Japanese

Stroke order

Syllable

な ‎(romaji na)

1. The hiragana syllable な ‎(na). Its equivalent in katakana is ナ ‎(na). It is the twenty-first syllable in the gojūon order; its position is な行あ段 ‎(na-gyō a-dan, “row na, section a”).

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, ゆゅ, よょ, ら, り, る, れ, ろ, わゎ, ゐ, ゑ, を, ん, ー, ゝ, ゞ, ゟ

Etymology 2

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

Interjection

な ‎(romaji na)

1. (masculine, informal, mild emphatic) Used to get someone's attention. Carries generally neutral or slightly positive connotations.

   な、聞 (き)いたかい。

   Na, kiita kai.

   Hey, did you hear?

Particle

な ‎(romaji na)

1. (informal, mild emphatic) Indicates emotion or mild emphasis. Sentence-final.

   そうかな。

   Sō ka na.

   Huh, is that so.

Usage notes

It is often used when you speak to yourself, and can be considered less formal than the agreement-asking particle ね.

Synonyms

• なあ

Etymology 3

/ni aru/ → /naru/ → /na/

From Old Japanese. Originally an abbreviation of に ‎(ni, particle) + ある ‎(ari, the attributive form of classical あり ari, “to be”).^[1]

Particle

な ‎(romaji na)

1. The copula particle used after 形容動詞 ‎(keiyōdōshi, literally “adjective verb”, often referred to in English teaching texts as -na adjective) to make them function as adjectives.

   変 (へん)な人 (ひと)

   hen na hito

   a strange person

Usage notes

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

静 (しず)かなる田園 (でんえん)

shizuka naru den'en

the quiet countryside

Etymology 4

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 ず ‎(zu).

Particle

な ‎(romaji na)

1. (masculine, informal, added after the dictionary form of a verb) Used to indicate prohibition: don't.

   行 (い)くな！

   Iku na!

   Don't go!

   無断 (むだん)で引用 (いんよう)するな。

   Mudan de in'yō suru na.

   Don't quote it without permission.

Usage notes

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:

• Addressing close friends, children, or possibly subordinates:

  するな。

  Suru na.

  Don't do that.

• Addressing anyone else:

  しないでください。

  Shinaide kudasai.

  (Please) Don't do that.

Etymology 5

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

Suffix

な ‎(romaji -na)

1. (informal, added after the stem form of a verb) An imperative or command: do.

   あっちへ行 (い)きな、ぼうや。

   Atchi e ikina, bōya.

   Go over there, boy → Get out of the way, boy!

   座 (すわ)りなよ。

   Suwarina yo.

   Sit → Have a seat.

Usage notes

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 (た)べな

tabena

eat!

Synonyms

Roughly in order of politeness:

• 下 (くだ)さい ‎(kudasai)
• 頂戴 (ちょうだい) ‎(chōdai)
• なさい ‎(nasai)

Etymology 6

The hiragana rendering of various other words.

Noun

な ‎(romaji na)

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

Number

な ‎(romaji na)

1. 七: (obsolete) Seven.

Synonyms

• なな

Pronoun

な ‎(romaji na)

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

References

1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan