# I couldn't resist



## Okami

Hello everyone , I'm new to the forum and to japanese language as well!
I need to know if 私は抵抗することができませんでした (Hopefully : watashi wa teiko suru koto ga dekimasen deshita) means "I couldn't resist".
I'm positive it's correct but I'm not completely sure...If it's wrong , how can I say "I couldn't resist" (doing something)?
And how is it written in Kanji\Kana and Romaji?
Thanks in advance for any help!


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## Aoyama

Welcome to the Forum Okami !
You're right on all counts here (translation, transcription).
"I couldn't resist", in the sense : I couldn't offer resistance (fight back).


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## uchi.m

Welcome to the Japanese forum _

You couldn't resist_ as in _cannot help out doing something_?

I couldn't resist having some ice cream = アイスが食べたくてたまらなかった Aisu ga tabetaku te tamaranakatta


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## Okami

Thanks for your welcome and help , I really appreciate it!
Even if I'm not so good translating japanese (I wish I was better at it , all I know is self-taught...and not so well indeed) , now I've understood the meanings , both of them!
But i still have one doubt: if the argument is stronger and more important than a icecream , and I really tried to fight for not doing it , can i still use "resist" in the sentence?
Thanks again for any help , I think this forum is a real landmark for everyone that's into foreign languages!


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## uchi.m

What's the sentence you are interested in?


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## Okami

uchi.m said:


> What's the sentence you are interested in?



Well , it's better to go straight to the point : if I had to give a present (of any kind) to someone who told me not to , I would say : Gomennasai , "I couldn't resist" ... wouldn't I?
Thanks for your time!


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## Aoyama

That use of "resist" would not be idiomatic in Japanese. Beware of word to word translations ... As uchi.m said たまらない is one way to express this, there are other ways, but the sentence should be changed.


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## Okami

Ops , okay now I got it I've used "resist" not properly , anyway I meant "hold back"...Sorry if I abuse your kindness , so how can i say only "I couldn't hold back" in Romaji and Kanji/kana?


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## Aoyama

If you want to say "I had to buy you this present", Japanese "logic" will see things differently. There is also a "spirit" or more like an "esprit" behind words. どうしても[これを][あなたに]買えたかった/差し上げたかった : dōshitemo [korewo][anatani] kaetakatta/sashiagetakatta : by all means [this] [to you] I wanted to buy/to offer you.


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## Okami

Thanks Aoyama , I'm not an expert in Japanese grammar but I know what you mean when you're talking about spirit of words (what a wonderful culture!).
Anyway the problem with my sentence is that i need it to remain a little vague, without specifying "I had to buy it for you" , but only saying "I had to" or better if it sounds like the previous "I couldn't hold back" : is it possible to write only that?does it violate any grammar rule?
By the way , the sentence Uchi.m proposed seems fitting , but since I'm not so good at understanding every bit of japanese grammar , is it ok to remove only "aisu ga" from the sentence and let the meaning intact?
Sorry for my insistence and thanks again.


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## Aoyama

> is it ok to remove only "aisu ga" from the sentence and let the meaning intact?


 no, forget about this example, very correct, but it includes "tabetaku te" (_ wanted to eat), it would not apply to your context._


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## Okami

Ah ok , thanks! but so , how can I say "I had To" or the famous "I couldn't hold back" without any context (if it's possible)?
I looked around on my own on some site of japanese language but It seems I couldn't find precisely what I'm looking for...


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## uchi.m

Okami said:


> Well , it's better to go straight to the point : if I had to give a present (of any kind) to someone who told me not to , I would say : Gomennasai , "I couldn't resist" ... wouldn't I?
> Thanks for your time!


I would say いいえ、大丈夫です in this situation because it was not a burden (迷惑 meiwaku) to buy the person a gift. The refusal to accept a gift in the Japanese culture has to do with the concept of meiwaku. 

ごめんなさい would not be idiomatic, either, because you are not to blame for anything you did wrong or to be excused for, and so there's not really a need to apologize. _I'm sorry_ doesn't translate well here, that's what I mean.

I would also add along つまらないものですけど because it's not good manners to boast about how cool or how interesting your gift is for yourself. It's up to the counterpart to decide whether the gift was cool or interesting for him/herself.


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## Okami

Wow , thank you very much : something is still not perfectly clear but I think we're almost to the point i wanted to get to!
By the way , I didn't know the concept of "meiwaku" , good to know and thanks for the link!
So ok , I'll eliminate "gomennasai" but since I've already said I'm not so good at japanese grammar and it would be a long process for me to look up the pronunciation and transcription of the kana , could you please write me down the Romaji for いいえ、大丈夫です and つまらないものですけど with the exact meaning? I'm afraid I would do a mess doing it on my own , and I'm not even sure to succeed...
I'm a real beginner at japanese grammar , have mercy(or at least patience!)
Thanks for your time again!


