なかれ

See also: ながれ

Japanese

Alternative spellings
勿れ莫れ毋れ无れ

Etymology

From Old Japanese. First cited in the Man'yōshū, completed in 759.^[1]^[2]

The imperative form of the classical adjective 無し (nashi, “not”).^[2]^[3]^[4] Originally from fusion of adverbial なく (naku) + imperative copula あれ (are, “be”),^[5] resulting in a literal meaning of imperative "be not".

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) なかれ [nàkáꜜrè] (Nakadaka – [2])^[4]^[6]^[7]
(Tokyo) なかれ [náꜜkàrè] (Atamadaka – [1])^[4]^[6]^[7]
IPA^(key): [na̠ka̠ɾe̞]

Particle

なかれ • (nakare)

[from 759] (Classical Japanese or literary) must not; do not
汝(なんじ)、殺(ころ)すなかれ
Nanji, korosu nakare
Thou shalt not kill
- Kanbun kundoku of the Analects of Confucius, XV.24
  己(おのれ)の欲(ほっ)せざる所(ところ)、人(ひと)に施(ほどこ)すこと勿(なか)れ
  Onore no hossezaru tokoro, hito ni hodokosu koto nakare
  What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others

Usage notes

Initial uses always included the noun 事 (koto, “fact, instance”) between the verb and the nakare. Over time, this koto was elided, and nakare would append directly to the verb.
Compare with prohibition particle な (na). The use of nakare appears to be more common when prohibiting a class of actions, such as in broad commands, whereas the use of na appears to be more common when prohibiting a specific action.

References

^
c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 19, poem 4236:
, text available online here
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 “勿・莫・毋・无”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
^ “勿れ”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ “無・莫・勿・毋・无・亡”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[3] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006, particularly [語誌] note (5)
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[MYS-1] 
c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 19, poem 4236:
, text available online here

[KDJ2-2] 2.0 ^2.1 “勿・莫・毋・无”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

[DDJS-3] “勿れ”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months

[DJR-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[KDJ2-nashi-5] “無・莫・勿・毋・无・亡”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[3] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006, particularly [語誌] note (5)

[SMK5-6] 6.0 ^6.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-7] 7.0 ^7.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

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