Weekly Grammar Deep Dive Week 1 - より~の方が ; からいうとand べからず

Oh boy, my first time taking a look at N1 grammar. Big fun :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: I seem to have mostly gathered a bunch of example sentences at this point though instead of taking a deeper look into the grammar point… Oh well, still a few days remaining to dive deeper into its exact workings.

べからず [Part one]


A formal phrase, could be considered a grammar leftover from classical Japanese. It has the meaning of must not, do not, should not. An auxilary verb that indicates a strong prohibition.

How to use

Verb-dictionary form + べからず / べからざる

!Exception : する can be すべからず

見る → 見るべからず
する → すべからず
する → するべからず
する → すべからずる

べからず is a negative form of べし (should, ought to). It expresses a strong prohibition and is used only in written language. The prenominal form of べからず is べからざる , which is the written version of べきでない.

(1)それは総理(そうり)大臣(だいじん)(べからざる・べきでない)発言(はつげん)だった。 (It was a statement that no prime minister should ever make)
(2)児童(じどう)虐待(ぎゃくたい)などは(ゆる)す (べからざる・べきではない)行為(こうい)だ。(Child abuse is an unacceptable act)

There are five expressions that are synonymous with べからず, and they can be ordered by degree of prohibitiveness. The order is as follows, from most prohibitive to least :

  • べからず

  • きんず(る)

  • 禁止

  • てはいけません (てはいけない・てはならない)

  • ないでください

  • ないようにしてください

It seems that all of the above can be used interchangeably in a sentence, and these will determine how prohibitive something is exactly. If someone knows of any exceptions to this, please let me know, because I haven’t found any mentions on this.

While not mentioned among its synonyms under related grammar on BunPro, or elsewhere, I also want to take a closer look at one more related grammar point for this one of the coming days, namely :

  • 可きではない (or 可きでない)
  1. Set expressions using べからず / べからざる

So, as mentioned on the main grammar page for べからず, it seems that べからざる is mostly used in a few set expression, e.g. :

許すべからざる罪 → an unforgiveable sin
欠くべからざる物 → absolutely necessary things (= things that cannot be lacking)

Example sentences :

  • ビル(ない)でタバコを()うべからず。(No smoking inside the building!)
  • (かれ)はわがチームには()くべからざる選手(せんしゅ)である。(He is an indespensible player for our team)
  • (はたら)かざるもの()うべからず。(Those that don’t work, don’t eat).
  • ここまでくるはよいが、(さき)(すす)むべからず。(You may come up to here, but no further)
  • 関係者(かんけいしゃ)以外(いがい)()()るべからず。(Authorized personnel only)
  • 首相(しゅしょう)自由(じゆう)発言(はつげん)するべからざる(ひと)です。(The Prime Minister is a man who should not be allowed to speak freely)
  • そこはだれでも(はい)るべからざるところです。(That’s a place that no one should enter)
  • (おや)でも子供(こども)(はげ)しくしかるべからある(ひと)です。(He’s a parent who shouldn’t be too hard on his children)
  • 学生(がくせい)先生(せんせい)にひどい言葉(ことば)使(つか)って皮肉(ひにく)するのはありうべからざる行動(こうどう)です。(Students are not supposed to be sarcastic and use horrible words with their teachers)
  • 基礎(きそ)のことを(わす)れるべからざる。(Don’t forget the fundamentals)
  • (しば)(はい)るべからず。(Keep off the lawn)
  • 原子力(げんしりょく)はえねるぎー(げん)として()くべからざるものとなっている。(Atomic Energy has become indispensable as a source of energy)
  • ()むべからず。(You shouldn’t read it)
  • ()べるべからず。(Don’t eat [it])
  • 盗作(とうさく)をすべからず。(You shouldn’t plagiarize)
  • あるべからざる状態(じょうたい)。(A situation that shouldn’t exist)
  • 必要(ひつよう)()くべからあるもの。(An indispensable thing)
  • 否定(ひてい)すべからざる事実(じじつ)。(An undeniable fact)
  • 電車(でんしゃ)(なか)携帯(けいたい)電話(でんわ)使(つか)うべからず。(You ought not use your cell phone in the train)
  • 授業中(じゅぎょうちゅう)(となり)(もの)私語(しご)をするべからず。(You shouldn’t talk in class with your neighbours)
  • 無用(むよう)(もの)(はい)るべからず。 (No trespassing)
  • 虚言(きょげん)()くべからず。(Don’t tell a lie)

A fun one with a pun I came across on this article :

image

From the article :

“告 烏(カラス)二告グ ココデ餌ヲ食ゥベカラズ
公園奉行所烏捕縛目付役

Notice To all Crows You must not eat here
Crow Control Overseer, Park Magistrate’s Office

(Toyama Castle Grounds sign addressed to the local crows. It scares away crows by attracting (human) visitors’ attention. * It also works as a pun on the words べからず and からす (crows).)”

I’ll continue on with my deep dive tomorrow probably, as I feel like I haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet. Turning in for the night though :stuck_out_tongue:

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Nice! Good write up! I like the list of most prohibitive to least. I had always wondered about that. :+1:

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This is a really nice thread, I’ve only skimmed it so will go back later.

As I’m reading, it seems logical that BunPro could shoot videos for their grammar points, even if only 1-2min long (especially since writing their own notes). These really do help and I think it is popular. 日本語の森 and the dolly videos are get a lot of traffic. I’d vote for English N5, hybrid N4 and native for N3-N1. Just throwing it out there, @Daru since you are here :slightly_smiling_face:

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Next weeks thread is live : Weekly Grammar Deep Dive Week 2 - いらっしゃる; にとって and 〜ようとおもう・〜おうとおもう

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