Wiktionary

ん

See also: 𬼂, h, ƕ, and խ

ん U+3093, ん
HIRAGANA LETTER N
← を
[U+3092] 		Hiragana ゔ →
[U+3094]

Japanese edit

Stroke order
 

Pronunciation edit

  • The realization of this phoneme depends on its phonetic context, as follows:
  • When speakers wish to convey the consonant very clearly, for example in classical singing or when spelling things out to someone who can't hear the speaker well, [m] may be used in place of [ɴ], and potentially even in all other positions.

Etymology 1 edit

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji 无 in the cursive sōsho style. ん and む were originally both used for both the n and mu sounds; ん was designated as n in the script reform.

Syllable edit

ん • (n) 

  1. The hiragana syllable ん (n). Its equivalent in katakana is ン (n). It is the forty-eighth syllable in the gojūon order.
See also edit

Etymology 2 edit

/nu/ → /n/, /ŋ/

An abbreviation of the negative ending ぬ (nu).

Suffix edit

ん • (-n) 

  1. (after the 未然形 (mizenkei, “incomplete form”) of a verb): negative form of verbs
    分(わ)からん
    wakaran
    I don't know.
    許(ゆる)せんぞ
    yurusen zo
    This is unforgivable!
    • 北大路魯山人, 『味覚馬鹿』
      あるといえばあるが、しかし、ほんとうのことはわからん。[1]
      Aru to ieba aru ga, shikashi, hontō no koto wa wakaran.
      There is, to be sure, but, I don't know the facts.
Usage notes edit
  • The negative usage of ん (-n) is a colloquial form of ぬ (nu), and this is mainly used in western Japanese dialects.
    • Since ない is adopted as a standard form for the negative suffix in modern Japanese, ん gives a dialectal or very casual impression compared to ない today except that it is standard when forming the negative of ます (-masu), ません (-masen).
    • On the other hand, ん is common in fictional dialogue attributed to archaic or pompous characters.
  • This is potentially ambiguous with the volitional ん as both attach to the irrealis, so the intended meaning must be discerned from context.
  • This word is morphologically an inflectional suffix. It is classified as 助動詞 (jodōshi, “auxiliary verb”) in traditional Japanese grammar.
Synonyms edit
See also edit
Japanese basic inflections
Verbs -i adjectives nouns and -na adjectives
Nonpast Plain Affirmative Use the dictionary form stem + い (-i) noun + だ (da)
(noun + である (de aru))
Negative mizenkei + ない (-nai) stem + くない (-ku nai) noun + で（は）ない (de [wa] nai)
Polite Affirmative ren'yōkei + ます (-masu) stem + いです (-i desu) noun + です (desu)
Negative ren'yōkei + ません (-masen) stem + くないです (-ku nai desu)
stem + くありません (-ku arimasen)		 noun + で（は）ないです (de [wa] nai desu)
noun + で（は）ありません (de [wa] arimasen)
Past Plain Affirmative ren'yōkei (with onbin sound changes for Group I verbs) + た (-ta) stem + かった (-katta) noun + だった (datta)
(noun + であった (de atta))
Negative mizenkei + なかった (-nakatta) stem + くなかった (-ku nakatta) noun + で（は）なかった (de [wa] nakatta)
Polite Affirmative ren'yōkei + ました (-mashita) stem + かったです (-katta desu) noun + でした (deshita)
Negative ren'yōkei + ませんでした (-masen deshita) stem + くなかったです (-ku nakatta desu)
stem + くありませんでした (-ku arimasen deshita)		 noun + で（は）なかったです (de [wa] nakatta desu)
noun + で（は）ありませんでした (de [wa] arimasen deshita)
Volitional Plain mizenkei (of Group I verbs) + う (-u > -o)
mizenkei (of other verbs) + よう (-yō)		 †stem + かろう (-karō)
(stem + いだろう (-i darō))		 noun + だろう (darō)
(noun + であろう (de arō))
Polite ren'yōkei + ましょう (-mashō) (stem + いでしょう (-i deshō)) noun + でしょう (deshō)
Conjunctive ren'yōkei (with onbin sound changes for Group I verbs) + て (-te) stem + くて (-kute) noun + で (de)
(noun + であって (de atte))
Hypothetical conditional kateikei + ば (-ba) stem + ければ (-kereba) (noun + であれば (de areba))

Etymology 3 edit

/mu/ → /n/, /ŋ/

An abbreviation of the intentional, volitional, and suppositional ending む (mu).

