Meaning
Expresses an obligation to perform an action.
Formation
- Drop い from the ない form and add くては / くても: 行かない → 行かなくてはいけない
- The と variant: 行かないといけない
- Colloquial contractions: なくちゃ, なきゃ
When to use it
- Core use
- Expresses an obligation to perform an action
Example
毎日薬を飲まなくてはいけません
I must take medicine every day.
Important notes
- Word forms and particle choice depend on the pattern's role in the sentence.
Common mistakes
- Do not reorder or reshape the highlighted parts to match English word order.