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## Aoyama

Uchi.m is right. You could also replace いいえ、大丈夫です and つまらないものですけど (iié, daijobu desu/desuyo and tsumaranai mono desukedo) by a simpler いいんですよ"ii(n) desu yo" (that's OK/don't worry about it).


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## Okami

Thanks , but I need to know what いいえ、大丈夫です and つまらないものですけど mean precisely , before changing them with a simpler いいんですよ...
As I said I'm not so skilled and I know very little about japanese language...


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## uchi.m

いいえ、大丈夫です = No, it is okay [as for not having been burdened]
つまらないものですけど = It's but a modest thing


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## Aoyama

大丈夫です has many meanings : it's alright, don't mention it, don't worry about it, it's/I'm OK (with this), it's /I'm fine etc. It is really an idiosyncratic expression.

つまらないもの is also idiosyncratic. It is an expression of "codified" modesty, where the receiver of the present should object (and say "no, not at all" ).
ですけど : also again idiosyncratic (it is but, but not in the English sense), to avoid and abrupt (and impolite) sentence ending.


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## Okami

Okay , thank you very much to both of you : everything seems fine with those sentences and I think they are fitting for my purpose!
One last doubt though (sorry , I know I'm insistent) : Is it really impossible to write only "I had to (do it)"(at least in that meaning) giving someone a present?
I hope it will be the last question , I know I'm keeping this thread longer than it should be!
Thanks again for your patience


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## uchi.m

Why have you *had *to do it?


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## Okami

uchi.m said:


> Why have you *had *to do it?



It's a bit complicated : I'm not too happy to throw my personal life in  the internet , so let's just say the person receiving the present doesn't expect me  to do it . But I have various reasons to send that particular present even with the possibility of being against that person's will to receive it from me , that's why I could have a reason to be "sorry but I couldn't hold back , I just had to" ...
The meaning should be something like "it was stronger than me , I had to do it"...
I hope it's clear written this way , it 's more than i wanted to say in a public forum...
Like always , thank you very much for the help!


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## Aoyama

Saying "I had to buy you a present" will sound strange in Japanese ("obligation" has a strong meaning in Japanese).
You might say : どうしても差し上げたかった (dōshitemo sashiagetakatta) I had to give (this to you), by all means.


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## uchi.m

Okami said:


> It's a bit complicated : I'm not too happy to throw my personal life in  the internet , so let's just say the person receiving the present doesn't expect me  to do it . But I have various reasons to send that particular present even with the possibility of being against that person's will to receive it from me , that's why I could have a reason to be "sorry but I couldn't hold back , I just had to" ...
> The meaning should be something like "it was stronger than me , I had to do it"...
> I hope it's clear written this way , it 's more than i wanted to say in a public forum...
> Like always , thank you very much for the help!


If you have feelings for her, you might want to say XYZのこと好きだから (XYZ no koto suki dakara) where XYZ is your friend's name.

The grammatically correct utterance would be XYZのこと*が*好きだから, but dropping *が* renders a more intimate, deep tone to your saying.


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## Okami

Aoyama said:


> Saying "I had to buy you a present" will sound  strange in Japanese ("obligation" has a strong meaning in Japanese).
> You might say : どうしても差し上げたかった (dōshitemo sashiagetakatta) I had to give (this to you), by all means.



Ok thanks Aoyama , I think I'm gonna use this one almost for sure : it's fitting to my cause!



uchi.m said:


> If you have feelings for her, you might want to  say XYZのこと好きだから (XYZ no koto suki dakara) where XYZ is your friend's  name.
> 
> The grammatically correct utterance would be XYZのこと*が*好きだから, but dropping *が* renders a more intimate, deep tone to your saying.



Thanks  Uchi.m , but as always I need to know the exact translation of the  sentence , it would be difficult to do it on my own , even if I got the  general meaning (or at least I think so) ...

Thanks again to both of you for your kindness and patience!


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## uchi.m

XYZのこと好きだから = That's because I like XYZ [where XYZ is the listener's name]


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## Okami

uchi.m said:


> XYZのこと好きだから = That's because I like XYZ [where XYZ is the listener's name]



Thanks , my intuition was right because I recognized "suki" and its meaning... Maybe It's not exactly what I would like to express with the present i'm giving (I told you : it's complicated...) , but I'll keep it in mind.
I guess now I have everything I need!
Thank you very much to both of you for the help and patience, I'm really grateful!


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