〜わけにはいかない wake niwa ikanai
〜わけにはいかない(wake niwa ikanai)means “can't (for social/moral reasons); mustn't allow oneself to…”. Expresses that one cannot do something — not because it's physically impossible, but due to social obligation, common sense, morality, or circumstances. Formation: V-る + わけにはいかない(できない) / V-ない + わけにはいかない(しないでいられない)
can't (for social/moral reasons); mustn't allow oneself to…
N3Formation
V-る + わけにはいかない(できない) / V-ない + わけにはいかない(しないでいられない)
Explanation
Expresses that one cannot do something — not because it's physically impossible, but due to social obligation, common sense, morality, or circumstances. With V-る it means 'can't do it'; with V-ない form (V-ないわけにはいかない) it's a double negative meaning 'have no choice but to do it'.
Examples
Note
More polite/written: 〜わけにはまいりません. Don't confuse the two patterns: V-ないわけにはいかない = obligation ('have to'); V-るわけにはいかない = inability/prohibition ('can't').
FAQ
〜わけにはいかない — what does it mean and how is it used?
can't (for social/moral reasons); mustn't allow oneself to…. Expresses that one cannot do something — not because it's physically impossible, but due to social obligation, common sense, morality, or circumstances. With V-る it means 'can't do it'; with V-ない form (V-ないわけにはいかない) it's a double negative meaning 'have no choice but to do it'.
〜わけにはいかない — how do you form it?
V-る + わけにはいかない(できない) / V-ない + わけにはいかない(しないでいられない)
〜わけにはいかない — any usage notes?
More polite/written: 〜わけにはまいりません. Don't confuse the two patterns: V-ないわけにはいかない = obligation ('have to'); V-るわけにはいかない = inability/prohibition ('can't').