Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
There are several ways to express quitting depending on the level of politeness required. The form やめます is polite and should be used when speaking to a supervisor or someone of higher status. For a simple and straightforward informal way to say "I quit", you can use 辞める。 In very casual settings or among close friends, the colloquial やめちゃう。 is common. If you need to be highly formal, such as in a professional resignation context, you might use 辞職いたします。 or 退職の申し出をいたします。 When quitting a position of responsibility or authority, the term 辞任いたします。 is more common.
How does it change in a sentence?
The dictionary form やめる (to quit/to stop) is the informal version of the polite form やめます. If you want to express that you have already resigned or have finished the act of quitting, use the past tense form やめました. In informal situations, if you want to convey the feeling that you can no longer endure a situation, you might say もう我慢できない, which translates to "I can't take it anymore".
How do you pronounce it?
yamemasu
Did you know?
- In Japanese culture, quitting a job is often a very indirect process. Instead of saying やめます directly to a boss, one might first say 相談があります (I have something to consult you about) to signal that a resignation is coming.
- In Japan, the act of quitting a job is often formalized through a 退職願 (resignation request), which is a physical letter that an employer can technically reject.
- In Japanese, the word 辞める can be written with different kanji to change its nuance. While 辞める is the standard for quitting a job, using the kanji 止める would imply you are physically stopping a motion or a machine.
Examples in context
- 社長、私は退職の申し出をいたします。Boss, I am submitting my resignation.
- みんな、もうやめちゃうよ。Guys, I'm quitting/leaving now.
- テニスはやめます。Tenisu wa yamemasu.I am quitting tennis.
- もう、やめます。Mō, yamemasu.I quit now.
Example conversation
Ren tells Misaki that he is leaving his part-time job.
- 蓮 Ren美咲さん、バイトをやめます。Misaki-san, baito o yamemasu.Misaki, I quit my part-time job.
- 美咲 Misakiえっ、どうしてやめるの？E, dōshite yameru no?What? Why are you quitting?
- 蓮 Ren勉強に集中したいからです。Benkyō ni shūchū shitai kara desu.Because I want to focus on my studies.
- 美咲 Misakiそうなんだ。頑張ってね。Sō nanda. Ganbatte ne.I see. Good luck.
