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Stroke order
な-bw.png
Character  な 
Unicode name HIRAGANA LETTER NA
Codepoint U+306A

Contents

Japanese [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

  • IPA: /na/, [nä]

Etymology 1 [edit]

Derived in the Heian period from writing the 万葉仮名 (man'yōgana) kanji in the cursive 草書 (sōsho) style.

Syllable [edit]

(Hepburn romanization na)

  1. The hiragana syllable  (na), whose equivalent in katakana is  (na). It is the twenty-first syllable of the gojūon order, and its position in gojūon tables is (NA-gyō, A-dan; “row NA, section A”).
Related terms [edit]
See also [edit]

Etymology 2 [edit]

Probably derived from mild emphatic interjection and sentence-final particle , itself from Old Japanese, indicating a general sense of admiration or consideration, or hope that the preceding statement comes to pass.

Interjection [edit]

(romaji na)

  1. (masculine, informal, mild emphatic) Used to get someone's attention. Carries generally neutral or slightly positive connotations.
    、聞いたかい。
    、きいたかい。
    Na, kiita kai?
    Hey, did you hear?

Particle [edit]

(romaji na)

  1. (masculine, informal, mild emphatic) Indicates emotion or mild emphasis. Sentence-final.
    そうか
    Sō ka na.
    Huh, is that so.
Usage notes [edit]

Considered less formal than of essentially the same meaning.

Etymology 3 [edit]

From Old Japanese. Originally abbreviation of verb なる (naru, to become) used in an attributive role.

Particle [edit]

(romaji na)

  1. The copula particle used after 形容動詞 (keiyōdōshi, adjectival nouns) to make them function as adjectives.
    へんひと
    Hen na hito
    a strange person
Usage notes [edit]

The full なる (naru) form is still used to impart a more formal, archaic, or poetic sense.

静かなる田舎
しずかなるいなか
shizuka naru inaka
the quiet countryside

Etymology 4 [edit]

From Old Japanese. Probably the root na of the negative adjective ない (nai). An alternate theory is that this is the imperfective conjugation of negative auxiliary verb  (zu).

Particle [edit]

(romaji na)

  1. (masculine, informal, added after the dictionary form of a verb) Used to indicate prohibition: don't.
    行く
    いく
    Iku na!
    Don't go!
    ウィキペディアを引用する
    ウィキペディアをいんようする
    Wikipedia o in'yō suru na.
    Don't quote Wikipedia.
Usage notes [edit]

Considered very informal and potentially brusque depending on tone of voice. This would never be used in polite conversation, where the construction ~ないで下さい (~naide kudasai) would be used instead, appended to the imperfective stem of the verb in question. Examples:

そうする
Sō suru na.
Don't do that. -- addressing close friends, children, or possibly subordinates.
そうしないで下さい
Sō shinaide kudasai.
(Please) Don't do that. -- addressing anyone else.

Etymology 5 [edit]

Abbreviation of polite imperative auxiliary verb form なさい (nasai).

Particle [edit]

(romaji na)

  1. (informal, added after the stem form of a verb) An imperative or command: do.
    あっちへ行き、ぼうや。
    あっちへいき、ぼうや。
    Acchi e ikina, bōya.
    Go over there, boy → Get out of the way, boy!
    座りよ。
    すわりよ。
    Suwarina yo.
    SitHave a seat.
Usage notes [edit]

A casual way of issuing commands. Not as rough as the imperative conjugation of a verb. Usage restricted to addressing friends, children, or subordinates.

食べ
たべ
tabena
eat!
Synonyms [edit]

Roughly in order of politeness:

Etymology 6 [edit]

The hiragana rendering of various other words.

Noun [edit]

(romaji na)

  1. : A name.
  2. : Fish as a food, particularly as a side dish.
  3. : Greens as a food, particularly as a side dish.
  4. : A side dish, be it meat or fish or greens.
  5. : A lack of something.
  6. : Driving away the gods of disease.

Number [edit]

(romaji na)

  1. : Seven.

Pronoun [edit]

(romaji na)

  1. , : (obsolete) The first-person personal pronoun: I, me; the second-person personal pronoun: you.