あかん

Japanese

Etymology

A contraction from the idiom 埒が明かぬ (rachi ga akanu, “not get up to speed, not get off the ground”, literally “the fence doesn't open”). akanu is an archaic negative form of the verb 明く (aku, “to open, to open up”).^[1]^[2]

Pronunciation

(Kyoto, Osaka) あかん (Heiban)

(Tokyo) あかん [àkáꜜǹ] (Nakadaka – [2])
IPA^(key): [a̠kã̠ɴ]

Verb

あかん (katakana アカン, rōmaji akan)

Negative form of あく (aku)
(Kansai) to make little progress; a waste of time
(Kansai) something that is not good, something that is forbidden
酒 (さけ)はあかん
sake wa akan
alcohol is forbidden
- 天童よしみ (lyrics 若山かほる), 「道頓堀人情」
  負 (ま)けたらあかん
  maketara akan
  you must not give in

Synonyms

いけない (ikenai): "doesn't go, cannot go" → inappropriate
ならない (naranai): "doesn't become" → unbecoming, inappropriate
駄 (だ)目 (め) (dame): no good, bad, stop, don't

References

↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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[KDJ-1] 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

[DJR-2] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN