How does one say "It's forbidden", or "I can't" ?
Forbid

Zaina
November 24, 2007

Sayaka-Matsuura
November 25, 2007
Hi Zaina,
There are many ways to say "forbidden" or "can't" and in most cases you need to know what follows or in which situation you want to use it.
The noun form for "forbidden" is "kinshi".
But it also depends on how it is used with other words. If you could tell us the exact phrase (or situation) then it will be easier to translate it for you. Thanks!

Zaina
November 26, 2007
Thanks for your help on the word "forbidden" :)
as to the other word: how do i say " I can't come" ?
and I keep hearing people say "kairo", or something like that. what does it mean?
Also, is there a way to say "I don't want"- as in I don't desire to" ? or does that also depend on what I dont want?
Thanks!

Sayaka-Matsuura
December 2, 2007
Hi again Zaina,
As for "kairo"....I'm sorry but I'm not sure what you are referring to. What is the context?
In Japanese, you conjugate verbs, that is, change the form of the verbs to make it mean different things. So "I can't come" and "I don't want to come" will be said by changing the form of the verb "come".
Besides, the Japanese translation for the word "go" is used in many situations that you would use the word "come" in English.
It is not advisable to translate "a word" taken out of context, simply because there are so many variations and different words you use in different situations. We don't want to give you the wrong advise. It would help if you can tell us the exact situation. Thank you.

Matumic
March 8, 2008
たべてはいけません
You may not eat.
ねてはいけません
You may not sleep
のんではいけません
You may not drink.
That might help a little bit more. These are common some verbs conjugated into "forbidden" actions. Help that helps. :D

Zaina
March 12, 2008
it helps a lot, thanks :)