な
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Japanese
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Pronunciation
editEtymology 1
editDerived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji 奈 in the cursive sōsho style.
Syllable
edit- The hiragana syllable な (na). Its equivalent in katakana is ナ (na). It is the twenty-first syllable in the gojūon order; its position is な行あ段 (na-gyō a-dan, “row na, section a”).
See also
edit- (Hiragana) 平仮名; あぁ, いぃ, うぅゔ, えぇ, おぉ, かゕが, きぎ, くぐ, けゖげ, こ𛄲 (𛄲)ご, さざ, しじ, すず, せぜ, そぞ, ただ, ちぢ, つっづ, てで, とど, な, に, ぬ, ね, の, はばぱ, ひびぴ, ふぶぷ, へべぺ, ほぼぽ, ま, み, む, め, も, やゃ, 𛀆, ゆゅ, 𛀁, よょ, らら゚, りり゚, るる゚, れれ゚, ろろ゚, わゎわ゙, ゐ𛅐 (𛅐)ゐ゙, 𛄟 (𛄟), ゑ𛅑 (𛅑)ゑ゙, を𛅒 (𛅒)を゙, ん, ー, ゝ, ゞ, ゟ
Hentaigana variants of な (na) |
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𛁾 𛁿 𛂀 𛂁 𛂂 𛂃 𛂄 𛂅 𛂆 |
Etymology 2
editProbably derived from mild emphatic interjection and sentence-final particle ね, itself from Old Japanese, indicating a general sense of admiration or consideration, or hope that the preceding statement comes to pass.
Interjection
edit- (masculine, informal, mild emphatic) used to get someone's attention, generally carries neutral or slightly positive connotations
Particle
editUsage notes
editOften used when you are speaking to yourself, and can be considered less formal than the agreement-asking particle ね.
Etymology 3
edit/ni aru/ → /naru/ → /na/
From Old Japanese. Originally an abbreviation of に (ni, particle) + ある (aru, the attributive form of classical あり ari, “to be”).[1]
Particle
edit- copula particle used after 形容動詞 (keiyōdōshi, often referred to in English teaching texts as -na adjective, literally “adjective verb”) to make them function as adjectives
Usage notes
editThe older なる (naru) form is still used to impart a more formal, archaic, or poetic sense.
Descendants
edit- → English: な-adjective
Etymology 4
editFrom Old Japanese. Probably the root na of the negative adjective ない (nai).[2][3] An alternative theory is that this is the imperfective conjugation of negative auxiliary verb ず (zu).[2]
First cited to the Nihon Shoki of 720.[2]
Particle
edit- [from 720] (masculine in modern Japanese, informal, added after the dictionary form of a verb) indicates prohibition: don't
Usage notes
editConsidered very informal and potentially brusque depending on tone of voice. This would never be used in polite conversation, where the construction 〜ないで下さい (~naide kudasai) would be used instead, appended to the imperfective stem of the verb in question. Examples:
- Addressing close friends, children, or possibly subordinates:
- するな。 ― suru na. ― Don't do that.
- Addressing anyone else:
- しないでください。 ― shinaide kudasai. ― (Please) Don't do that.
Etymology 5
editClipping of polite imperative auxiliary verb form なさい (nasai).
Suffix
edit- (informal, added after the stem form of a verb) indicates an imperative statement or command: do
Usage notes
edit- A casual way of issuing commands; not as rough as the imperative conjugation of a verb.
- Usage is restricted to addressing friends, children, or subordinates.
- 食べな ― tabena ― Eat!
- In spoken Japanese, the prohibitive na and the imperative na are also differentiated by pitch accent patterns. For prohibitive na, the pitch on the suffix follows the pitch on the verb stem; and for imperative na, the pitch is higher than on the verb stem.
Synonyms
editRoughly in order of politeness:
Etymology 6
editThe readings of various kanji, as derived from native Japonic roots.
For pronunciation and definitions of な – see the following entries. | ||
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(This term, な (na), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as な, see Category:Japanese kanji read as な.) |
(The following entries are uncreated: 字, 無.)
