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ん

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: ん゙, 𬼂, h, ƕ, and խ
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ん U+3093, ん
HIRAGANA LETTER N
← を
[U+3092] 		Hiragana ゔ →
[U+3094]

Japanese

More information 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) 

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

Etymology 2

/nu/ → /n/, /ŋ/

An abbreviation of the negative ending ぬ (nu).

Suffix

ん • (-n) 

  1. (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。
      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
See also
Japanese basic inflections
More information Verbs, -i adjectives ...

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) 

  1. (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。
      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) 

  1. (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」
      “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 

  1. 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
  2. contraction of り (ri)
    入(はい)りなさい！ → 入(はい)んなさい！
    Hairi nasai! → Hain nasai!
    Come in!
  3. 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.
  4. 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
  5. 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) 

  1. (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)
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Miyako

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Particle

ん (n) 

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

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