Just like how in English "I am" is contracted to "I'm," "is not" to "isn't," "will not" to "won't," and "don't know" to "dunno," Japanese has contractions, too. For reference, in this article I'll list the Japanese contractions.
Types
All contractions make stuff shorter, but not all contractions are the same. According to some, not all contractions are even technically "contractions."
For a contraction to be really a "contraction," it has to be formally recognized, it must be in the dictionary, and you must be able to use it in writing. Simply slurring syllables together because you're speaking too fast wouldn't be a "contraction," that would be called relaxed pronunciation instead.
Thus, "don't" is a contraction of "do not," it's formally recognized, you can use it while writing a thesis, but "dunno" is informal, and a relaxed pronunciation of "don't know" instead.
In Japanese, things get a little more complicated.
To begin with, we have these two terms:
- kaki-kotoba
書き言葉
"Writing words."
Written speech. - hanashi-kotoba
話し言葉,
"Talking words."
Spoken speech.
And so you'd think: wow, that's perfect, that means contractions in kaki-kotoba are actual contractions, and the ones in hanashi-kotoba aren't contractions but relaxed pronunciation.
Yeah, well, no.
You don't use contractions, of practically any sort, in kaki-kotoba. That's because that's not the term for what you write on Twitter or LINE, that's the term for business e-mails and serious, formal stuff like that.
People actively avoid writing contractions in kaki-kotoba, so you only find them in hanashi-kotoba.
There are cases where you can find hanashi-kotoba written, which makes the whole thing more confusing, for example:
- The text written in speech balloons in manga counts as hanashi-kotoba, since that's the text the character is speaking, so it will orthographically match their slurred, contracted speech.
- Similarly, the speech of characters in a novel may feature contractions, even if the narration does not.
- In news articles in Japanese, when quoting what someone said, the quote may feature contractions as it quotes what the person said exactly, even if the rest of the article does not feature them.
In the contractions used in hanashi-kotoba, there are those that are more standard and those that are less standard.
- hyoujungo
標準語
Standard language.- The language supposedly understood by the entire country. In particular, a lot of people live in Tokyo. Some words spoken in Tokyo won't be understood by people who live in Kansai, for example. Something understood in both Tokyo and Kansai may end up not being understood somewhere else, and so on.
- kudaketa ii-kata
砕だけた言い方
Informal way-of-saying.- kudakeru
砕ける
To be broken. (e.g. a diamond is "unbreakable:" kudakenai)
- kudakeru
- namatta
訛った
Corrupted. Slurred.
In anime, characters of different backgrounds speak differently, and use different contractions, such that the upbringing of a character can be hinted by whether they only use normal contractions or also make use of more slurred speech.
If a character's speech is slurred, that implies they aren't tidy, neat, eloquent, A-grade students. They're delinquents, gang members, gyaru ギャル, youngsters that always speak like they've got bubble gums inside their mouths, and so on.
By contrast, characters from rich families, a.k.a. ojousama お嬢様 and bocchan 坊っちゃん characters, tend to speak more eloquently and avoid slurred speech. Their butlers, too, will speak in kaki-kotoba without using contractions at all.
Similarly, if a character wear glasses, they probably speak eloquently, too.
These are just examples of the stereotypes associated with contractions. A character that normally speaks normally can end up slurring words if they're angry, and not everyone that speaks slurring looks like they'll fail calculus and join a gang.
Furthermore, some contractions are associated more with one type of character than with another. For example, say there are two girls in an average cute girls doing cute things anime: one says sun'na.すんな, the other says nakucha なくちゃ. Chances are the second one is cuter than the first one.
The basic rule is that the more contracted a word is, the more slurred it is, the more informal it is, so the less common it is.
For example, there are various contractions that result in n'na んな or n'no んの. These are more slurred, so they're more informal.
By contrast, nakucha なくちゃ, from nakutewa なくては, is less slurred, so it's less informal, while still being quite informal. Since nakya なきゃ, from nakereba なければ, seems more contracted, we can assume it's more informal than nakucha.
Contractions which "leave out" or "remove" a syllable are called something nuki 抜き. These are quite common, some more common than others.
- i-nuki
い抜き- ている to てる.
- でいる to でる.
- ていく to てく.
- でいく to でく.
- o-nuki
お抜き- ておく to てく.
- でおく to でく.
- ra-nuki
ら抜き- 食べられる to 食べれる.
- Context: the hero, who has been injured, sees his companion using healing magic on someone else, and says:
- boku mo koshi φ sasareteru-n-dakedo....
ボクも腰刺されてるんだけど････
I've been stabbed in the hip, too, but [you haven't healed me?]....
