Japanese

Stroke order

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

/nu/ → /n/, /ŋ/

An abbreviation of the negative ending ぬ ‎(nu).

Suffix

ん ‎(romaji -n)

1. (after the 未然形 ‎(mizenkei, “incomplete form”) of a verb): negative form of verbs

   • あるといえばあるが、しかし、ほんとうのことはわからん。

     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 ‎(romaji -n)

1. (after the 未然形 ‎(mizenkei, “incomplete form”) of a verb): volitional form of verbs

   • 高級食器 (こうきゅうしょっき)、美器 (びき)をつくらんとするものは、美食 (びしょく)に通 (つう)ずべし。

     Kōkyū shokki, biki o tsukuran to suru mono wa, bishoku ni tsūzu beshi.

     He who tries to make high-class tableware and beauty ware, 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”).