See also: ん゙, 𬼂, h, ƕ, and խ

U+3093, ん
HIRAGANA LETTER N

[U+3092]
Hiragana
[U+3094]

Japanese

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Stroke order
 

Pronunciation

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

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Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji in the cursive sōsho style. and were originally both used for both the n and mu sounds; was designated as n in the script reform.

Syllable

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(n

  1. The hiragana syllable (n). Its equivalent in katakana is (n). It is the forty-eighth syllable in the gojūon order.
See also
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Etymology 2

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/nu//n/, /ŋ/

An abbreviation of the negative ending (nu).

Suffix

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(-n

  1. (after the 未然形 (mizenkei, incomplete form) of a verb): negative form of verbs
    ()から
    wakaran
    I don't know.
    (ゆる)
    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[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
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  • The negative usage of (-n) is a colloquial form of (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, 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, is common in fictional dialogue attributed to archaic or pompous characters.
  • This is potentially ambiguous with the volitional 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
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See also
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Etymology 3

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/mu//n/, /ŋ/

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

Alternative forms

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  • (reflex in modern language) (-u)

Suffix

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(-n

  1. (non-productive, archaic) (after the 未然形 (mizenkei, incomplete form) of a verb): volitional form of verbs
    いざ()
    iza yukan
    Let's go.
    (かみ)()()()があらことを
    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』
      (こう)(きゅう)(しょっ)()()()をつくらとするものは、()(しょく)(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
      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
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  • The volitional usage of (-n) is a colloquial form of (mu), and this is usually used to impart a literary style in modern Japanese.
  • This is potentially ambiguous with the negative 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 (-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

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/no//n/, /ŋ/

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

Particle

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(n

  1. (informal) contraction of (no)
    (おれ)()()ない?
    Ore n chi ni konai?
    Wanna come to my place?
    あの、()きたいことがあるだけど。
    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(いっ)(しゅ)だよ。(しお)()(くん)(どく)()()()(ちが)えただよ」[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

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/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

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  1. contraction of (ra)
    (いえ)(かえ)なきゃ。 → (いえ)(かえ)なきゃ。
    Ie ni kaeranakya. → Ie ni kaennakya.
    I must go home.
    (なみだ)()ない → (なみだ)()ない
    namida ga tomaranai → namida ga tomannai
    the tears won't stop
  2. contraction of (ri)
    (はい)なさい! → (はい)なさい!
    Hairi nasai! → Hain nasai!
    Come in!
  3. contraction of (ru)
    (なに)していの? → (なに)しての? → (なに)しての?
    Nani shite iru no? → Nani shiteru no? → Nani shiten no?
    What are you doing? → What ya doing? → What'cha doin'?
    ふざけな!→ふざけな!
    Fuzakeru na! → Fuzaken na!
    Stop playing around!
    ()にすな → ()にす
    ki ni suru na → ki ni sun na
    Don't mind.
  4. contraction of (re)
    (しん)じらない。 → (しん)じらない。
    Shinjirarenai. → Shinjirannai.
    I can't believe it.
    で→そ
    sore de → son de
    and so
  5. contraction of (ro)
    (いろ)(いろ)(もの)。 → (いろ)(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

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Possibly a reduced form of ちゃん.

Suffix

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(-n

  1. (women's speech) added to female names or parts of them to express affection
    (しおり) → しおりん, 一美(かずみ) → ずみん, (あかね) → ねん
    Shiori → Shiorin, Kazumi → Zumin, Akane → Nen
    Shiori → Shiorin, Kazumi → Zumin, Akane → Nen (nicknames)

Miyako

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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IPA(key): /n/

Particle

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(n

  1. (locative marker) in; to; for; at