- sasarete-iru 刺されている with ~i ～い removed.
- sasu
刺す
To stab. - See odoro おどろ for the angered line effect.
- shittemasu
知ってます
[I] know.- shitte-imasu 知っています with ~i ～い removed.
The phrase teoku ておく can be contracted to toku とく. Again, since this is more contracted than just teku, we can assume it's more informal.
It's very common to contract no-da の into n-da ん and so on. So this is one of the more standard contractions.
Similarly, it's extremely common to contract dewanai ではない into janai じゃない, so this is about as standard as contractions can go in Japanese.
There's a sort of contraction in which a syllable disappears that's analyzed as a special grammatical thing, in which the vanished syllable is said to have been replaced by a "null" or "zero" something, which can be represented by ∅ (empty set) or φ (Greek letter phi).
- {mita} koto ga nai
見たことがない
[I] have never {seen [it]}. - {mita} koto φ nai
見たことない
- Here, the ga が particle was replaced by the "null particle," or "zero particle."
- The word nai predicates a subject, and subjects are normally marked by a particle in Japanese.
- Since there's a predicate, there must be a subject, and since there is a subject, there must be a particle marking it, but one isn't pronounced or written, so we say it's a null particle..
- This also happens in phrases such as kankei nai 関係ない, ~ni chigai nai ～に違いない, machigai nai 間違いない, and so on.
- ore wa Tarou da
俺は太郎だ
I'm Tarou. - ore wa Tarou φ
俺は太郎
- Here, the da だ predicative copula is replaced by the "null copula," or "zero copula."
- Again, there must be a copula linking Tarou to the subject ore, but one isn't pronounced or written, so we say it's a null copula.
It's not clear if the above really counts as a contraction or not. For example, there may be nuance in explicitly uttering ga が or da だ when one could use the null instead, but then again, there's also a nuance in pronouncing "I do not" separately instead of the normal, contracted "I don't."
ている to てる
Perhaps the most common and most confusing contraction happens when the te-iru ている form is contracted to just te-ru てる. Observe:
- miru
見る
To see. - mite-iru
見ている
To be seeing. - miteru
見てる
The reason for the confusion is that it looks like miteru is a verb on its own, rather than the te-iru form of the verb miru. After all, there's not even an "iru" in miteru, how could it be the te-iru form?
The fact there's a bunch of verbs of similar length doesn't help.
- miseru
見せる
To make someone see.
To show. - mieru
見える
To be seen. To be visible. - miteru
見てる
(is this a verb on its own???)
Alternatively, this te-ru contraction can be misinterpreted as an auxiliary verb.
- taberu
食べる
To eat. - tabe-kiru
食べ切る
To eat completely.- kiru
切る
To cut. (verb.)
To do completely.
- kiru
- tabe-teru (?)
食べてる
To eat (??).- teru
てる
(auxiliary verb???) - Nope. It's actually:
- tabete-iru
食べている
To be eating.
- teru
- Context: Yoshida Yuuko 吉田優子, Shamiko シャミ子, grew horns and a tail overnight, becoming a monster girl.
- nanka tsuno haeta--!!
なんかツノ生えたー！！
Horns sprouted [out]!! - ato shippo!!
あと尻尾！！
[Also] a tail!! - haeteru
生えてる
[They're] sprouted. (literally.) - hae-sorotteru--
はえそろってるー
[They're both] sprouted.- From hae-sorotte-iru 生え揃っている.
- A compound verb of haeru and sorou 揃う, "to complete [a set]," in the sense that horns and tail make a full set.
- ishi de ugoku--!!
意思で動くー！！
[They] move by will--!! (literally)- In the sense Shamiko can move them like she can move a limb, i.e. they're part of her body.
でいる to でる
A godan 五段 verb with te-form ending in de で forms ~de-iru ～でいる instead, contracting to ~deru ～でる.
- yonde-iru
読んでいる
To be reading. - yonderu
読んでる
- omae wa mou shinderu.........
おまえはもう死んでる･････････
You're already dead.- From shinde-iru 死んでいる.
- nanii~~!?
なにィ～～！？
Whattt!?
ていく to てく
A verb in te-form plus the auxiliary iku いく forms ~te-iku ～ていく, contracting to ~teku ～てく.
- kawatte-iku
変わっていく
To go on changing.
To keep changing. - kawatteku
変わってく
Sometimes, ~teku is a contraction of ~te-oku ～ておく instead.
でいく to でく
A godan verb with te-form ending in de で forms ~de-iku ～でいく, contracting to ~deku ～でく.
