Japanese symbol for “cannot”
駄目
だめ
Romaji: dame
no good; not serving its purpose; useless; broken
In Japanese, cannot is 駄目, read だめ (dame).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- adj-na, n no good; not serving its purpose; useless; broken
- adj-na, n hopeless; wasted; in vain; purposeless
- adj-na, n cannot; must not; not allowed
- n neutral point; intersection owned by neither player at the end of a game (go)
- int no!; stop!
Written forms: 駄目. Readings: だめ、ダメ、だーめ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “cannot”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| まじ | まじ maji | cannot; should not; will not |
| 可からざる | べからざる bekarazaru | cannot; must not |
| 訳にはいかない | わけにはいかない wakenihaikanai | cannot (due to external circumstances); cannot afford to; must not |
| 得ない | えない enai | unable to ...; cannot ... |
| 訳にはいけない | わけにはいけない wakenihaikenai | cannot (due to external circumstances); cannot afford to; must not |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 無駄 | むだ muda | futility; waste; uselessness |
| 無駄遣い | むだづかい mudazukai | waste (of money, time, etc.); squandering; frittering away |
| 駄菓子 | だがし dagashi | penny candy; cheap individually wrapped sweets |
| 下駄 | げた geta | geta; traditional Japanese wooden sandal |
| 駄作 | ださく dasaku | poor piece of work; rubbish; trash |
| 目的 | もくてき mokuteki | purpose; goal; aim |
| 目標 | もくひょう mokuhyou | goal; target; aim |
| 注目 | ちゅうもく chuumoku | notice; attention; observation |
See also: Chinese symbol for “cannot”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.