Structure
Verb + べき + ではない
Verb + べき + じゃない
［い］Adjective + くある + べき + ではない
［い］Adjective + くある + べき + じゃない
［な］Adjective + である + べき + ではない
［な］Adjective + である + べき + じゃない
Noun + である + べき + ではない
Noun + である + べき + じゃない
Details
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Standard
Rare Kanji
可き
About べきではない
As an extension of the auxiliary verb べき, that is partnered with verbs to convey 'ought to do (A)', べきではない (or べきじゃない) highlights the opposite, and means 'ought not to (A)', 'should not (A)', or 'must not (A)'. Just like べき, it is quite strong, and implies that doing (A) would be considered improper/incorrect.
べきではない (or べきじゃない) will be paired with the plain (non-past) form of a verb.
Caution
As with all other structures that use では, は may be omitted. However, as the presence of は strengthens the ない, the overall phrase will sound a little bit weaker without it.
- 一人であの山に行くべきではない。You must not go to that mountain alone.
-
人を傷つけるような事を言うべきでない。You ought not to say anything that could hurt a person's feelings.
Fun Fact
The combination of する and べき is a rare grammatical exception in Japanese, in which two forms are both considered equally correct. Due to this, either するべき, or すべき may be used.
- テストの前に徹夜をするべきではない。You ought not to stay up all night before a test.
-
くだらないことで警察に電話すべきではない。You must not call the cops for something trivial.
Synonyms
Antonyms
たほうがいい
It'd be better to, Should do
Not studied yet
たほうがいい
It'd be better to, Should do
Not studied yet
なくちゃ・なきゃ
Must do, Have to do
Not studied yet
はずだ
Bound to (be), Expected to (be), Should be (able)
Not studied yet
なければいけない
Must do, Have to do
Not studied yet
なければならない
Must do, Have to do
Not studied yet
ことだ
Should, Ought
Not studied yet
ものだ
Supposed to, Should, That's the way it is
Not studied yet
べき
Must, Should , Ought to
Not studied yet
Examples
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あなた一人だけで決める可きではない。
You should not decide alone.
腐っている食べ物を食べる可きではない。
You shouldn't eat food that is rotten.
禁煙場所では、タバコを吸う可きではない。
You should not smoke in places that are non-smoking.
大したことないよ。心配をする可きではない。
It's not important. You shouldn't worry about it.
人が嫌がることをする可きではない。
You should not do things people dislike.
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べきではない – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (4 in total)
Pushindawood
@pampel Thank you for your question. While は can be omitted, less emphasis is placed on the negation with its absence, and answers with its inclusion (or じゃない) are generally more common in modern Japanese. I have included a note about this on the grammar page and have added でない to answers that throw hints/warnings rather than marking you wrong. Cheers!
wrt7MameLZE33wlmpCAV
One thing that has always confused me with this grammar point is why it’s べきではない instead of ないべきだ. To my English brain, it’s the latter that seems correct, as opposed to the former (“not obliged to” vs. “obliged to not”). I understand that it’s wrong, but I don’t understand why.
Anyone have any insights?
Daru
It’s actually super simple: べき is an auxiliary verb that comes from べし’s attributive form.
It sounds advanced, but it’s basically saying that it’s a verb that got turned into a noun-like word for better connection in the language. (And hence, why it’s negated as じゃない/ではない)With this in mind, it’s just a matter of the language being in order to function.
Verb + Auxiliary べき + Negation of the Auxiliary ではないYou can’t negate what you haven’t established for negation!
ないべきだ would translate as “Don’t must.”
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