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ない

JapaneseEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Old Japanese. The adjectivizing suffix appears to derive ultimately from ancient copula or stative verb ぬ (nu).

Alternative formsEdit

SuffixEdit

ない (rōmaji -nai)

  1. (non-productive) used to form derivative -i adjectives from other terms: having that quality, having that state; very much that quality or state
    切 (せつ)ない、幼 (いと)けない、ぎこちない
    setsunai, itokenai, gikochinai
    very moving, really young of manner, having clumsiness
Derived termsEdit
Derived terms

Etymology 2Edit

From the 連体形 (rentaikei, “attributive form”) of Early Middle Japanese adjective 無し (nashi), with the medial /-k-/ falling out.

AdjectiveEdit

ない (-i inflection, rōmaji nai)

  1. 無い: no, not any
    スプーンが無 (な)い。
    Supūn ga nai.
    There is no spoon.
  2. not reaching a certain quantity; less than
    海岸 (かいがん)まで1 (ひ)0 (ゃ)0 (く)メートルとない
    kaigan made hyaku mētoru to nai
    The coast is less than 100m away from here.
  3. (by extension) 亡い: passed away, dead
    私 (わたし)は亡 (な)い者 (もの)と考 (かんが)えてください
    watashi wa nai mono to kangaete kudasai
    Suppose I were a dead person.
Usage notesEdit
  • This term is often spelled in hiragana.
  • In public speech and written language, the irregular expressions ありません (arimasen) and ありませんでした (arimasen deshita) (past) are recommended instead of ないです (nai desu) and なかったです (nakatta desu).
  • When used as an auxiliary adjective, follows the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of -i adjectives ending in く (-ku), and the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of -na adjectives and nominals ending in で (de). In either case a binding particle (係助詞) can be inserted between the ren'yōkei and the nai, but は (wa) is usually used for the latter. では (de wa) can be contracted to じゃ (ja)
    このパソコンは安 (やす)くない。
    Kono pasokon wa yasuku nai.
    This computer is not cheap.
    私 (わたし)は韓 (かん)国 (こく)語 (ご)は上 (じょう)手 (ず)ではありません。
    Watashi wa kankokugo wa jōzu de wa arimasen.
    I am not good at Korean.
InflectionEdit
Inflection of ない
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形) なかろ nakaro
Continuative (連用形) なく naku
Terminal (終止形) ない nai
Attributive (連体形) ない nai
Hypothetical (仮定形) なけれ nakere
Imperative (命令形) なかれ nakare
Key constructions
Informal negative なくない naku nai
Informal past なかった nakatta
Informal negative past なくなかった naku nakatta
Formal ないです nai desu
Formal negative なくないです naku nai desu
Formal past なかったです nakatta desu
Formal negative past なくなかったです naku nakatta desu
Conjunctive なくて nakute
Conditional なければ nakereba
Provisional なかったら nakattara
Volitional なかろう nakarō
Adverbial なく naku
Degree なさ nasa
Classical conjugation of "なし" (ク活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形) なく[1]
なから[2]		 naku
nakara
Continuative (連用形) なく[1]
なかり[2]		 naku
nakari
Terminal (終止形) なし nasi
Attributive (連体形) なき
なかる		 naki
nakaru
Realis (已然形) なけれ nakere
Imperative (命令形) なかれ nakare
Key constructions
Negative なからず nakarazu
Contrasting conjunction なけれど nakeredo
Causal conjunction なければ nakereba
Conditional conjunction なくば nakuba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge) なかりき nakariki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge) なかりけり nakarikeri
Adverbial なく naku
[1]Without auxiliary verb.
[2]With auxiliary verb.

Etymology 3Edit

First appears in texts from the late Muromachi period as an eastern-dialect term.

Various etymologies are supposed as:

  • From ancient eastern-dialect negative ending なふ (nafu), but there is a sizable gap of time between the apparent disappearance of nafu and the emergence of nai.[1] Moreover, nafu conjugated as a verb, whereas nai conjugates as an adjective.
That said, both nafu and nai probably derive ultimately from ancient copula or stative verb ぬ (nu), with the negative sense possibly originating from the 未然形 (mizenkei, “irrealis or incomplete form”) of the verb stem, to which these endings attach.
  • From the adjective ない (etymology 2). The nai auxiliary conjugates as a regular -i adjective just like the adjective nai in modern Japanese, but the patterns for the auxiliary were originally different from the adjective. In the Edo period, the auxiliary conjugated irregularly, including nanda instead of modern nakatta (past), and naikereba instead of modern nakereba (conditional).[1]
  • Derived from the negative particle ぬ (nu).

