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Definition 2024

なんて

なんて

See also: なんで

Japanese

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [nã̠nte̞]

Particle

なんて ‎(romaji nante)

  1. (adverbial particle, dismissive, pejorative) emphasizes disgust, contempt, or otherwise negative feelings of the speaker: whatever
Usage notes
  • なんて (nante) is slightly more formal than なんか ‎(nanka). Both are usually followed by a verb which conveys some kind of undervaluation, lack, or dislike, often in the negative.
  • It can follow
    • nouns:
      助言なんて要らない。
      じょげんなんていらない。
      Jogen nante iranai.
      I don't need any of your advice.
    • verbs:
      泳ぐなんて出来ない。
      およぐなんてできない。
      Oyogu nante dekinai.
      I can't swim.
    • adjectives:
      大きくなんてないけど、綺麗だ。
      おおきくなんてないけど、きれいだ。
      Ōkiku nante nai kedo, kirei da.
      It's not big or anything, but it's clean.

Etymology 2

Sources describe this as a sound shift from the phrase 何とnan to iu ‎(compare English constructions whatever kind of; what a ..., literally “what's it called; what a ...”).[2][1][3][4] There is evidence of a form nantē,[2] suggesting a fusion of vowel sounds, where the phonetic development may have proceeded as follows:

/nan to iu/ → /nantɔiu/ → /nantee/ → /nante/

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

  • 何て

Adverb

なんて ‎(romaji nante)

  1. what a, such a
    なんて美 (うつく)しい美女 (びじょ)だな。
    Nante utsukushii bijo da na.
    What a beautiful woman.
  2. what (used quotatively)
    ね、昨日 (きのう)お前 (まえ)なんて言 (い)ってたんだっけ。
    Ne, kinō omae nante itte ta n da kke.
    Hey, what was it you were saying yesterday?

References

  1. 1 2 3 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
  2. 1 2 3 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  3. 1 2 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, ISBN 4-09-501211-0
  4. 1 2 3 4 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13143-0

Etymology

A contraction of phrase 等 ‎(nado, “and so forth, etc.”) + とて ‎(tote, particle combination indicating “that kind of thing”, from と to, quotative particle + て te, conjunctive particle).[1]

Some sources describe this as a shift from 等 ‎(nado) + と ‎(to),[2][3][4] or from 等 ‎(nado) + と ‎(to) + は ‎(wa, topic particle),[4] or even just from 等 ‎(nado),[4] but the phonetic shift in the final vowel from -o or -a to -e is unexplainable in these hypotheses.

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