GRAMMAR DETAIL

〜に忍びない

cannot bear to

Indicates that compassion for a person or thing makes it difficult to perform an action or watch a situation unfold.

Examples

長年守られてきた森が失われるのは見るにしのびない。

I cannot bear to watch a forest that has been protected for so many years disappear.

古い写真を捨てるのは忍びない。

I cannot bring myself to throw away the old photographs.

Structure: Attach に忍びない to a dictionary-form verb to express an inability to bear doing or watching something because of compassion or attachment. 忍びない is read しのびない.
Basic usage: 長年守られてきた森が失われるのは見るにしのびない。 means that watching the loss of a forest protected for many years is emotionally unbearable.

Difficulty arising from attachment
- 捨てるに忍びない means being unable to bring oneself to discard something because of attachment.
Making a clause the topic
- 古い写真を捨てるのは忍びない makes the whole act of discarding the photographs the topic through のは. 捨てるに忍びない instead connects に directly to the verb.