な

Japanese

Stroke order

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [na̠]

Etymology 1

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji 奈 in the cursive sōsho style.

Syllable

な • (na)

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”).

Etymology 2

Probably 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

な • (na)

(masculine, informal, mild emphatic) used to get someone's attention, generally carries neutral or slightly positive connotations
な、聞(き)いたかい。 ― na, kiita kai. ― Hey, did you hear?

Particle

な • (na)

(informal, mild emphatic) sentence-final particle indicating emotion or mild emphasis
Synonym: なあ (nā)

そうかな。 ― sō ka na. ― Huh, is that so.

Usage notes

Often used when you are speaking to yourself, and can be considered less formal than the agreement-asking particle ね.

Etymology 3

/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

な • (na)

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
変(へん)な人(ひと) ― hen na hito ― a strange person

Usage notes

The older なる (naru) form is still used to impart a more formal, archaic, or poetic sense.

静(しず)かなる田(でん)園(えん) ― shizuka naru den'en ― the quiet countryside

Descendants

→ English: な-adjective

Etymology 4

From 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

な • (na)

[from 720] (masculine in modern Japanese, informal, added after the dictionary form of a verb) indicates prohibition: don't
行(い)くな！ ― Iku na! ― Don't go!

無(む)断(だん)で引(いん)用(よう)するな。 ― Mudan de in'yō suru na. ― Don't quote it without permission.

混(ま)ぜるな危険(きけん) ― mazeru na kiken ― dangerous: do not mix

Usage notes

Considered 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

Clipping of polite imperative auxiliary verb form なさい (nasai).

Suffix

な • (-na)

(informal, added after the stem form of a verb) indicates an imperative statement or command: do
あっちへ行(い)きな、ぼうや。
Atchi e ikina, bōya.
Go over there, boy → Get out of the way, boy!

座(すわ)りなよ。 ― suwarina yo. ― Sit → Have a seat.

Usage notes

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(た)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.
書くな (kaku na, “don't write”) → かくな

書きな (kaki na, “write”) → かきな

Synonyms

Roughly in order of politeness:

Etymology 6

The readings of various kanji, as derived from native Japonic roots.

For pronunciation and definitions of な – see the following entries.

【名】1	[noun] name [noun] reputation

【菜】4	[noun] greens

【汝】J	[pronoun] (archaic, obsolete; or Tsugaru, Niigata) second-person singular pronoun: you, thou Alternative spelling 己

【七】1	[numeral] (colloquial) seven, 7

(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

The readings of various kanji, as borrowed from Chinese.

For pronunciation and definitions of な – see the following entries.

【那】S	[affix] what, which

(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

^ 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

Etymology 1

Possibly 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

な (na)

any sharp and thin cutting implement: a blade, edge
- c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 4, poem 616:
  ,^[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.]

Descendants

Japanese: 刀 (katana)
Japanese: 鉈 (nata) (possibly)

Etymology 2

Noun

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

中 (naka)

Etymology 3

Possibly 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

な (na)

genitive case marker

Derived terms

足末(あなすゑ) (anasuwe)
掌(たなうら) (tanaura)
掌(たなごころ) (tanagokoro)
手末(たなすゑ) (tanasuwe)
ぬなと (nunato)
ひなくもり (hinakumori)
まなかひ (manakafi)
眼(まなこ) (manako)
眦(まなじり) (manajiri)
港(みなと) (minato)
水面(みなも) (minamo)
源(みなもと) (minamoto)
ながら (nagara)
水無月(みなづき) (minazuki)
神無月(かんなづき) (kannazuki)

Etymology 4

Originally, 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

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

This 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

Various other terms.

Noun

な (na)

名: name
字: written character
肴, 魚, 菜: side dish, especially fish, greens, etc.

Pronoun

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

^ 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.

[KDJ-1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[KDJ2-2] 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

[DJR-3] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[KDJ-4] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-5] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[DJS-6] Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[7] 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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な

Japanese

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Syllable

See also

Etymology 2

Interjection

Particle

Usage notes

Etymology 3

Particle

Usage notes

Descendants

Etymology 4

Particle

Usage notes

Etymology 5

Suffix

Usage notes

Synonyms

Etymology 6

Etymology 7

References

Old Japanese

Etymology 1

Noun

Descendants

Etymology 2

Noun

Derived terms

Etymology 3

Particle

Derived terms

See also

Etymology 4

Particle

Usage notes

Etymology 5

Noun

Pronoun

References