Something seems off with なくてはいけない questions

Bunpro
#1

I just got this question here

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So, I tried to enter this and it told me to use it without ば (It did not say that it was wrong!)

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So naturally I tried the きゃ version.

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Again it didn’t say it was wrong, but silly me, of course the long from, so I do enter the long from:

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Aaand… what? Now it’s wrong? But you just told me to enter this version?

This seems to be kind of bugged, does it not? I know this is a question looking for なくてはいけない, but then why does it instruct me to enter なきゃいけません and then says it’s wrong?

1 Like
#2

寝なくてはいけない。

#3

Yes, I know it’s asking for なくてはいけない

This thread is more about why the question directs me to enter なきゃいけません in the first place, if it looks for なくてはいけない.

That seems kind of odd.

2 Likes
#4

If you follow the hints it does not point you to 寝なきゃ. It starts with the “without the ば.” part. This means that it is supposed to be a inflection that ends in て. Then you put the shortened, not long form, of the verb.

The long from is referring to the ねる inflection, not the politeness of いけない.

If the question was looking for 寝にゃか it would ask for the colloquial version.

1 Like
#5

‘long form ば’ refers to なければ
‘short form ば’ refers to なきゃ
‘long form て’ refers to なくては
‘short form て’ refers to なくちゃ
‘neutral’ or ‘casual’ will mean いけない
‘polite’ will mean いけません

5 Likes
#6

To piggy back, I’d love to see (or even find myself) some writings that go into the differences between なければいけない・なくてはいけない. I think the new write-ups do an awesome job at explaining each one, but it’s not quite clear what the difference is between the two, especially as they seem to use a very similar intro to the write-ups. I think I learned the nuance awhile ago but heh yet another thing I’ve forgotten :cowboy_hat_face:

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#7

Yes, they “must” do that explanation sometime :rofl:

1 Like