Etymology 7
editThe readings of various kanji, as borrowed from Chinese.
For pronunciation and definitions of な – see the following entries. | ||
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(This term, な (na), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.) For a list of all kanji read as な, see Category:Japanese kanji read as な.) |
(The following entries are uncreated: 南, 奈, 娜, 懦.)
References
edit- ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 “な”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten][1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000
- ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
Old Japanese
editEtymology 1
editPossibly cognate with modern Korean 날 (nal, “blade”).
Listed in various sources as the na portion in the term 刀 (katana), with the na described as meaning 刃 (“blade, edge”).[1][2][3] However, there is no historical attestation for any na reading for this character.
Noun
editな (na)
- any sharp and thin cutting implement: a blade, edge
- ,[4] text here
- 劔大刀名惜雲吾者無君爾不相而年之經去禮者
- turugi₁-tati na no₂ wosike₁ku mo ware pa nasi ki₁mi₁ ni apazute to₂si no₂ pe₂nureba
- I do not even miss precious you, given the years that have passed without meeting with you.
- [Note: turugi₁-tati (literally “double-edged longsword”) is a pillow word establishing a poetic association with the following na, literally meaning blade or edge and alluding to sharpness and importance. This na could also elliptically mean 名 (na, “name”) or even 汝 (na, “you”) depending on context, based on the homophonic readings.]
- ,[4] text here
Descendants
editEtymology 2
editNoun
editな (na)
- middle
- 720, Nihon Shoki:
- 三國坂中井中、此云那
- Nawi in Mikuni (read 中 as na)
- 天渟中渟中此云農難原瀛眞人天皇
- The Emperor Ama-no₂-nunahara oki₁ no₂ mabi₁to₂ (read 中 as nuna)
- 譯語田渟中倉太珠敷尊
- WOSADA NO₂ NUna KURA NO₂ PUTO₁ TAMASIKI₁ NO₂ MI₁KO₂TO₂
- A son of Kinmei Tennō.
Derived terms
edit- 中 (naka)
Etymology 3
editPossibly an apophonic form of の (no₂), from assimilation with adjacency to vowels such as a or u. Usage is mostly restricted to fixed expressions like 掌 (tanagokoro, “palm of the hand”, parsed as ta “hand” + na [possessive] + kokoro “heart, center”, changing to gokoro due to rendaku), due to such assimilation.
Vovin (2020, pp. 119-123) suggests that this may instead be a plural marker, which is supported by some terms changing due to rendaku, typically a contraction of -no₂- or -ni-.
Particle
editな (na)
- genitive case marker
Derived terms
editSee also
editEtymology 4
editOriginally, そ (so₂) was only added to emphasize the sincerity of the request to the listener, however the structure of な (na) + continuative stem of verb + そ (so₂) quickly became lexicalized and the form only prepended by な (na) fell out of use.
Particle
editな (na-)
- [before 712] (before the irrealis stem of a サ行変格活用 or カ行変格活用 verb and before the continuative stem of other verbs) indirectly indicates prohibition: don't
- [from 712] (before the continuative stem of a verb followed by そ) entreats the listener and indirectly expresses prohibition: please don't
- 711–712, Kojiki:
- 那杼理爾阿良牟遠 伊能知波 那志勢多麻比曾
- nado₂ri ni aramu wo ino₂ti pa na-sisetamapi₁-so₂
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Usage notes
editThis particle must be appended to the beginning of the continuative stem of a verb and then immediately followed by そ (so₂). It is considered more indirect than なかれ (nakare₁).
Etymology 5
editVarious other terms.
Noun
editな (na)
Pronoun
editな (na)
- 汝: first-person singular pronoun: I, me; second-person singular pronoun: you, thou
- 己, 汝: third-person reflexive pronoun: one, oneself, itself
References
edit- ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- ^ Satake, Akihiro with Hideo Yamada, Rikio Kudō, Masao Ōtani, and Yoshiyuki Yamazaki (c. 759) Shin Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 1: Man’yōshū 1 (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, published 1999, →ISBN.
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