やむにやまれない

Meanings

irresistible; compelling; unable to help oneself

usually written using kana alone

Describes a strong inner urge or external pressure that makes one act despite oneself. Often used in the pattern 〜やむにやまれず or 〜やむにやまれぬ to mean 'unable to stop oneself' or 'driven by an irresistible force'. The expression is somewhat literary and formal.

See also: やむにやまれず · やむにやまれぬ

やむにやまれぬ事じ情じょうで、彼かれは会かい社しゃを辞やめた。
Due to compelling circumstances, he quit his job.
やむにやまれず、彼かの女じょは真しん実じつを話はなした。
Unable to help herself, she told the truth.

Kanji

止stop, halt
已stop, halt, previously

Related words

止やむに止やまれず
This is the adverbial form of the same expression, meaning 'unable to stop oneself' or 'driven by necessity'. It is used to modify a verb, while やむにやまれない is the attributive or predicative form.
止やむに止やまれぬ
A slightly more literary or archaic variant of やむにやまれない, with the same meaning. ぬ is the classical negative ending.

Written forms

止やむに止やまれない
Kanji form using 止む. Recognizable but less common than the kana spelling.
已やむに已やまれない
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form using 已む. It is a rarely used kanji form.

Etymology

The expression repeats 止む “to stop” in the construction 止むに止まれない, literally describing something that cannot be stopped even when one tries to stop it.