# 学ぶ
## Japanese

* Kanji in this term
* 学
* まな Grade: 1
* kun'yomi
* Alternative spelling
* 學ぶ (kyūjitai)

### Etymology

From 真似(まな) (mana, “imitating, copying”) + ぶ (-bu, “to seem like, to act like”, verb-forming suffix). Cognate with 学ぶ (manebu).
The initial mana might be a phonetic shift from mane, itself the continuative or stem nominal form of classical verb 真似 (manu, “to imitate, to copy”), from 真 (ma-, “true, real”) + 似 (nu, “copy, imitate”, lower bigrade conjugation; not attested in isolation).
First cited in the Nihon Shoki of 720.
The ぶ (-bu) suffix usually conjugated with the upper bigrade pattern (上(かみ)二(に)段活用(だんかつよう) (kami nidan katsuyō)), and manabu conjugated this way until the early Heian period (early 800s). Starting from the mid-Heian (roughly the 900s or 1000s), manabu shifted to conjugate using the classical yodan pattern, the precursor to the modern godan conjugation (五段活用(ごだんかつよう) (godan katsuyō)).

### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) まなぶ [mànábú] (Heiban – [0])
* (Tokyo) まなぶ [mànáꜜbù] (Nakadaka – [2])
* IPA: [ma̠na̠bɯ̟]
* Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of 「学ぶ」
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary :
| Stem forms ||||
| Terminal (終止形) Attributive (連体形) | 学ぶ | まなぶ | [mànábú] |
| Imperative (命令形) | 学べ | まなべ | [mànábé] |
| Key constructions ||||
| Passive | 学ばれる | まなばれる | [mànábárérú] |
| Causative | 学ばせる | まなばせる | [mànábásérú] |
| Potential | 学べる | まなべる | [mànábérú] |
| Volitional | 学ぼう | まなぼー | [mànábóꜜò] |
| Negative | 学ばない | まなばない | [mànábánáí] |
| Negative perfective | 学ばなかった | まなばなかった | [mànábánáꜜkàttà] |
| Formal | 学びます | まなびます | [mànábímáꜜsù] |
| Perfective | 学んだ | まなんだ | [mànáńdá] |
| Conjunctive | 学んで | まなんで | [mànáńdé] |
| Hypothetical conditional | 学べば | まなべば | [mànábéꜜbà] |

### Verb

学(まな)ぶ • (manabu) godan (stem 学(まな)び (manabi), past 学(まな)んだ (mananda))
* [from 720] to study
    地図(ちず)は私(わたし)たちが地理学(ちりがく)を学(まな)ぶ助(たす)けになる
       chizu wa watashitachi ga chirigaku o manabu tasuke ni naru
       A map helps us study geography
* [from early 1000s] to learn (by being taught)
    私(わたし)たちは英語(えいご)の読(よ)み方(かた)を学(まな)びました
       watashitachi wa eigo no yomikata o manabimashita
       We learned how to read English
** 1999, 2000, Front Mission 3, Square
    人類(じんるい)は何(なに)も学(まな)ばない
       jinrui wa nanimo manabanai
       Human never learns
* [from late 900s] to learn (by imitating someone or something)

#### Conjugation

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms") :
| Mizenkei ("imperfective") | 学ば | まなば | manaba |
| Ren’yōkei ("continuative") | 学び | まなび | manabi |
| Shūshikei ("terminal") | 学ぶ | まなぶ | manabu |
| Rentaikei ("attributive") | 学ぶ | まなぶ | manabu |
| Kateikei ("hypothetical") | 学べ | まなべ | manabe |
| Meireikei ("imperative") | 学べ | まなべ | manabe |
| Key constructions ||||
| Passive | 学ばれる | まなばれる | manabareru |
| Causative | 学ばせる 学ばす | まなばせる まなばす | manabaseru manabasu |
| Potential | 学べる | まなべる | manaberu |
| Volitional | 学ぼう | まなぼう | manabō |
| Negative | 学ばない | まなばない | manabanai |
| Negative continuative | 学ばず | まなばず | manabazu |
| Formal | 学びます | まなびます | manabimasu |
| Perfective | 学んだ | まなんだ | mananda |
| Conjunctive | 学んで | まなんで | manande |
| Hypothetical conditional | 学べば | まなべば | manabeba |
Middle Japanese until the early Heian period(early 800s):
Stem forms :
| Irrealis (未然形) | 学び | まなび | manabi |
| Continuative (連用形) | 学び | まなび | manabi |
| Terminal (終止形) | 学ぶ | まなぶ | manabu |
| Attributive (連体形) | 学ぶる | まなぶる | manaburu |
| Realis (已然形) | 学ぶれ | まなぶれ | manabure |
| Imperative (命令形) | 学びよ | まなびよ | manabiyo |
| Key constructions ||||
| Negative | 学びず | まなびず | manabizu |
| Contrasting conjunction | 学ぶれど | まなぶれど | manaburedo |
| Causal conjunction | 学ぶれば | まなぶれば | manabureba |
| Conditional conjunction | 学びば | まなびば | manabiba |
| Past tense (firsthand knowledge) | 学びき | まなびき | manabiki |
| Past tense (secondhand knowledge) | 学びけり | まなびけり | manabikeri |
| Perfect tense (conscious action) | 学びつ | まなびつ | manabitu |
| Perfect tense (natural event) | 学びぬ | まなびぬ | manabinu |
| Perfect-continuative tense | 学びたり | まなびたり | manabitari |
| Volitional | 学びむ | まなびむ | manabimu |
Middle Japanese since the mid-Heian period (roughly the 900s or 1000s):
Stem forms :
| Irrealis (未然形) | 学ば | まなば | manaba |
| Continuative (連用形) | 学び | まなび | manabi |
| Terminal (終止形) | 学ぶ | まなぶ | manabu |
| Attributive (連体形) | 学ぶ | まなぶ | manabu |
| Realis (已然形) | 学べ | まなべ | manabe |
| Imperative (命令形) | 学べ | まなべ | manabe |
| Key constructions ||||
| Negative | 学ばず | まなばず | manabazu |
| Contrasting conjunction | 学べど | まなべど | manabedo |
| Causal conjunction | 学べば | まなべば | manabeba |
| Conditional conjunction | 学ばば | まなばば | manababa |
| Past tense (firsthand knowledge) | 学びき | まなびき | manabiki |
| Past tense (secondhand knowledge) | 学びけり | まなびけり | manabikeri |
| Perfect tense (conscious action) | 学びつ | まなびつ | manabitu |
| Perfect tense (natural event) | 学びぬ | まなびぬ | manabinu |
| Perfect-continuative tense | 学べり 学びたり | まなべり まなびたり | manaberi manabitari |
| Volitional | 学ばむ | まなばむ | manabamu |

#### Synonyms

* 勉(べん)強(きょう)する (benkyō suru): (verb) study
* 学(がく)習(しゅう)する (gakushū suru): (verb) study; learn

### See also

* 研(けん)究(きゅう)する (kenkyū suru): (verb) research; study
* 習(なら)う (narau)

### References

* ↑ Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
* 1 2 3 “学”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
* ↑ “学ぶ”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
* 1 2 3 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* 1 2 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN