あかん
Japanese
editAlternative spelling |
---|
明かん (archaic) |
Etymology
editA contraction from the idiom 埒が明かぬ (rachi ga akanu, “not get up to speed, not get off the ground”, literally “the fence doesn't open”), where akanu is an archaic negative form of the verb 明く (aku, “to open, to open up”).[1][2][3]
- /rat͡ɕi ɡa akanu/ → /akanu/ → /akaɴ/
Pronunciation
editVerb
edit- Negative form of あく (aku)
- (Kansai, Hokuriku, Gifu-Aichi) to make little progress; a waste of time
- (Kansai, Hokuriku, Gifu-Aichi) something that is not good, something that is forbidden
- 酒はあかん
- sake wa akan
- alcohol is forbidden
-
- 負けたらあかん
- maketara akan
- you must not give in
- 負けたらあかん
- 酒はあかん
Usage notes
editFormerly spelled with kanji as 明かん. In modern usage, generally written with hiragana as あかん.
Synonyms
edit- いけない (ikenai): "doesn't go, cannot go" → inappropriate
- ならない (naranai): "doesn't become" → unbecoming, inappropriate
- 駄目 (dame): no good, bad, stop, don't
References
edit- ^ “明ん”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten][1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000
- ^ “明かん”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen][2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
- ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN