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Common but Confusing - haplology - 2009-05-09
There are certain words that are very common but quite confusing. Thought this might be a good place to post them.
One that gets me is なん。 For example, in response to a question - 昨日買ったばかりなんだ。
What does the なん do there? Obviously, the sentence would work without it - and the translation I saw (I just bought it yesterday) seems like it would be the same. My guess is it's just a filler like, "the thing is" or something. But does someone have a better explanation?
Common but Confusing - danieldesu - 2009-05-09
I probably can't explain this well, but the んだ construction is like you are explaining something to someone, or answering a question, or giving them a reason or something. It is a shortened form of the written のだ. I think the translation of "the thing is" is accurate. The な part right before that is needed because you always stick it behind words that aren't い-adjectives (and maybe other stuff too). Like you would say たいへんなんです, but you wouldn't say むずかしいなんです, you would just say むずかしいんです. Is it clear as mud now?
Common but Confusing - haplology - 2009-05-09
Actually, that's very clear now. For some reason, I never made the connection that なん is the same as the ん in a verb or adjective. I understood the 食べるんです forms and the 難しかったんだ type sentences - but didn't realize that なん was just a noun or な adjective using the same construction. Duh.
Common but Confusing - liosama - 2009-05-09
Alittle off topic, I don't know why but I always say those using the 'complete' の, instead of the ん.
I can't help it, の feels way faster and more natural to me.
Common but Confusing - Tzadeck - 2009-05-09
liosama Wrote:Alittle off topic, I don't know why but I always say those using the 'complete' の, instead of the ん.I don't know if you're a guy or girl, but if you're a guy remember that の can be pretty feminine sounding when used in situations that aren't very polite. Especially if you end a statement with の and drop the copula (da/desu). Though, it's not feminine to end a question with の even with no copula or か.
I can't help it, の feels way faster and more natural to me.