'n

See also Appendix:Variations of "n"

English

Etymology 1

Contraction of and.

Conjunction

’n

1. Nonstandard spelling of ’n’.

Etymology 2

Contraction of than.

Conjunction

’n

1. Eye dialect spelling of than.
   • 1865, Mark Twain, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

     The feller took the box again, and took another long, particular look, and give it back to Smiley, and says, very deliberate, "Well, I don’t see no p’ints about that frog that's any better’n any other frog."

   • 1969, Anne Warner, Susan Clegg and her friend Mrs. Lathrop (page 87)

     She says you may laugh ’f you feel so inclined, but there ain’t no such big difference between your leg ’n’ a dead rat but what it ’ll pay you to mark her words. She says ’f it don’t do no more ’n eat the skin off it ’ll still be pretty hard for you to lay there without no skin ’n’ feel the plaster goin’ in more ’n’ more.

   • 2010, Arnan Heyden, Daughters of Agendale (page 228)

     What I can give ya is this bit o’ knowledge: there be things in this world that no one can explain. There are things bigger ’n mountains, bigger ’n oceans, bigger ’n fields an’ night skies filled with stars, bigger ’n kings, or queens…

Etymology 3

Contraction of own.

Adjective

’n

1. Eye dialect spelling of own.
   • 1748, Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady, volume 1, edition reprint, 6th, published 1768, Letter 32, page 270:

     I will not show him this letter of yours though you seem to desire it, lest it should provoke him to be too severe a schoolmaster, when you are his’n.

   • 1776, Samuel Foote, The Capuchin, T. Sherlock for T. Cadell, published 1778, (rev. ed. of A Trip to Calais: a comedy in three acts, premiered 1776), page 102:

     Eating ! sure your honour does not think their wictuals are better than our’n.

   • 1862, Mayne Reid, The Maroon, edition reprint, London: Ward and Lock, published 1864, Chapter VII “The Foolah Prince”, page 31–32:

     “Forty there [are...] Twenty on ’em I’m to have for fetchin’ him acrost. [...The other twenty] are his’n. He’s brought ’em with him to swop for the sister—when he finds her.”

   • 1883, Bill Nye, Baled Hay: A drier book than Walt Whitman’s “Leaves o’ Grass”, edition reprint, F. F. Lovell & Co., published 1884, page 175:

     We have met the enemy, and we are his’n. [Antecedent to "We have met the enemy and he is us."]

Usage notes

Most commonly seen in his ’n (his own) or our ’n (our own).

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Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch een, 'n.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /‌ə/

Article

ʼn (indefinite)

1. a (indefinite article), any indefinite example of.

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Catalan

Pronoun

’n

1. Contraction of ne.

Declension

Catalan personal pronouns and clitics

	strong/subject	weak (direct object)		weak (indirect object)		possessive
singular		proclitic	enclitic	proclitic	enclitic
1st person	jo, mi2	em, m’	-me, ’m	em, m’	-me, ’m	meu
2nd person	tu	et, t’	-te, ’t	et, t’	-te, ’t	teu
2nd person formal4	vós	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
2nd person  very formal1	vostè	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
3rd person masculine	ell	el, l’	-lo, ’l	li	-li	seu
3rd person feminine	ella	la, l’3	-la	li	-li	seu
3rd person neuter		ho	-ho	li	-li	seu
3rd person reflexive	si	es, s’	-se, ’s	es, s’	-se, ’s	seu
plural
1st person	nosaltres	ens	-nos, ’ns	ens	-nos, ’ns	nostre
2nd person	vosaltres	us	-vos, -us	us	-vos, -us	vostre
2nd person formal1	vostès	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person masculine	ells	els	-los, ’ls	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person feminine	elles	les	-les	els	-los, ’ls	seu
3rd person reflexive	si	es, s’	-se, ’s	es, s’	-se, ’s	seu
adverbial
ablative/genitive		en, n’	-ne, ’n
locative		hi	-hi
1) Behaves grammatically as third person. 2) Only as object of a preposition.			3) Not before unstressed (h)i-, (h)u-. 4) Behaves grammatically as second person plural.

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Dutch

Article

’n

1. Contraction of een.

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German

Alternative forms

• n

Pronunciation

• IPA: /n/

Article

’n

1. (colloquial) contraction of ein (“a”)

Related terms

• 'ne

Adverb

’n

1. (colloquial) short for denn (used for general emphasis)

   Wann wärst’n hier? – So, when would you be here?

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Low German

Article

’n

1. (dative) the; contracted form of dem
2. (dative) the; contracted form of den
3. (accusative) the; contracted form of den

Usage notes

In some dialects m becomes n when at the end of a word, thus the long form is deme but the short form can be either dem or den.

Pronoun

’n

1. (dative) him; contracted form of em
2. (dative) him; contracted form of en
3. (accusative) him; contracted form of en

Usage notes

In some dialects m becomes n when at the end of a word, thus the long form is eme but the short form can be either em or en.

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Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA: [n]

Particle

’n

1. Alternative form of yn (used after a vowel).

   Mae hi’n darllen.  — She is reading.

   Mae hi’n gysglyd.  — She is sleepy.

   Mae hi’n ferch.  — She is a girl.