How to Say ‘It didn't work’ in Japanese
だめでした
dame deshi ta
[dah-meh deh-shee tah]
💬 Usage Tip: [だめ] is a very common everyday word for "no good / not okay / didn't work," broader than just "bad." So [だめでした] often means an attempt failed, not that something was morally wrong or poor quality.
Phrase Breakdown
だめ
dame
[dah-meh]
no good; not okay
Means something is not good, not possible, or not allowed.
それはだめです。
That is no good.
でし
deshi
[deh-shee]
was (polite) part
Part of でした, the polite past form of です.
昨日はだめでした。
It was no good yesterday.
た
ta
[tah]
past tense marker
Final part of でした, marking polite past tense.
今日はだめでした。
It was no good today.
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