“Must do” query

Japanese
#1

Hi everyone,

I know I could Chat GPT this but I wanted to check in with people first.

There seems to be a lot of ways to say “must do”, and looking through the forums I can see the politeness scale but I am wondering if as a general rule can I do the following:

なければならない - in formal settings, such as shops and offices
なくてはいけない - formal but not as formal as above so perhaps when talking to acquaintances
なくちゃ/じゃ（いけない）- when talking to friends

I know for JLPT and flashcards purposes I’ll need to get all of the variations nailed down but I keep getting them wrong (using いけない instead of ならない for example, and its a little disheartening. I think because the rules are next to each other in the deck, it feels a little confusing when it’s new - although I have no excuse, these have been ghosts for weeks haha.

But anyway, are my 3 options appropriate for the areas of use or am I missing a nuance?

Thanks in advance :slight_smile:

#2

This is a grammar point I also struggle with.
I asked a Japanese friend about the difference last week actually. I gave her these two examples:
この花を花瓶に入れなくてはいけない and この花を花瓶に入れないくてはならない
and she said that ならない has a stronger need/feeling than いけない does.

Can’t say I know how なければならない plays into that though.

I’m still not solid on this grammar but there’s her input based on my question.

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#3

Thank you, im hoping that in the real world i can recognise all the versions if they are said to me but use 3 variations depending on the situation. It was making my head spin at one point hahah

#4

A bit unrelated to your question but I thought the じゃ here could be a mistake, so just in case:

-なきゃ would be the alternative phrasing to なくちゃ.

-じゃ•ちゃ would be for “must not” (informal).

Apologies if you’re already aware!

#5

I thought the なければ had a hypothetical implication. Is that not right?

1 Like
#6

Thank you for point this out, this is exactly what I mean, there are too many options hahah Ive updated my notes and will stick with なくちゃいけない for with friends :slight_smile:

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#7

I have no clue, but from reading all the grammar points, forum posts and consulting dictionary of basic Japanese grammar, it appears なければ is more formal and used in writing more often? I hope someone who has more knowledge than me can help me understand if there is a nuance that i am missing.