Related to *na (“prohibitive marker”).
*-nu (infinitive *-ni, irrealis *-na)
- Negativizes a verb in the irrealis stem.
- Old Japanese: ぬ (nu), ず (-zu) (< *-nu, *-n(i)su)
- Japanese: ぬ (-nu), ず (-zu) (literary)
- Proto-Ryukyuan: *-nai (suffixed with the irrealis *-na and *wu (“to have; to sit”))
- Northern Ryukyuan:
- Kikai: ねーん (-nēn), ねーらん (-nēran)
- Kunigami: ねー (-nē), ぬ (-nu)
- Northern Amami Ōshima: ねん (-nen)
- Okinawan: ねーん (-nēn)
- Okinoerabu: ん (-n)
- Southern Amami Ōshima: ねむっ (-nem), ねーむっ (-nēm)
- Yoron: ねん (-nen), ねんぬ (-nennu)
- Southern Ryukyuan:
- Miyako: なーん (-nān)
- Yaeyama: ねーぬ (-nēnu)
- Yonaguni: みぬん (-minun)