Do you know the meaning of the following sentence? Use the vocabulary breakdown and try to come up with the meaning.
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あんまり真に受けないようにしないといけない
- あんまり not much, not very [informal way of saying あまり; it is used to modify the verb phrase 真に受けない. It adds the nuance of "not taking too seriously.”]
- 真に truly; really
- 受けない to accept; to receive; to take [negative of 受ける (to take); in this context, "to not take" as in "to not take seriously"]
- 真に受けない not taking seriously [the negative form of 真に受ける (to take seriously). In this context, it means "not taking seriously."]
- ように so that; in order to
- しないと if (I) don’t (do, then…); have to do [negative form of する (to do), followed by と (if… then…)]
- いけない not good; must not (used to express a sense of obligation)
- しないといけない must; have to [This expression is best learned as one word; it is used to convey the sense of obligation, meaning "must" or "have to." The verb する (to do) is used in its negative form (しない) followed by と and いけない indicating the necessity of the action.]
Now, try to translate that sentence.
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If you are scratching your head, don’t worry, the confusion is probably due to the triple negative. (See the red letters in the toggle above.)

あんまり真に受けないようにしないといけない
If you are scratching your head, don’t worry, the confusion is probably due to the triple negative. (the red letters)
- 1 negative = negation 受けない
- 2 negatives = positive しない
- 3 negatives = negation again… いけない
Therefore, it means “must not.”
In English, we have this too. “I ain’t got no money” by all accounts ought to mean “I have at least a penny.” At least according to my 2nd grade English teacher.
In theory, this is true. In practice, well, that's another thing.
While double negatives become a positive in English occasionally, in Japanese, this is used all the time.
Think of the 1990’s movie Wayne’s World.

For a short period, it was popular to negate a previous positive statement by adding “Not!” at the end. (If you are too young to have seen it, save your brain cells and just know that little "not" factoid.)
It was an educational movie. NOT!
Japanese does this much more elegantly and frequently. Double negatives, triple negatives… Bring it on!
Double Negative Example
あなたのことが好き。
I like you.
Easy enough. Now after a short pause, you add a bit more:
あなたのことが好きじゃない。
I don’t like you.
Oh oh. But before she slaps you, you add one more step:
あなたのことが好きじゃないわけじゃない。
It’s not that I don’t like you.
The わけじゃない brings it back to a positive. わけじゃない is used to express that something is not the case or not necessarily true. It isn't the case (necessarily) that I don't like you.
Triple Negative Example
Back to today’s main example. I was speaking with a Japanese friend the other day and he said this sentence. I understood what he was saying, but my brain had to do three flips to confirm.
あんまり真に受けないようにしないといけない
You must not take (it, him, her, etc.) too seriously.
This example has three negatives which means it remains overall negative. However, the final しないといけない should really be considered as a set phrase.
しないといけない means “I (or you) have to” or “must do” something. It is a combination of the negative form of the verb する (to do) which is しない and いけない which means "not good" or "not allowed." When used together, the phrase conveys the idea that something needs to be done, otherwise it's not good or not acceptable. It is often used to express obligation or necessity in Japanese.
Let’s break this sentence down to follow the logic:
あんまり
(not) too much
あんまり真に受けない
not too much | take seriously
あんまり真に受けないように
not too much | take seriously | in order to
あんまり真に受けないようにしない
not too much | take seriously | in order to | not do
あんまり真に受けないようにしないと
not too much | take seriously | in order to | not do | if (conditional particle)
あんまり真に受けないようにしないといけない
not too much | take seriously | in order to | not do | if | must not
This all becomes:
"We should not take it too seriously."
I apologize if my rambling explanation simply made it more confusing but look for other instances of double or even triple negatives in Japanese. It happens quite often.
These kind of double/triple negatives have always confused me in my Japanese studies. Thank you for this article!
It is confusing! But it makes playing with words fun.
For English native speakers of course. For me it is very understandable as in my language it is exactly the same (even quadruple negatives which in the end are positive). It is easier to explain the negatives the same way as in mathematics – each double negative changes in positive. 🙂