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まじきLiterary condemnation before a noun

まじき is a literary form placed before a noun to condemn an action as something that should never be done, allowed, or repeated.

What the phrase judges

まじき modifies the noun immediately after it. That noun usually names an act, statement, mistake, offense, tragedy, or similar matter that the writer strongly rejects. Depending on the noun and context, natural English may use “must never,” “should never,” “unforgivable,” or “unworthy of.”

Typical condemnatory readings

じゃくしゃあざむくとは、だんじてゆるすまじきこうだ。

Deceiving vulnerable people is an absolutely unforgivable act.

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ゆるすまじき directly condemns the following act as something that must not be tolerated.

せんそうさんは、けっしてわするまじききょうくんとしてかたがれた。

The devastation of war was passed down as a lesson that must never be forgotten.

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Translate the judgment, not just the form

A mechanical translation such as “must not” does not always fit the English sentence. With a noun meaning “act,” the phrase may be best rendered as “an unforgivable act”; with a lesson or tragedy, “never to be forgotten” or “never to be repeated” may be more natural. In every case on this page, the central idea is strong condemnation or exclusion.

More examples

ろくかいざんは、けんきゅうしゃおかすまじきあやまちである。

Falsifying records is a mistake that a researcher must never commit.

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かれかいせきで、せきにんしゃとしてうまじきことをくちにした。

At the meeting, he said something that a person in charge should never say.

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あのさんは、こうせいまでわするまじきおくとしてのこった。

The tragedy of that day remained a memory never to be forgotten by future generations.

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じんめいえきのためにかろんじるとは、ゆるすまじきはんだんである。

Treating human life lightly for the sake of profit is an unforgivable decision.

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これはかえすまじきれきてきあやまちだ。

This is a historic mistake that must never be repeated.

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