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.

  • これは食(た)べ物(もの)じゃない。

    This isn't food.

    • この携帯(けいたい)は便利(べんり)じゃない。

      This cell phone is not useful.

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

      • それは飲(の)み物(もの)ではありません。

        That is not a drink.

        • あなたの部屋(へや)は綺麗(きれい)ではありません。

          Your room is not clean.

          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.

          • 俺(おれ)は馬鹿(ばか)じゃねえよ。

            I'm not stupid.

            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?'.

            • これは無理(むり)じゃない？

              This is impossible, isn't it? (More direct statement)

              • これは無理(むり)じゃないか？

                Don't you think this is impossible? (More direct question)

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

                Synonyms

                Antonyms

                Related

                Misc.

                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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                じゃない – Grammar Discussion

                Most Recent Replies (9 in total)

                • gael

                  gael

                  Thanks for the reply and the correction.

                  My interrogation remains though: why is ではありません refused as an answer?

                • nekoyama

                  nekoyama

                  It’s not refused. I tested it. I assumed you made the same typo you edited out of your earlier post.

                  If the example sentence uses じゃ it will display that as the solution even when you answer では, but it will not refuse では.

                • gael

                  gael

                  Weird. I don’t think I made the typo, but let’s give that as the answer.

                  I just had a restest now, and it was accepted, so your explanation is the simplest one.

                  Thanks!

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