Structure
Verb + な
Details
Part of Speech
Particle
Part of Speech
Sentence Ending Particle
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Standard
品詞
助詞
単語の種類
終助詞
使用域
一般
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
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行くな。
Don't go.
ここでサッカーをするな。
Don't play soccer here.
泣くな。
Don't cry.
一人でするな。
Don't do it alone.
「これは不味い！」って言うな。
Don't say, 'This tastes bad!'
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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
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
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