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Formation: V-dictionary + べからず (sentence-final); V-dictionary + べからざる + N; する→するべからず／すべからず

べからず is a classical-style prohibition, "do not...", found on old-fashioned signs and notices (立ち入るべからず) and in set sayings such as 働かざる者食うべからず and 初心忘るべからず. Its noun-modifying form べからざる means "that must not be" or "that cannot be", and appears mostly in fixed written expressions: 欠くべからざる (indispensable), 許すべからざる (unpardonable), 犯すべからざる (inviolable). Both forms are stiff and literary. In speech they turn up only in quoted sayings or as a joke. For an everyday "should not", Japanese uses べきではない, and for "cannot, given the circumstances" it uses 〜わけにはいかない. Don't confuse it with 〜べく, which comes from the same classical べし but expresses purpose ("in order to").

Variants: べからざる、すべからず、べからざるもの

Examples

• 芝生に入るべからず。
  Keep off the grass.
• 水は人間の生活に欠くべからざるものだ。
  Water is indispensable to human life.
• 彼の発言は政治家として許すべからざるものだ。
  His remark is unforgivable for a politician.

In real texts 0 occurrence(s)

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