あかん

Japanese

Alternative spelling
明かん (archaic)

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”), where akanu is an archaic negative form of the verb 明く (aku, “to open, to open up”).

• /rat͡ɕi ɡa akanu/ → /akanu/ → /akaɴ/

Pronunciation

• (Kyoto, Osaka) あかん (Heiban - [0])

• (Tokyo) あか​ん [àkáꜜǹ] (Nakadaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [a̠kã̠ɴ]

Verb

あかん or アカン • (akan) 

1. Negative form of あく (aku)
2. (Kansai, Hokuriku, Gifu-Aichi) to make little progress; a waste of time
3. (Kansai, Hokuriku, Gifu-Aichi) something that is not good, something that is forbidden

   酒(さけ)はあかん

   sake wa akan

   alcohol is forbidden

   • 1984, “道頓堀人情”, 若山かほる (lyrics), performed by 鏡五郎:

     負(ま)けたらあかん

     maketara akan

     you must not give in

Usage notes

Formerly spelled with kanji as 明かん. In modern usage, generally written with hiragana as あかん.

Synonyms

• いけない (ikenai): "doesn't go, cannot go" → inappropriate
• ならない (naranai): "doesn't become" → unbecoming, inappropriate
• 駄目(だめ) (dame): no good, bad, stop, don't