How to Say ‘But it didn't work.’ in Japanese
でも、だめでした。
de mo dame deshi ta
[deh moh dah-MEH DEH-shee ta]
💬 Usage Tip: だめ means "no good" and covers anything that failed or isn't allowed. だめでした is a handy, polite all-purpose way to say "it didn't work".
Phrase Breakdown
で
de
[deh]
but (part of でも)
First half of でも, a conjunction meaning 'but' or 'however' at the start of a sentence.
でも、高いです。
But it's expensive.
も
mo
[moh]
but (part of でも)
Second half of でも; together they mean 'but; however'.
でも、大丈夫です。
But it's okay.
だめ
dame
[dah-MEH]
no good; didn't work
Means useless, not working, or not allowed.
この鍵はだめです。
This key is no good.
でし
deshi
[DEH-shee]
was (polite copula stem)
Stem of the polite copula です in its past form, combined with た to make でした.
昨日は雨でした。
It was rainy yesterday.
た
ta
[ta]
past tense
Indicates the past tense of a verb.
昨日、映画を見ました。
I watched a movie yesterday.
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