な

• IPA^(key): [na̠]

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji 奈 in the cursive sōsho style.

な • (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”).

• (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, こ𛄲ご, 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, 𛀆, ゆゅ, 𛀁, よょ, らら゚, りり゚, るる゚, れれ゚, ろろ゚, わゎわ゙, ゐ𛅐ゐ゙, 𛄟, ゑ𛅑ゑ゙, を𛅒を゙, ん, ー, ゝ, ゞ, ゟ

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.

な • (na) 

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

   な、聞(き)いたかい。 ― na, kiita kai. ― Hey, did you hear?

な • (na) 

1. (informal, mild emphatic) sentence-final particle indicating emotion or mild emphasis

   Synonym: なあ (nā)

   そうかな。 ― sō ka na. ― Huh, is that so.

Often used when you are speaking to yourself, and can be considered less formal than the agreement-asking particle ね.

/ni aru/ → /naru/ → /na/

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

な • (na) 

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

   変(へん)な人(ひと) ― hen na hito ― a strange person

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(でん)園(えん) ― shizuka naru den'en ― the quiet countryside

• → English: な-adjective

From Old Japanese. Probably the root na of the negative adjective ない (nai).[2][3] An alternative theory is that this is the imperfective conjugation of negative auxiliary verb ず (zu).[2]

First cited to the Nihon Shoki of 720.[2]

な • (na) 

1. [from 720] (masculine in modern Japanese, informal, added after the dictionary form of a verb) indicates prohibition: don't

   行(い)くな！ ― Iku na! ― Don't go!

   無(む)断(だん)で引(いん)用(よう)するな。 ― Mudan de in'yō suru na. ― Don't quote it without permission.

   混(ま)ぜるな危険(きけん) ― mazeru na kiken ― dangerous: do not mix

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.

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

な • (-na) 

1. (informal, added after the stem form of a verb) indicates an imperative statement 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.

• A casual way of issuing commands; not as rough as the imperative conjugation of a verb.
• Usage is restricted to addressing friends, children, or subordinates.

  食(た)べな ― tabena ― Eat!

• In spoken Japanese, the prohibitive na and the imperative na are also differentiated by pitch accent patterns. For prohibitive na, the pitch on the suffix follows the pitch on the verb stem; and for imperative na, the pitch is higher than on the verb stem.

  書くな (kaku na, “don't write”) → かくな

  書きな (kaki na, “write”) → かきな

Roughly in order of politeness:

• 下(くだ)さい (kudasai)
• 頂(ちょう)戴(だい) (chōdai)
• なさい (nasai)

The readings of various kanji, as derived from native Japonic roots.

(The following entries are uncreated: 字, 無.)

The readings of various kanji, as borrowed from Chinese.

(The following entries are uncreated: 南, 奈, 娜, 懦.)

Possibly cognate with modern Korean 날 (nal, “blade”).

Listed in various sources as the na portion in the term 刀 (katana), with the na described as meaning 刃 (“blade, edge”).[1][2][3] However, there is no historical attestation for any na reading for this character.

な (na) (kana な)

1. any sharp and thin cutting implement: a blade, edge
   • c. 759, Man'yōshū, (book 4, poem 616):

     ,[4] text here

     劔大刀名惜雲吾者無君爾不相而年之經去禮者

     turugi₁-tati na no₂ wosike₁ku mo ware pa nasi ki₁mi₁ ni apazute to₂si no₂ pe₂nureba

     I do not even miss precious you, given the years that have passed without meeting with you.

     [Note: turugi₁-tati (literally “double-edged longsword”) is a pillow word establishing a poetic association with the following na, literally meaning blade or edge and alluding to sharpness and importance. This na could also elliptically mean 名 (na, “name”) or even 汝 (na, “you”) depending on context, based on the homophonic readings.]

• Japanese: 刀 (katana)
• Japanese: 鉈 (nata) (possibly)

Possibly an apophonic form of の (no₂), from assimilation with adjacency to vowels such as a or u. Usage is mostly restricted to fixed expressions like 掌 (tanagokoro, “palm of the hand”, parsed as ta “hand” + na [possessive] + kokoro “heart, center”, changing to gokoro due to rendaku), due to such assimilation.

Vovin (2020, pp. 119-123) suggests that this may instead be a plural marker, which is supported by some terms changing due to rendaku, typically a contraction of -no₂- or -ni-.

な • (na) 

1. genitive case marker

• の (no)
• つ (tu)
• が (ga)

Various other terms.

な (na)

1. 名: name
2. 字: written character
3. 肴, 魚, 菜: side dish, especially fish, greens, etc.

な (na)

1. 汝: first-person singular pronoun: I, me; second-person singular pronoun: you, thou
2. 己, 汝: third-person reflexive pronoun: one, oneself, itself