んば

Japanese

Etymology

Shift from は (ha). First attested in 平家物語 (Heike Monogatari, “The Tale of the Heike”) of the early 1200s.[1]

/-ba/ → /-mba/

The は (ha) was probably originally the topic particle, also used in contrastive emphasis to indicate a conditional in certain constructions.[1][2][3] Compare modern なくては (nakute wa). The nasal likely appeared due to the voicing of the negative auxiliary ず (zu) that often preceded the particle in this usage. Over time, this then became conflated with the regular conditional verb suffix ば (ba).[1]

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): [mba̠]

Particle

んば • (-nba) 

  1. (archaic) Alternative form of ば (-ba, “if”)
    虎(こ)穴(けつ)に入(い)らずんば虎(こ)子(じ)を得(え)ず
    koketsu ni irazunba koji o ezu
    You cannot catch a tiger cub without entering a tiger's lair → nothing ventured, nothing gained
    信(しん)用(よう)なくんば尊(そん)敬(けい)されない
    shin'yō nakunba sonkei sarenai
    You cannot be respected without reputation.

Usage notes

This form attaches to adjective ～く (-ku) forms or the auxiliary ず (-zu). It corresponds to the archaic 未然形 (mizenkei, “irrealis stem”) + ば (-ba) form of verbs.

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  3. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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