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Obviously, なきゃ is the short/casual form of なければならない like in: 病院へ行かなきゃ。 I need to go to the hospital.

But I've also seen negative + と be used to express the same thing. 病院へ行かないと。

I assume と here is conditional but is a difference in nuance between the two? Or are they both interchangeable?

Jet
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  • They are mostly interchangeable: [Differences between 'must'](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/24353/45489) – sundowner Dec 11 '22 at 01:17

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Simply, ~しなきゃ is more informal. It is usually wise to avoid しなきゃ unless you're talking with your friends (although this depends on your age and personality). ~しないと is not particularly formal, but it's polite enough when you are conversing with a stranger or your boss.

More generally, the eba-to-ya contraction is considered highly colloquial or informal.

naruto
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