な

Etymology 1
.

Etymology 2
Probably derived from mild emphatic interjection and sentence-final particle, itself from , indicating a general sense of admiration or consideration, or hope that the preceding statement comes to pass.

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

Etymology 3
→ →

From. Originally an abbreviation of +.

Usage notes
The older form is still used to impart a more formal, archaic, or poetic sense.

Etymology 4
From. Probably the root na of the negative adjective. An alternative theory is that this is the imperfective conjugation of negative auxiliary verb.

First cited to the  of 720.

Particle

 * 1)    don't

Usage notes
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 would be used instead, appended to the imperfective stem of the verb in question. Examples:
 * Addressing close friends, children, or possibly subordinates:
 * Addressing anyone else:
 * Addressing anyone else:

Etymology 5
Clipping of polite imperative auxiliary verb form.

Suffix

 * 1)   do

Usage notes

 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.

Synonyms
Roughly in order of politeness:

Etymology 6
The readings of various kanji, as derived from native Japonic roots.

Etymology 7
The readings of various kanji, as borrowed from Chinese.

Etymology 1
Possibly cognate with modern 🇨🇬.

Listed in various sources as the na portion in the term, with the na described as meaning. However, there is no historical attestation for any na reading for this character.

Noun

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

Noun

 * 1) middle
 * A son of Kinmei Tennō.
 * A son of Kinmei Tennō.
 * A son of Kinmei Tennō.
 * A son of Kinmei Tennō.
 * A son of Kinmei Tennō.

Etymology 3
Possibly an apophonic form of, from assimilation with adjacency to vowels such as a or u. Usage is mostly restricted to fixed expressions like, due to such assimilation.

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-.

Etymology 4
Various other terms.

Noun

 * 1)  name
 * 2)  written character
 * 3)  side dish, especially fish, greens, etc.

Pronoun

 * 1)   I, me;  you, thou
 * 2)   one, oneself, itself