nakya なきゃ

In Japanese, nakya なきゃ is often used to say you "must" do something. It can also be used to say "if not something, something else."

• ganbaranakya
  頑張らなきゃ
  [I] must work hard. Try my best. Put effort.
  • ganbaru 頑張る
    To work hard. Try your best. Etc.
• yasukunakya urenai
  安くなきゃ売れない
  If [it's] not cheap, [it] can't be sold.
  • yasui 安い
    Cheap.

Grammatically, it's either a contraction of nakereba なければ, the conditional ba-form of the i-adjective nai ない, "nonexistent," which can be suffixed to verbs and adjectives to create their negative forms.

This nakya なきゃ is almost synonymous with nakucha なくちゃ, which contracts nakute wa なくては instead.

• Grammar

Grammar

Both meaning of nakya, or rather, of ~kya ～きゃ, can be used to express a condition which leads to a consequence.

• okane ga nakya komaru
  お金がなきゃ困る
  If there's no money: be troubled.
  [I'll] be troubled if [I] don't have money.
  [I'll] be troubled if [you] don't have money. (because you owe me money, for example.)

The reason nakya is particularly important is because you often see it in double negatives, which end up translating to "must."

• hatarakanakya kuenai
  働かなきゃ食えない
  If [you] don't work, [you] can't eat.
  [You] must work in order to eat.

Like nakucha, nakya is often combined with dame ダメ, "no good," ikenai いけない, "can't go," and naranai ならない, "won't be," which result in phrases that mean you "must" do something. For example:

• benkyou shinakya dame
  勉強しなきゃダメ
  If not study: no good.
  Not studying is no good.
  Studying is good.
  I should study. I have to study. I must study. (etc.)
• benkyou shinakya ikenai
  勉強しなきゃいけない
  (same meaning.)
• benkyou shinakya naranai
  勉強しなきゃならない
  (same meaning.)

These patterns, nakya dame なきゃダメ, nakya naranai なきゃならない, nakya naranai なきゃならない, are common enough that sometimes what comes after nakya gets omitted.

• benkyou shinakya
  勉強しなきゃ
  If [I] don't study. (then what???)

So a phrase like above is saying "I have to study." It should be saying "if I don't study it's going to be bad," but it's omitting the "it's going to be bad" part, which is what makes it so confusing.

• sou konakya
  そうこなきゃ
  If [it] doesn't come like that. (it's bad.)
• In other words, if you don't act like that, if you don't do it like that, if you don't say something like that, if you don't behave like that, if you don't show courage or determination like that, etc. etc. etc. it's no good.