埒らちがあかない

Meanings

expression, i-adjective

making no progress; getting nowhere; remaining unsettled

Used when a situation, discussion, or task is stuck and shows no sign of advancing toward a resolution. Often implies frustration or impatience.

話はなし合あいが埒らちがあかないので、一いっ旦たん休きゅう憩けいにした。
The discussion was getting nowhere, so we took a break.
このままでは埒らちがあかないから、誰だれか決けつ断だんしてくれ。
We're not getting anywhere like this, so someone please make a decision.

Written forms

埒らちがあかない
Standard kanji spelling using 埒 (らち).
埒らちが明あかない
Variant using 明く (あく) instead of あく in kana; less common but still encountered.

Kanji

埒picket, limits, be settled
明bright, light

Similar words

進しん展てんしない
進展しない is a more literal and formal way to say 'not progressing', while 埒があかない is an idiomatic expression that conveys a sense of being stuck or at an impasse.
はかどらない
はかどらない focuses on lack of efficiency or slow progress in a task, whereas 埒があかない emphasizes that no headway is being made at all, often in discussions or negotiations.

Etymology

埒 (らち) originally referred to a fence or enclosure, particularly the railing around a horse-riding ground. The phrase 埒があかない literally means 'the fence won't open', metaphorically expressing that a situation is blocked and cannot move forward. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the idiom has been used since the Edo period.