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I saw this sentence from Spotify Japan video title: ずとまよ「ずっとって訳にはいかないんだ。。」15秒

I really can't understand the usage of 訳にはいかない here

From what I understand, verb+わけにはいかない is mean "cannot... "

Does this sentence mean: "cannot always"? It sound a bit weird to me

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  • Would you have trouble with 「ずっと」という訳にはいかない, too?
    – aguijonazo
    Jun 21, 2021 at 16:42
  • Yes, honestly this is the first time I saw this kind of sentence also
    – jiale ko
    Jun 22, 2021 at 0:50
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    If your doubt is about 訳にはいかない, this might help. If it is about という訳, this seems somewhat related.
    – aguijonazo
    Jun 22, 2021 at 2:02

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In this case ずっと means "Forever/All the time", not "Always".

Always means that it's always the case when certain conditions are met. Unlike "All the time / Forever" it doesn't mean always for a long time. For example, "When I order something at a restaurant, I always ask for a hamburger." it doesn't mean that I always ask for a hamburger, but it means that it happens only when I go to a restaurant and order it, which is a specific condition.

Forever/All the time means that it's always the case, regardless of the conditions, from a certain point in time, for a long and continuous period of time. For example, "That ball has been there since 3 years ago." referring to the state of being there continuously from the beginning, 3 years ago, to today. It's also used in the sense of eternity, sometimes referring to the future, as in "Let's be friends forever."

So, in this case, they don't have any conditions to be いつも(Always), so that's why the original sentence is ずっとって訳にはいかない - It can't be forever.

I hope this could makes sense the usage of "訳にはいかない", ask me in the comment if you got further question

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  • Actually compare to the meaning of ずっと, I'm more confuse about the usage of "訳にはいかない" in this example, from what I read I only know it can combine with verb, but I never see this combine with noun...
    – jiale ko
    Jun 22, 2021 at 3:52
  • May I know there's any similar usage with noun other than ずっと?
    – jiale ko
    Jun 22, 2021 at 3:56
  • Wait... ずっと isn't noun if I understand your words correctly... ずっと is adverb, are you thinking the ずっと came from actual name of ずとまよ(shortened from ずっと真夜中でいいのに。）? is that why you're having trouble with?
    – Skye-AT
    Jun 22, 2021 at 4:27
  • I see, but I still a little bit confuse, because from what I Google I can only found pattern: verb+わけにはいかない, I wonder when this combine with word other than verb, would it still bring the same meaning?
    – jiale ko
    Jun 22, 2021 at 7:53
  • Yes. For example, そういう(this is adnominal adjective, IIRC)訳にはいかない means "That's not how it works.". they'll always brings the same/similar meaning, like they don't / can't work like that.
    – Skye-AT
    Jun 22, 2021 at 8:13

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