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.
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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 |
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