ん

See also: ん゙, 𬼂, h, ƕ, and խ

ん	U+3093, ん HIRAGANA LETTER N

← を
[U+3092]

Hiragana

ゔ →
[U+3094]

Japanese

Stroke order

Pronunciation

The realization of this phoneme depends on its phonetic context, as follows:

IPA^(key): [n] before t, d, n, r, ts, z (phonetically: [t, d, n, ɾ, ts, dz])
IPA^(key): [m] before m, p, b
IPA^(key): [ŋ] before k, g
IPA^(key): [ɲ] before ni, ch, j (phonetically: [ɲ, tɕ, dʑ])
IPA^(key): [ɴ] at the end of utterances
IPA^(key): [ɰ̃] before vowels, approximants (w, y), and fricatives (h, f, s, sh), often causing nasalization of the preceding vowel

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

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

ん • (n)

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

Etymology 2

/nu/ → /n/, /ŋ/

An abbreviation of the negative ending ぬ (nu).

Suffix

ん • (-n)

(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

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

(casual) ない (nai)
(formal) ません (masen)
(written formal) ず (zu)
(Kansai) へん (hen)

Etymology 3

/mu/ → /n/, /ŋ/

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

Alternative forms

(reflex in modern language) う (-u)

Suffix

ん • (-n)

(no longer 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

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

/no/ → /n/, /ŋ/

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

Particle

ん • (n)

(informal) 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

/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

ん

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
contraction of り (ri)
入(はい)りなさい！ → 入(はい)んなさい！
Hairi nasai! → Hain nasai!
Come in!
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.
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
contraction of ろ (ro)
色(いろ)々(いろ)な物(もの)。 → 色(いろ)んな物(もの)。
Iroironamono. → Ironnamono.
various things
- In this case, い is contracted by being dropped, similar to 〜ている → 〜てる (as evidenced by instances of 色々な being realized in speech as いろろな), and ろ is contracted by undergoing a sound change. This sound change almost never happens, and as such, it is more of an etymological explanation of 色んな (or similar, if any) rather than a general combining form of ん for ろ.

Etymology 6

Possibly a reduced form of ちゃん.

Suffix

ん • (-n)

(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

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /n/

Particle

ん (n)

(locative marker) in; to; for; at

The Hiragana script
あぁあ゙	かゕがか゚	さざさ゚	ただた゚	な	はばぱ	ま	やゃ	らら゚	わゎわ゙	んん゙
いぃい゙	きぎき゚	しじし゚	ちぢち゚	に	ひびぴ	み	𛀆	りり゚	ゐ 𛅐 ゐ゙
うぅゔう゚	くぐく゚	すずす゚	つっづつ゚	ぬ	ふぶぷ	む	ゆゅ	るる゚	𛄟
えぇえ゙	けゖげけ゚	せぜせ゚	てでて゚	ね	へべぺ	め	𛀁	れれ゚	ゑ 𛅑 ゑ゙
おぉお゙	こ 𛄲 ごこ゚	そぞそ゚	とどと゚	の	ほぼぽ	も	よょ	ろろ゚	を 𛅒 を゙
Additional symbols: ーゝゞゝ゚ゟ

			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))
	Plain	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)
	Polite	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))
	Plain	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)
	Polite	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))
Volitional	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))