What does “dame” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “dame” to mean ‘wasted’, ‘ruined’, or ‘no good’ in Japanese. Probably, many Japanese learners know this word as it is quite often used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression and origin. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “dame” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “dame”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “dame”.
- dame – 駄目 (だめ) : originally a noun, but often used like an adjective to mean ‘wasted’ or ‘ruined’. This can also work as a phrase to mean ‘no good’ in Japanese.
Native speakers often use this word to describe something not good in Japanese.
The definition and meanings are not that difficult, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Dame in kanji
The kanji expression of “dame” consists of the following two characters:
- 駄 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘useless’.
- 目 : a kanji character used to mean ‘eye’. This can also mean ‘eyes’. Learn more about Japanese plural.
These two kanji characters tell us that “dame” literally means ‘useless eyes’ in Japanese. Seemingly, this literal interpretation is not in line with the meanings. Knowing the origin of this kanji expression, however, helps us a lot to understand why “useless eyes” came to mean ‘wasted’, ‘ruined’, or ‘no good’ in Japanese.
Origin of dame
“Dame” originally came from the traditional board game, “go”, in which two players use stones to gain territories on a playing board. Territories consist of line intersections surrounded by stones. And, Japanese people call those intersections “eyes”. I’ve explained that “dame” literally means ‘useless eyes’ in Japanese. As you may notice, it refers to useless intersections which players cannot count for their territories on the board. In a way, those are wasted, ruined, or no good. This is the short story of “dame” and the reason it can mean ‘wasted’, ‘ruined’, or ‘no good’ today even outside of the game.
Then, let me explain how to use “dame” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “no good” in Japanese
「kore wa dame desu」to kare ga it ta – 「これは駄目です」と彼が言った (「これはだめです」とかれがいった)
“This is no good,” he said.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kore – これ : a demonstrative pronoun referring to a thing close to the speaker. In the example, this works to mean ‘this’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kore” to make the subject in the clause.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “dame” to make it sound polite.
- to – と : a case particle working as a quote marker. In the example, this works after the clause to indicate what “kare” said.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kare” to make the subject in the sentence.
- it – 言っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iu”, which means ‘to say’, ‘to tell’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its past tense form, “it ta”.
This is a typical usage of “dame”. In this example, it works to mean ‘no good’ in Japanese. When we want to say “no good” in Japanese, this word is a good option.
Example #2: another usage of “dame”
momo ga dame ni nat ta – 桃が駄目になった (ももがだめになった)
Peaches went bad.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- momo – 桃 (もも) : a noun meaning ‘peach’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- ni – に : a case particle used to indicate a condition or situation in which something is after a change or action. In the example, this is used after “dame” to indicate the condition in which the peaches are after the change.
- nat – なっ : one conjugation of the verb, “naru”, which means ‘to become’, ‘to turn’, ‘to get’, or just ‘to be’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
This is another typical usage of “dame”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used expression, “dame ni nat ta”, which means ‘went bad’ in Japanese.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “dame” in detail based on its kanji expression and origin. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- dame – 駄目 (だめ) : originally a noun, but often used like an adjective to mean ‘wasted’ or ‘ruined’. This can also work as a phrase to mean ‘no good’ in Japanese. Native speakers often use this word to describe something not good in Japanese. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘useless eyes’. This idea originally came from the traditional board game, “go”.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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