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): [na̠i]
  • In Tokyo accent, the accent of the verb construction depends on the suffixed verb:[2]
    • If the suffixed verb is accented, the accent falls on the final mora in the mizenkei stem. E.g. つく​る [tsùkúꜜrù] (Nakadaka) → つくら​ない [tsùkúráꜜnàì] (Nakadaka).
    • If the suffixed verb is non-accented, the result:
      • is non-accented if the suffix takes the following forms: ない (nai), ないと (nai to), ないつもりだ (nai tsumori da), ないはずだ (nai hazu da), ない場 (ば)合 (あい) (nai baai)
      • has an accent falling on the first mora of the suffix, viz. な [na], if the suffix takes the following forms: ないから (nai kara), ないか (nai ka), ないでしょう (nai deshō), ないで (nai de), ないの… (nai no…), ないし (nai shi), ないなら (nai nara), なくて (nakute), なかった (nakatta), なければ (nakereba)
      • has an accent falling later in patterns like ないこと… [náí kótóꜜ …], ないよう… [náí yóꜜò …], ないそう… [náí sóꜜò …], ないほう… [náí hóꜜò …], ないらしい [náí ráshíꜜì]
    • There are a few exceptions like 恐れ入る: おそ​れいる [òsóꜜrèìrù] (Nakadaka) → おそ​れいらない [òsóꜜrèìrànàì] (Nakadaka)

SuffixEdit

ない (rōmaji -nai)

  1. (jodōshi) Used to form the negative of verbs: not, don't
    学校 (がっこう)に行 (い)かない。
    Gakkō ni ikanai.
    I don't go to school.
Usage notesEdit
  • Attaches to the 未然形 (mizenkei, “incomplete form”) of the verb. For 五段活用 (godan katsuyō, “quintigrade conjugation”, also known in English as “type 1”) verbs, this is the stem form ending in -a.
  • Generally, ません (masen) and ませんでした (masen deshita) (past) are the recommended formal negative endings, instead of the somewhat less formal ないです (nai desu) and なかったです (nakatta desu), which are considered incorrect by conservative speakers. The original incompatibility of ない and です may be explained by the origin of ない as a verb, cf. the Etymology section.
  • The auxiliary nai and the adjective 無い (nai) have mostly converged in modern usage. One distinction that is still maintained by some speakers appears when attaching そう (sō, “appears like, seems like”) or すぎる (sugiru, “too, too much, in excess”):
    • Adjective nai + sō or sugiru → nasasō, nasasugiru
    • Auxiliary nai + sō or sugiru → nasō, nasugiru
    • The process of convergence is ongoing, and the さ-infix might be used by some speakers even with the auxiliary. This could be considered as proscribed in formal contexts, as slang or a grammatical error.
InflectionEdit
Inflection of ない
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形) なかろ nakaro
Continuative (連用形) なく naku
Terminal (終止形) ない nai
Attributive (連体形) ない nai
Hypothetical (仮定形) なけれ nakere
Imperative (命令形) なかれ nakare
Key constructions
Informal negative なくない naku nai
Informal past なかった nakatta
Informal negative past なくなかった naku nakatta
Formal ないです nai desu
Formal negative なくないです naku nai desu
Formal past なかったです nakatta desu
Formal negative past なくなかったです naku nakatta desu
Conjunctive なくて nakute
Conditional なければ nakereba
Provisional なかったら nakattara
Volitional なかろう nakarō
Adverbial なく naku
Degree なさ nasa
SynonymsEdit
  • (rare, archaic) ぬ (nu)
  • (very casual or archaic and dialectal) ん (n)
  • (Kansai) へん (hen)

See alsoEdit

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))

ReferencesEdit

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. ^ Online Japanese Accent Dictionary (OJAD)
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