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

Particle

なかれ • (nakare) 

  1. [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

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
  1. c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 19, poem 4236), text available online here
  2. “勿・莫・毋・无”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
  3. “勿れ”, in デジタル大辞泉 (Dejitaru Daijisen)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
  4. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. “無・莫・勿・毋・无・亡”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN, particularly [語誌] note (5)
  6. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  7. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
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