Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 6: 5/13

じゃないIs not, Isn't

Cannot be used with, い-Adjectives

Structure

［な］Adjective + では(1) + ない
Noun + では(1) + ない

(1)じゃ

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Verb

  • Word Type

    Auxiliary Verb

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    Standard

About じゃない

じゃない is the casual form of ではない. では is regularly contracted to じゃ in Japanese, so is worth remembering as its own structure. じゃない (casual), or ではない (semi-polite) are the structures used for creating the negative form of nouns and な-Adjectives.

These structures are simply added to the base form of the noun or な-Adjective.

じゃ and では can also be used with the negative ます form of ある, to create the polite variant.

ない is sometimes said/written as ね or ねえ. However, this is considered very casual, or even a bit rough. Accordingly, it is best avoided in most conversations.

Caution

じゃない is used very frequently to ask questions. This is similar to じゃないか, a grammar point covered in another lesson. However, the nuance difference is that じゃない as a question is a little bit more blunt, like 'isn't it?' in English. On the other hand, じゃないか is more like 'don't you think?'.

When じゃない is used as a question, it will usually be obvious, due to a rising tone.

Antonyms

Related

Examples

--:--

    犬(いぬ)じゃない。

    It is not a dog.

    先生(せんせい)じゃない。

    I am not a teacher.

    牛肉(ぎゅうにく)じゃないです。

    It is not beef.

    この絵(え)は、綺麗(きれい)じゃありません。

    This painting is not beautiful.

    好(す)きな スポーツは、サッカーではありません。

    The sport that I like is not soccer.

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