1

I have learnt two variants for prohibition:
-ちゃだめ
-ではいけません
depending on the level of formality…

But does an intermediate form of
-じゃいけない or
-ではいけない
exist as well?

Improve this question
2
  • Note that ちゃだめ and ではいけません don't carry the same nuance as well, the formality isn't the only difference.
    – Breton Loïc
    Commented Aug 27, 2018 at 0:56
  • It doesn't address the question as asked, but [禁止]{きんし} seems worth an honourable mention here as well.
    – Karl Knechtel
    Commented Aug 13 at 3:28

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

Yes, all combinations are possible. Taking 見る as an example, you can say all of the following (roughly in the descending order of formality):

  • 見てはいけません。
  • 見てはだめです。
  • 見てはいけない。
  • 見ちゃいけない。
  • 見ちゃだめ(だ(よ))。

だめです may look like a weird combination of a colloquial word and the polite form, but it can happen when a teacher say "don't ..." to their students, for example.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .