だめ
だめ
hepburn dame
no good, not allowed
Part of speech · na-adjective
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- ここで写真を撮ってはダメです。No photos here.
- ダメ、絶対!No, absolutely not!
Collocations
ダメ / 駄目 (dame, "no good / forbidden")〜てはダメ (~tewa dame, "you mustn't")無理 (muri, "impossible")ダメダメ (dame dame, emphatic "no no")ダメ、絶対 (dame zettai, "no, absolutely" — anti-drug slogan)
Mnemonic
ダメ / 駄目 dame — kanji "useless (駄) + eye (目)" → origin in Go (the board game): "an empty square no one can use" → extended to "no good / forbidden / impossible / failure". Layered register: (1) explicit prohibition (子供にダメと言う, telling a child "no"), (2) object evaluation "useless" (このパソコンダメだ, this PC is broken), (3) personal judgment (ダメな人, a useless person). Direct ダメ at someone is harsh — business speech softens to 難しい / 無理. The 1980s 厚生省 anti-drug campaign 「ダメ、絶対」 ("no, absolutely") became a national mantra.
Quick check
Origin of ダメ in Go (the board game)?