Tomodai
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に忍びない

To be too painful / heartbreaking to do (out of sympathy or moral feeling) , cannot bring oneself to, too cruel / too pitiful to

N1

Meaning

To be too painful / heartbreaking to do (out of sympathy or moral feeling) , cannot bring oneself to, too cruel / too pitiful to

Formation

Verb (dictionary form) + に忍びない
Noun + に忍びない

Explanation

に忍びない is used to express that doing a certain action causes strong emotional pain, usually because it feels morally wrong, cruel, or heartless toward someone.

🔸 に忍びない focuses on moral / emotional pain, not ability.

The key idea is sympathy.

The speaker feels that:

  • carrying out the action would hurt someone

  • it goes against human compassion

  • emotionally, they cannot endure doing it

This grammar does not describe physical pain.
It describes emotional pain, often based on kindness, mercy, or social morality.

Typical situations include:

  • refusing someone’s sincere request

  • punishing or criticizing someone who tried hard

  • revealing bad news

  • abandoning or ignoring someone in a weak position

This expression is formal and literary, and is commonly found in:

  • written explanations

  • official statements

  • essays

  • JLPT N1 reading passages