Alternative forms edit

  • (reflex in modern language) う (-u)

Suffix edit

ん • (-n) 

  1. (non-productive, archaic) (after the 未然形 (mizenkei, “incomplete form”) of a verb): volitional form of verbs
    いざ行(ゆ)かん
    iza yukan
    Let's go.
    神(かみ)の御(ご)加(か)護(ご)があらんことを
    kami no go-kago ga aran koto o
    God bless you.
    (literally, “May God's protection be with you.”)
    • 北大路魯山人, 『味覚馬鹿』
      高(こう)級(きゅう)食(しょっ)器(き)、美(び)器(き)をつくらんとするものは、美(び)食(しょく)に通(つう)ずべし。[2]
      Kōkyū shokki, biki o tsukuran to suru mono wa, bishoku ni tsūzu beshi.
      He who tries to make high-class tableware and beautyware, must be familiar with epicurism.
    • 2004, Murakoshi, Suguru and trans. Blaustein, Jeremy, et al., quoting note on door, Silent Hill 4: The Room, Tokyo: Konami, PlayStation 2; Xbox; PC, level/area: One Truth room:
      汝、最深部へ行くには　一つの真実を倒せ
      さすればこの扉開かれん
      nanji, saishinbu e iku ni wa / hitotsu no shinjitsu o taose
      sa sureba kono tobira hirakaren
      To reach the deepest part, you must / defeat the One Truth.
      Do so and this door will open.
      (literally, “Thou, in going to the deepest part, / defeat the One Truth
      If you do thusly this door would be opened      ”)
Usage notes edit
  • The volitional usage of ん (-n) is a colloquial form of む (mu), and this is usually used to impart a literary style in modern Japanese.
  • This is potentially ambiguous with the negative ん as both attach to the irrealis, so the intended meaning must be discerned from context.
  • In modern Japanese, this is more commonly realized as the う (-u > -ō) or よう (-yō) volitional verb ending. See the etymology of suffix よう (-yō) for more.
  • This word is morphologically an inflectional suffix. It is classified as 助動詞 (jodōshi, “auxiliary verb”) in traditional Japanese grammar.

Etymology 4 edit

/no/ → /n/, /ŋ/

Regular contraction of the possessive or nominalizing particle の (no). This contracted form is considered informal.

Particle edit

ん • (n) 

  1. contraction of の (no)
    俺(おれ)ん家(ち)に来(こ)ない？
    Ore n chi ni konai?
    Wanna come to my place?
    あの、聞(き)きたいことがあるんだけど。
    Ano, kikitai koto ga aru n da kedo.
    Excuse me, I have a question that I would like to ask.
    • 甲賀三郎, 『蜘蛛』
      「とたてぐもの一(いっ)種(しゅ)なんだよ。潮(しお)見(み)君(くん)は毒(どく)蜘(ぐ)蛛(も)と間(ま)違(ちが)えたんだよ」[3]
      “Totategumo no isshu na n da yo. Shiomi-kun wa dokugumo to machigaeta n da yo”
      "It's a type of trapdoor spider. You've mistaken it for a venomous spider."

Etymology 5 edit

/r-/ → /r/ → /n/, /ŋ/

Regular contraction of various morae preceding another mora starting with a nasalized consonant, such as /n/ or /d/. This contracted form is considered informal.

Combining form edit

ん 

  1. contraction of ら (ra)
    家(いえ)に帰(かえ)らなきゃ。 → 家(いえ)に帰(かえ)んなきゃ。
    Ie ni kaeranakya. → Ie ni kaennakya.
    I must go home.
    涙(なみだ)が止(と)まらない → 涙(なみだ)が止(と)まんない
    namida ga tomaranai → namida ga tomannai
    the tears won't stop
  2. contraction of る (ru)
    何(なに)しているの？ → 何(なに)してるの？ → 何(なに)してんの？
    Nani shite iru no? → Nani shiteru no? → Nani shiten no?
    What are you doing? → What ya doing? → What'cha doin'?
    ふざけるな！→ふざけんな！
    Fuzakeru na! → Fuzaken na!
    Stop playing around!
    気(き)にするな → 気(き)にすんな
    ki ni suru na → ki ni sun na
    Don't mind.
  3. contraction of れ (re)
    信(しん)じられない。 → 信(しん)じらんない。
    Shinjirarenai. → Shinjirannai.
    I can't believe it.
    それで→そんで
    sore de → son de
    and so

Etymology 6 edit

Possibly a reduced form of ちゃん.

Suffix edit

ん • (-n) 

  1. (women's speech) added to female names or parts of them to express affection
    栞(しおり) → しおりん, 一美(かずみ) → ずみん, 茜(あかね) → ねん
    Shiori → Shiorin, Kazumi → Zumin, Akane → Nen
    Shiori → Shiorin, Kazumi → Zumin, Akane → Nen (nicknames)

Miyako edit

Etymology edit

From Proto-Ryukyuan *ni, from Proto-Japonic *ni. Cognate with Japanese に (ni).

Pronunciation edit

IPA(key): /n/

Particle edit

ん (n) 

  1. (locative marker) in; to; for; at
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