ない
Contents
JapaneseEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Old Japanese. The adjectivizing suffix appears to derive ultimately from ancient copula or stative verb ぬ (nu).
SuffixEdit
ない (rōmaji -nai)
- used to form derivative -i adjectives from other terms: having that quality, having that state; very much that quality or state
- 切ない、幼けない、ぎこちない
- setsunai, itokenai, gikochinai
- very moving, really young of manner, having clumsiness
- 切ない、幼けない、ぎこちない
Derived termsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
From the attributive form of the Early Middle Japanese adjective nashi: /naki/ > /nai/, with the medial /-k-/ falling out.
AdjectiveEdit
ない (-i inflection, rōmaji nai)
Usage notesEdit
- In public speech and written language, 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).
InflectionEdit
| 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 | |
Alternative formsEdit
Etymology 3Edit
First appears in texts from the late Muromachi period as an eastern-dialect term. Sometimes described as related to 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.
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]
SuffixEdit
ない (rōmaji -nai)
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).
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
| 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
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan