いけない

• 読み: いけない
• ローマ字: ikenai
• 発音: /i.ke.na.i/

意味

Must not; should not; bad; wrong. Expresses prohibition or that something is unacceptable.

An i-adjective derived from the potential negative of 行く (iku, to go). Most commonly appears in the grammar pattern ～てはいけない (must not do). Also used as a standalone exclamation meaning 'Oh no!' when realising a mistake. Interchangeable with いけません in polite speech.

例文

1. ここでタバコを吸ってはいけない。
2. いけない、財布を忘れてきた。
3. 夜遅くまで起きていてはいけないよ。

使い方ガイド

場面: rules, parenting, self-correction

トーン: cautionary

起源と歴史

Negative form of いける (to be able to go/proceed), which itself derives from 行ける. The underlying meaning is 'cannot proceed' or 'it won't do,' extended to express prohibition or disapproval.

文化的背景

時代: Edo

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal