# ん

| ん | U+3093, &#12435; HIRAGANA LETTER N |
| ← を [U+3092] | Hiragana | ゔ → [U+3094] |

## Japanese
### Pronunciation

* The realization of this phoneme depends on its phonetic context, as follows:
   * IPA: [n] before t, d, n, r, ts, z (phonetically: [t, d, n, ɾ, ts, dz])
   * IPA: [m] before m, p, b
   * IPA: [ŋ] before k, g
   * IPA: [ɲ] before ni, ch, j (phonetically: [ɲ, tɕ, dʑ])
   * IPA: [ɴ] at the end of utterances
   * IPA: [ɰ̃] before vowels, approximants (w, y), and fricatives (h, f, s, sh), often causing nasalization of the preceding vowel
* When speakers wish to convey the consonant very clearly, for example in classical singing or when spelling things out to someone who can't hear the speaker well, [m] may be used in place of [ɴ], and potentially even in all other positions.

### Etymology 1

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji 无 in the cursive sōsho style. ん and む were originally both used for both the n and mu sounds; ん was designated as n in the script reform.

#### Syllable

ん • (n)
* The hiragana syllable ん (n). Its equivalent in katakana is ン (n). It is the forty-eighth syllable in the gojūon order.

##### See also

The Hiragana script :
| あぁ あ゙ | かゕ がか゚ | さ ざさ゚ | た だた゚ | な | は ばぱ | ま | やゃ | ら ら゚ | わゎ わ゙ |
| いぃ い゙ | き ぎき゚ | し じし゚ | ち ぢち゚ | に | ひ びぴ | み | 𛀆 | り り゚ | ゐ𛅐 ゐ゙ |
| うぅ ゔう゚ | く ぐく゚ | す ずす゚ | つっ づつ゚ | ぬ | ふ ぶぷ | む | ゆゅ | る る゚ | 𛄟 |
| えぇ え゙ | けゖ げけ゚ | せ ぜせ゚ | て でて゚ | ね | へ べぺ | め | 𛀁 | れ れ゚ | ゑ𛅑 ゑ゙ |
| おぉ お゙ | こ𛄲 ごこ゚ | そ ぞそ゚ | と どと゚ | の | ほ ぼぽ | も | よょ | ろ ろ゚ | を𛅒 を゙ |
| Additional symbols: ーゝゞゝ゚ゟ |||||||||||

### Etymology 2

/nu/ → /n/, /ŋ/
An abbreviation of the negative ending ぬ (nu).

#### Suffix

ん • (-n)
* (after the 未然形 (mizenkei, “incomplete form”) of a verb): negative form of verbs
    分(わ)からん
       wakaran
       I don't know.
    許(ゆる)せんぞ
       yurusen zo
       This is unforgivable!
** 北大路魯山人, 『味覚馬鹿』
    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 except that it is standard when forming the negative of ます (-masu), ません (-masen).
** On the other hand, ん is common in fictional dialogue attributed to archaic or pompous characters.
* This is potentially ambiguous with the volitional ん as both attach to the irrealis, so the intended meaning must be discerned from context.
* This word is morphologically an inflectional suffix. It is classified as 助動詞 (jodōshi, “auxiliary verb”) in traditional Japanese grammar.

##### Synonyms

* (casual) ない (nai)
* (formal) ません (masen)
* (written formal) ず (zu)
* (Kansai) へん (hen)

##### See also

| | | | Verbs | -i adjectives | nouns and -na adjectives |
| Nonpast | Plain | Affirmative | Use the dictionary form | stem + い (-i) | noun + だ (da) (noun + である (de aru)) |
| Nonpast | Plain | Negative | mizenkei + ない (-nai) | stem + くない (-ku nai) | noun + で（は）ない (de [wa] nai) |
| Nonpast | Polite | Affirmative | ren'yōkei + ます (-masu) | stem + いです (-i desu) | noun + です (desu) |
| Nonpast | Polite | Negative | ren'yōkei + ません (-masen) | stem + くないです (-ku nai desu) stem + くありません (-ku arimasen) | noun + で（は）ないです (de [wa] nai desu) noun + で（は）ありません (de [wa] arimasen) |
| Past | Plain | Affirmative | ren'yōkei (with onbin sound changes for Group I verbs) + た (-ta) | stem + かった (-katta) | noun + だった (datta) (noun + であった (de atta)) |
| Past | Plain | Negative | mizenkei + なかった (-nakatta) | stem + くなかった (-ku nakatta) | noun + で（は）なかった (de [wa] nakatta) |
| Past | Polite | Affirmative | ren'yōkei + ました (-mashita) | stem + かったです (-katta desu) | noun + でした (deshita) |
| Past | Polite | Negative | ren'yōkei + ませんでした (-masen deshita) | stem + くなかったです (-ku nakatta desu) stem + くありませんでした (-ku arimasen deshita) | noun + で（は）なかったです (de [wa] nakatta desu) noun + で（は）ありませんでした (de [wa] arimasen deshita) |
| Volitional | Plain | Plain | mizenkei (of Group I verbs) + う (-u > -o) mizenkei (of other verbs) + よう (-yō) | †stem + かろう (-karō) (stem + いだろう (-i darō)) | noun + だろう (darō) (noun + であろう (de arō)) |
| Volitional | Polite | Polite | ren'yōkei + ましょう (-mashō) | (stem + いでしょう (-i deshō)) | noun + でしょう (deshō) |
| Conjunctive | Conjunctive | Conjunctive | ren'yōkei (with onbin sound changes for Group I verbs) + て (-te) | stem + くて (-kute) | noun + で (de) (noun + であって (de atte)) |
| Hypothetical conditional | Hypothetical conditional | Hypothetical conditional | kateikei + ば (-ba) | stem + ければ (-kereba) | (noun + であれば (de areba)) |

### Etymology 3

/mu/ → /n/, /ŋ/
An abbreviation of the intentional, volitional, and suppositional ending む (mu).

