nice to each other.” I think it would be more helpful to give examples from literature.

#3

You can definitely find this in modern literature. I even literally found 仲良くせねばならない in a book from last year (with google books).

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#4

Thank you for your reply. I will definitely add ねばならない to my JLPT2 review list.

Could I suggest that the tag-line be changed to read something along the lines of:

:warning: Rarely used in modern spoken Japanese; mostly used in literature

Maybe that would be more accurate based on the fact that it is used in modern books?

#5

TBH tags like this could just all be replaced with “don’t use this yourself”. On bunpro, something like “rarely used” usually just means “rare in comparison to other things we learn for the JLPT”. But none of these grammar points are really obscure. Otherwise they wouldn’t appear on the JLPT. The main point to take away from these tags is that it’s not the most normal thing to say.

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#6

Thank you. I’ll keep this in mind as I continue studying. :blush: