ん

• The realization of this phoneme depends on its phonetic context, as follows:

• IPA^(key): [n] before dental and alveolar consonants t, d, ch, j, n, r, s, ts, z
• IPA^(key): [m] before m, p, b
• IPA^(key): [ŋ] before k, g
• IPA^(key): [ɴ] at the end of utterances, before approximants w and y, and before vowels, 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.

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.

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.

/nu/ → /n/, /ŋ/

An abbreviation of the negative ending ぬ (nu).

ん • (-n) 

1. (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.

• 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 word is morphologically an inflectional suffix. It is classified as 助動詞 (jodōshi, “auxiliary verb”) in traditional Japanese grammar.

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

/mu/ → /n/, /ŋ/

An abbreviation of the intentional, volitional, and suppositional ending む (mu).

• (reflex in modern language) う (-u)

ん • (-n) 

1. (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; 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 hirakaren

     To 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”)

• 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 ambiguous with the preceding etymology as both attached to the irrealis.
• 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.

/no/ → /n/, /ŋ/

Regular abbreviation of the possessive or nominalizing particle の (no). The result is considered informal.

ん • (n) 

1. 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."

/r-/ → /r/ → /n/, /ŋ/

Regular abbreviation of various morae preceding another mora starting with a nasalized consonant, such as /n/ or /d/. The result is considered informal.

ん

1. 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

2. 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.

3. 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

Possibly a reduced form of ちゃん.

ん • (-n) 

1. (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)

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

IPA^(key): /n/

ん (n)

1. (locative marker) in; to; for; at