ん

See also: 𬼂

Japanese

Stroke order

Pronunciation

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

• IPA^(key): [nː] before dental and alveolar consonants t, d, ch, j, n, r, s, ts, z
• IPA^(key): [mː] before m, p, b
• IPA^(key): [ŋː] before k, g
• IPA^(key): [ɴː] at the end of utterances, before approximants w and y, and before vowels, 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 (romaji 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

• (Hiragana) 平仮名; あぁ, いぃ, うぅゔ, えぇ, おぉ, かゕが, きぎ, くぐ, けゖげ, こ𛄲 (𛄲)ご, さざ, しじ, すず, せぜ, そぞ, ただ, ちぢ, つっづ, てで, とど, な, に, ぬ, ね, の, はばぱ, ひびぴ, ふぶぷ, へべぺ, ほぼぽ, ま, み, む, め, も, やゃ, 𛀆, ゆゅ, 𛀁, よょ, らら゚, りり゚, るる゚, れれ゚, ろろ゚, わゎわ゙, ゐ𛅐 (𛅐)ゐ゙, 𛄟 (𛄟), ゑ𛅑 (𛅑)ゑ゙, を𛅒 (𛅒)を゙, ん, ー, ゝ, ゞ, ゟ

Etymology 2

/nu/ → /n/, /ŋ/

An abbreviation of the negative ending ぬ (nu).

Suffix

ん • (-n) 

1. (jodōshi) (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)さんぞ

   yurusan zo

   This is unforgivable!

   • (deprecated template usage) 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.
  • On the other hand, ん is common in fictional dialogue attributed to archaic or pompous characters.

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).

Suffix

ん • (-n) 

1. (jodōshi, non-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)の御加護(ごかご)があらんことを

   kami no go kago ga aran koto o

   God bless you.

   • (deprecated template usage) 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.

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.
• In modern Japanese, this is more commonly realized as the -ō or -yō volitional verb ending, derived by abbreviation of the /m/:
  • For type 1 or godan verbs: /-amu/ → /-au/ → /-ɔː/ → /-oː/
  • For type 2 or 3 ichidan verbs with stems ending in /-i/: /-Cimu/ → /-Ciu/ → /-Cʲoː/ → /-Cijoː/
  • For type 2 or 3 ichidan verbs with stems ending in /-e/: /-Cemu/ → /-Ceu/ → /-Cʲoː/ → /-Cejoː/
    • /C/ above indicates the last consonant in the verb stem, such as the /m/ in /mi/, the verb stem for 見る (miru, “to see”), or the /b/ in /tabe/, the verb stem for 食べる (taberu, “to eat”).

Etymology 4

/no/ → /n/, /ŋ/.

An abbreviation of の (no).

Particle

ん • (n) 

1. Synonym of の (no)

   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 I would like to ask.

   俺(おれ)ん家(ち)に来(こ)ない？

   Ore n chi ni konai?

   Wanna come to my place?

   • (deprecated template usage) 甲賀三郎, 『蜘蛛』

     「とたてぐもの一種(いっしゅ)なんだよ。潮見君(しおみくん)は毒蜘蛛(どくぐも)と間違(まちが)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/.

Suffix

ん • (-n) 

1. Contraction of ら (ra).

   家(いえ)に帰(かえ)んなきゃ。

   Ie ni kaennakya.

   I must go home.

2. Contraction of る (ru).

   何(なに)してんの？

   Nani shiten no?

   What'cha doin'?

   ふざけんな！

   Fuzakenna!

   Stop playing around!

   気(き)にすんな

   ki ni sunna

   Don't mind.

3. Contraction of れ (re).

   信(しん)じらんない。

   Shinjirannai.

   I can't believe it.

   涙(なみだ)が止(と)まんない

   namida ga tomannai

   the tears won't stop

   そんで

   sonde

   and so