てたまらない

1. 1An emotion such as worry, joy, or loneliness is felt so strongly that it cannot be contained.Ex. 1
2. 2A physical sensation or a desire (e.g. heat, pain, sleepiness, wanting to do something) is unbearably strong.

Common in both conversation and everyday writing to describe the speaker's own strong feelings (うれしい, 心配, 寂しい), bodily sensations (暑い, 痛い, 眠い), or desires (〜たい). It is more expressive than a plain adjective. It sits between the more colloquial てしょうがない and the stiffer てならない.

• てならないN2When expressing strong emotions, the two are often interchangeable. However,「てならない」is more literary and reserved, often attaching to spontaneous verbs like「思われる」or「気がする」to describe thoughts arising involuntarily; for physical sensations such as pain or hot/cold,「てたまらない」sounds more natural.
• てしょうがないN3「てしょうがない」has basically the same meaning and conjugation as「てたまらない」, and both work for emotions and physical sensations, so they are usually interchangeable. It is more colloquial and common in everyday conversation; use「てたまらない」in more formal situations.
• 〜てしかたがないN3「〜てしかたがない」has basically the same meaning and conjugation and can be used for both emotions and physical sensations, so the two are mostly interchangeable. It emphasizes being unable to control oneself and the state continuing, while「てたまらない」highlights eager impatience. It can also be shortened to「てしかたない」.
• てかなわないN1「てかなわない」mainly describes annoying or unbearable things with a complaining tone; it is colloquial and rarely used for positive emotions like joy. For negative feelings it is roughly interchangeable with「てたまらない」, but it carries a stronger whining nuance.
• 限りだN1「限りだ」attaches only to adjectives and nouns of emotion, not to verbs, and is not used for physical sensations like pain or hot/cold. Its tone is formal, seen mainly in speeches and letters, and it does not emphasize unbearableness; with emotion adjectives the two are similar in meaning.
• てやまないN3「てやまない」is used in formal writing and speeches to express long-held wishes or respect, typically attaching to verbs like「願う」or「祈る」. It does not attach to adjectives and is not used for physical sensations like pain, so it is generally not interchangeable with this pattern.

てならない is stiffer and often used with spontaneous feelings (気がしてならない), while てしょうがない/〜てしかたがない are more casual equivalents of てたまらない. てかなわない stresses that something is a nuisance one cannot put up with, 限りだ is a formal comment on the speaker's feeling that attaches only to emotion adjectives, and てやまない is formal and expresses a lasting wish or hope (願ってやまない), not a momentary feeling or sensation.