#### Alternative forms

* (reflex in modern language) う (-u)

#### Suffix

ん • (-n)
* (non-productive, archaic) (after the 未然形 (mizenkei, “incomplete form”) of a verb): volitional form of verbs
    いざ行(ゆ)かん
       iza yukan
       Let's go.
    神(かみ)の御(ご)加(か)護(ご)があらんことを
       kami no go-kago ga aran koto o
       God bless you.
       (literally, “May God's protection be with you.”)
** 北大路魯山人, 『味覚馬鹿』
    高(こう)級(きゅう)食(しょっ)器(き)、美(び)器(き)をつくらんとするものは、美(び)食(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 beautyware, must be familiar with epicurism.
** 2004, Murakoshi, Suguru and trans. Blaustein, Jeremy, et al., quoting note on door, Silent Hill 4: The Room, Tokyo: Konami, PlayStation 2; Xbox; PC, level/area: One Truth room:汝、最深部へ行くには　一つの真実を倒せ さすればこの扉開かれんnanji, saishinbu e iku ni wa / hitotsu no shinjitsu o taose sa sureba kono tobira hirakarenTo reach the deepest part, you must / defeat the One Truth. Do so and this door will open.(literally, “Thou, in going to the deepest part, / defeat the One Truth If you do thusly this door would be opened”)

##### 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.
* This is potentially ambiguous with the negative ん as both attach to the irrealis, so the intended meaning must be discerned from context.
* In modern Japanese, this is more commonly realized as the う (-u > -ō) or よう (-yō) volitional verb ending. See the etymology of suffix よう (-yō) for more.
* This word is morphologically an inflectional suffix. It is classified as 助動詞 (jodōshi, “auxiliary verb”) in traditional Japanese grammar.

### Etymology 4

/no/ → /n/, /ŋ/
Regular contraction of the possessive or nominalizing particle の (no). This contracted form is considered informal.

#### Particle

ん • (n)
* (informal) contraction of の (no)
    俺(おれ)ん家(ち)に来(こ)ない？
       Ore n chi ni konai?
       Wanna come to my place?
    あの、聞(き)きたいことがあるんだけど。
       Ano, kikitai koto ga aru n da kedo.
       Excuse me, I have a question that I would like to ask.
** 甲賀三郎, 『蜘蛛』
    「とたてぐもの一(いっ)種(しゅ)なんだよ。潮(しお)見(み)君(くん)は毒(どく)蜘(ぐ)蛛(も)と間(ま)違(ちが)えたんだよ」
       “Totategumo no isshu na n da yo. Shiomi-kun wa dokugumo to machigaeta n da yo”
       "It's a type of trapdoor spider. You've mistaken it for a venomous spider."

### Etymology 5

/r-/ → /r/ → /n/, /ŋ/
Regular contraction of various morae preceding another mora starting with a nasalized consonant, such as /n/ or /d/. This contracted form is considered informal.

#### Combining form

ん
* contraction of ら (ra)
    家(いえ)に帰(かえ)らなきゃ。 → 家(いえ)に帰(かえ)んなきゃ。
       Ie ni kaeranakya. → Ie ni kaennakya.
       I must go home.
    涙(なみだ)が止(と)まらない → 涙(なみだ)が止(と)まんない
       namida ga tomaranai → namida ga tomannai
       the tears won't stop
* contraction of り (ri)
    入(はい)りなさい！ → 入(はい)んなさい！
       Hairi nasai! → Hain nasai!
       Come in!
* contraction of る (ru)
    何(なに)しているの？ → 何(なに)してるの？ → 何(なに)してんの？
       Nani shite iru no? → Nani shiteru no? → Nani shiten no?
       What are you doing? → What ya doing? → What'cha doin'?
    ふざけるな！→ふざけんな！
       Fuzakeru na! → Fuzaken na!
       Stop playing around!
    気(き)にするな → 気(き)にすんな
       ki ni suru na → ki ni sun na
       Don't mind.
* contraction of れ (re)
    信(しん)じられない。 → 信(しん)じらんない。
       Shinjirarenai. → Shinjirannai.
       I can't believe it.
    それで→そんで
       sore de → son de
       and so
* contraction of ろ (ro)
    色(いろ)々(いろ)な物(もの)。 → 色(いろ)んな物(もの)。
       Iroironamono. → Ironnamono.
       various things
*   * In this case, い is contracted by being dropped, similar to 〜ている → 〜てる (as evidenced by instances of 色々な being realized in speech as いろろな), and ろ is contracted by undergoing a sound change. This sound change almost never happens, and as such, it is more of an etymological explanation of 色んな (or similar, if any) rather than a general combining form of ん for ろ.

### Etymology 6

Possibly a reduced form of ちゃん.

#### Suffix

ん • (-n)
* (women's speech) added to female names or parts of them to express affection
    栞(しおり) → しおりん, 一美(かずみ) → ずみん, 茜(あかね) → ねん
       Shiori → Shiorin, Kazumi → Zumin, Akane → Nen
       Shiori → Shiorin, Kazumi → Zumin, Akane → Nen (nicknames)

## Miyako
### Etymology

From Proto-Ryukyuan *ni, from Proto-Japonic *ni. Cognate with Japanese に (ni).

### Pronunciation

IPA: /n/

### Particle

ん (n)
* (locative marker) in; to; for; at