N4 Verb Forms

禁止きんし形けい: meaning, usage and examples

禁止きんし形けい means: Verb Prohibitive-form.

Updated 9 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team · Spotted a mistake? Tell us

Examples

1. 飲のむな、食たべるな、するな、来くるな

   [Prohibitive-form] of drink, eat, do, come

2. そこに触さわるな！

   Don't touch that!

3. そこに入はいるな！

   Don't go in there!

4. 川かわのそばに「泳およぐな」という看板かんばんがあります。

   There is a sign by the river that says "No swimming."

5. 先生せんせいに「あきらめるな」と言いわれました。

   My teacher told me not to give up.

6. 泣なくな。大丈夫だいじょうぶだよ。

   Don't cry. It's all right.

When to use it

The prohibitive form is a strong, blunt "Don't do it!" It is the dictionary form plus な, so it is the easiest form to make. You see it on signs and warnings (泳およぐな, No swimming), hear it in emergencies and sports, and use it when reporting a strong order: 先生せんせいに「あきらめるな」と言いわれました.

Nuance

Like the imperative, it is rough when said to someone directly; you hear it in emergencies, from people in authority, or between very close friends. In normal polite conversation use ないでください. Note that this な comes after the dictionary form and is different from the sentence-ending な that means "isn't it."

Compare

Compare it with ないでください (please don't), which is polite: 入はいらないでください vs 入はいるな. Compare it with the imperative, which orders the action: 行いけ (go!) vs 行いくな (don't go!). てはいけない states a rule rather than shouting an order: ここで泳およいではいけません.

Tip: Do not attach な to the ます form (行いきますな is wrong). It always follows the plain dictionary form: 行いくな, 見みるな.

More on this in Japanese verb conjugation.