な (Prohibitive)Do not, Don't (Prohibitive)

Structure

Verb + な

Details

Part of Speech
Particle
Word Type
Sentence Ending Particle
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Standard

About な

な is classified as a sentence ending particle in Japanese. When attached to the base (dictionary) form of a verb, it has the nuance of strongly demanding that someone 'not' do something.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Examples

--:--

行(い)くな。

Don't go.

ここでサッカーをするな。

Don't play soccer here.

泣(な)くな。

Don't cry.

一人(ひとり)でするな。

Don't do it alone.

「これは不味(まず)い！」って言(い)うな。

Don't say, 'This tastes bad!'

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Online
- Commands
  Wasabi
- Negative Command
  Tae Kim

Offline
- みんなの日本語 II
  Page 54 [CH 33]
- [DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
  Page 46 & 266
- Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
  Page 183
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な – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (10 in total)

znic1998
Hey! I’m back with more questions. Based on the example sentence it seems that this can only be used with verbs in their dictionary form. I am correct with making that assumption. I’m assuming there will grammar later to cover more imperatives but I just want to be sure.
FredKore

znic1998:

this can only be used with verbs in their dictionary form

That’s correct. The negative imperative is (plain verb)-な.
The positive imperative is either (う-verb, え-ending) or (る-verb stem + ろ).

まつな！ Don’t wait!
まて！ Wait!

たべるな！ Don’t eat!
たべろ！ Eat!

(I can’t seem to find the Bunpro page for positive imperative though.)
znic1998
Thanks, @FredKore I will ever use it since apparently it is quite rude, but good to know