Japanese with Manga

Don't say it with 〜てはだめだ

Grammar Explanation: Must not do with 〜てはだめだ

Manga panel from ご注文はうさぎですか？ showing example of Don't say it with 〜てはだめだ.
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Syaro gives a vague account of her first meeting Rize, as the truth is too embarassing for her. Cocoa listens to Syaro’s words and misunderstands the event.

リゼ:
「ちがうちがう本当(ほんとう)はー」
“No, no. What really happened was...”
シャロ:
「あっ言(い)っちゃだめです！」
“Ah, don't say it!”
Literal: “Ah, it is no good if you say it!”

Key Points

1言(い)っちゃだめです tells Rize not to reveal it
  • Syaro tries to stop Rize from giving the embarrassing true account of their first meeting.
2言(い)っちゃ contracts 言(い)っては
  • The casual contraction combines with polite です, which fits Syaro’s urgent but respectful plea.
3あっ shows the interruption is immediate
  • Syaro reacts as Rize prepares to speak, so the line functions as “wait, don’t say it!”
4本当(ほんとう)は trails into the account Syaro interrupts
  • Contrastive は marks what actually happened, and the long vowel shows Rize is about to continue.

Vocabulary

(Truth)

本当(ほんとう) means truth, real, or really.

(To say)

言(い)う means to say or tell. It can also mean to call something by a particular name.

See Also

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