Learn Japanese grammar: ちゃいけない (cha ikenai) / ちゃダメ (cha dame) / じゃいけない (ja ikenai) / じゃダメ (ja dame). Meaning: must not; may not; cannot (spoken Japanese).
This grammar is a more casual way to say we should not do / may not do something. To be more formal, you can use てはいけない (te wa ikenai).
Which to use: ちゃ VS じゃ
- Use the verb’s て form, but then remove the て
- たべる -> たべて -> たべちゃ
- “taberu” -> “tabete” -> “tabe cha”
- If the て form is で, then ちゃ turns to じゃ
- のむ -> のんで -> のんじゃ
- “nomu” -> “nonde” -> “nonja”
3 Main Ending Patterns
- ダメ (dame) = standard, casual
- いけない (ikenai) = standard, casual
- いけません (ikemasen) = same, but more formal
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ちゃいけない・じゃいけない - Example Sentences 例文
Each example sentence includes a Japanese hint, the romaji reading, and the English translation.
Click the below red button to toggle off and and on all of the hints, and you can click on the buttons individually to show only the ones you want to see.
Example #1
寝る前にスマホを見ちゃダメよ。
Example #2
ここはきけんなので、入っちゃダメだよ。
Example #3
やっちゃいけないことをやっちゃった。
Example #4
自信をなくしちゃいけません！
Example #5
そんなに授業をさぼっちゃダメよ。
Example #6
彼を信用しちゃいけない。
Example #7
赤信号をむししちゃいけません！
Example #8
野菜を食べるまでデザートを食べちゃいけないよ。
Example #9
子どもの前に悪いことばを言っちゃいけません。
Example #10
２０歳未満の人はお酒を飲んじゃいけません。
Vocabulary List 語彙
| Kanji 漢字 | Kana カナ | English 英語 |
|---|---|---|
| 寝る | ねる | to sleep |
| 前に | まえに | before |
| スマフォ | smart phone | |
| 見る | みる | to look |
| 危険 | きけん | dangerous |
| 入る | はいる | to enter |
| 授業 | じゅぎょう | class; lecture |
| さぼる | to skip | |
| 彼 | かれ | him |
| 信用 | しんよう | trust |
| 野菜 | やさい | vegetables |
| 食べる | たべる | to eat |
| やる | to do | |
| 自信 | じしん | confidence |
| 無くする | なくする | to lose |
| 赤信号 | あかしんごう | red light |
| 無視 | むし | to ignore |
| 子供 | こども | children; child |
| 悪い | わるい | bad |
| 言葉 | ことば | word; words |
| 言う | いう | to say |
| 20歳 | はたち | 20 years old (adult in Japan) |
| 未満 | みまん | not yet |
| お酒 | おさけ | alcahol |
| 飲む | のむ | to drink |
View all JLPT N5 Vocabulary Lessons
View all JLPT N5 Grammar Lessons
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