Monday, January 6, 2020
The Meaning of Nani in Japanese
The word nanià ä ½â¢ (㠪ã «) in Japanese means what. And depending on the situation, you might, instead, useà nan (㠪ãââ). Which term you use depends on the context, in particular, whether you are speaking or writing formally or informally. The sentences below are listed first in a transliteration of the Japanese phrase or sentence, followed by the spelling in Japanese charactersââ¬âusingà kanji,à hiragana, orà katakanaà as appropriateââ¬âfollowed by the translation in English. Where indicated, click on the link to bring up a sound file and hear how to correctly pronounce the word or sentence in Japanese. Using Nani or Nan in a Sentence Nani is the more formal and polite term to use when asking a question, as in: Nanià woà suruà tsumorià desu ka? (㠪ã « ãââ ã â¢Ã£â⹠㠤ãââãâŠã §Ã£ ⢠ã â¹) à What do you intend to do? or What are you planning to do? In more casual situations it wouldà beà fine to use nan. As a general rule,à if the word following what begins with a syllable from the t, n, and d groups, use nan, as in: Nandeshou? (㠪ãââ㠧ã â"ãââ¡Ã£ â ) What do you want? More on Using Nan vs. Nani Nan is used beforeà particles.à A particle is a word that shows the relationship of a word, phrase, or clauseà to the rest of the sentence.à Particles are added to the end of sentences toà express the speakerà or writersà emotions, such as doubt, emphasis, caution, hesitation, wonder, or admiration. You might useà nanà with a phrase such as /ã ®, /ã § (which means of the and is pronounced no de)à and verb da/desu (æâ°â㠧ã ⢠), meaning it is hitting or it is striking. Nani is used before: /ã â¹ (meaning or and pronounced as ka)à and /ã « (meaning into a and pronounced as ni). Be careful when you use nan because, for example, if you useà nanà before kaà (/ã â¹), which means or, it would sound like the word nankaà (㠪ãââã â¹), which means things like. Another example would be if you were to useà nan withà ni (/ã «), it would be nannià (㠪ãââã «), meaning why, but this sounds very much like nannimoà (㠪ãââ㠫ãââ), which translates as nothing at all. Using Nani or Nan in Context You might useà nanià orà nanà in a restaurant. Depending on whether you are at a formal business luncheon or a casual eatery, you might use either of these terms. For example, at fast food eatery you might say: Osusume wa nan desu ka.à (ã Šå⹠§Ã£â 㠯ä ½â¢Ã£ §Ã£ â¢Ã£ â¹) What do you recommend?Are wa nan desu ka. (ã âãâÅ'㠯ä ½â¢Ã£ §Ã£ â¢Ã£ â¹Ã£â¬â) What is that?à If you are at a more formal eatery, but you dont know what to order, you might ask a fellow diner: Nani ga oishii desu ka. (ä ½â¢Ã£ Å'ã Šã âã â"ã â㠧ã â¢Ã£ â¹Ã£â¬â) What is good? If you are traveling on a train and need to ask for help from a stranger or train conductor, that would be considered a more formal situation in Japan. Thus, you would useà nanià and might say: Tsugià waà nanià ekià desu ka.à (æ ¬ ¡Ã£ ¯Ã¤ ½â¢Ã© §â¦Ã£ §Ã£ â¢Ã£ â¹Ã£â¬â) What is the next station? However, if you are traveling with a friend, you might use à the informalà nan, as in: Nan-jià nià demasuà ka.à (ä ½â¢Ã¦â¢â㠫å⡠ºÃ£ ¾Ã£ â¢Ã£ â¹Ã£â¬â) à What time does it leave?
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