- manande-iku
学んでいく
To go on learning. - manandeku
学んでく
Sometimes, ~deku is a contraction of ~de-oku ～でおく instead.
ておく to とく
A verb in ~te form plus the auxiliary ~oku ～おく forms ~te-oku ～ておく, which normally contracts to ~toku ～とく.
- oboete-oku
覚えておく
To leave remembered. (for later.)
[I'll] remember [it]. - oboetoku
覚えとく
- Context: a boy wants to buy a book, but it's out of stock.
- nandeshitara hairi shidai otaku e otodoke itashimashou ka
何でしたら入り次第お宅へお届けいたしましょうか
[If you want] [I] will deliver [it] to [your] house [as soon as] [it] enters [stock].- shidai
次第
Depending on. In this case, when he delivers the book depends on when it enters stock. As soon as. - otaku
お宅
[Your] house.
You. (second person pronoun.)
A hobbyist, specially someone who likes anime.
- shidai
- sou shite kureru?
そうしてくれる？
[You] will do so for [me]? - daikin wa {{sono ba de harau} you ni} shitoku kara
代金はその場で払うようにしとくから
As for the payment, [I] will make [it] {so [that] {[it] is paid there}}.
- i.e. the payment will be ready at his home for when it arrives.
- sono ba
その場
That place.
The aforementioned place, in this case otaku, "[your] home," or, from the perspective of this character: "[my] home." - sono ba de harau
その場で払う
X pays in my home. (dispositional habitual.)
X can pay in my home. (potential habitual.)
[Someone] pays, can pay X in my home. (non-nominative habitual.)
- Compare with:
- taberu
食べる
X eats. (dispositional.)
X can eat. (potential.)
[Someone] eats, can eat X. (non-nominative.) - {taberu} mono
食べるもの
Something [that] {eats}. (dispositional.)
Something [that] {can eat}. (potential.)
Something [that] {[you] eat}. (non-nominative dispositional.)
Something [that] {[you] can eat}. (non-nominative potential.)
- X you ni suru
〇〇ようにする
To make [it] so that [a habitual predicate] will true in the future. - {sono ba de harau} you ni suru = to make it so that {[someone] pays [the payment] in my home} in the future (because nobody would pay it right now, at present moment, since I haven't informed them about it.)
- ~suru is replaced by ~shite-oku ～しておく because if the books arrives and nobody is told they have to pay it, that would be problematic, so, in preparation for the book's arrival, the character will tell his servants to give the money to the merchant or something like that, making it so that the book is paid at his home when it arrives at a future date.
でおく to どく
A godan verb with te-form ending in ~de ～で forms ~de-oku ～でおく, contracting to ~doku ～どく instead.
- yonde-oku
読んでおく
To leave read. (for later.) - yondoku
読んどく
ておけ to とけ
The meireikei 命令形 conjugation te-oke ておけ contracts to ~toke ～とけ.
- obote-oke!
覚えておけ！
Remember [it]!- Phrase used after a character who was defeated menacingly runs away while swearing revenge.
- oboetoke!
覚えとけ！
でおけ to どけ
Similarly, ~de-oke ～でおけ contracts to ~doke ～どけ.
- yonde-oke
読んでおけ
Read [it]. - yondoke
読んどけ
ておく to てく
A verb in te-form plus oku おく forms ~te-oku ～ておく, which sometimes to ~teku ～てく.
- kaite-oku
書いておく
To leave written. - kaiteku
書いてく
This is ambiguous with the ~te-iku contraction.
でおく to でく
A godan verbs with te-form ending in de で, forms de-oku でおく, contracting to ~deku ～でく.
- yonde-oku
読んでおく
To leave read. - yondeku
読んでく
This is ambiguous with the ~de-iku contraction.
られる to れる
The potential form of ichidan 一段 verbs ends in ~rareru ～られる, which is sometimes contracted to ~reru ～れる, skipping the ~ra~ ～ら～.
- taberareru
食べられる
Able to eat. - tabereru
食べれる
The same thing happens in the negative potential and in the past potential:
- taberarenai
食べられない
Not able to eat. - taberenai
食べれない
The potential form and the passive form of ichidan verbs is identical—they're both ~rareru—however, only the potential form can be abbreviated to ~reru, i.e. ~reru is never the passive form.
- kore ga taberareru
これが食べられる
This is eat-able.
This is edible. - kore ga tabereru
これが食べれる - ookami ni taberareru
狼に食べられる
To be eaten by a wolf. - *ookami ni tabereru
狼に食べれる
This is due to this contraction being people conjugating ichidan verbs, which always end in ~ru, as if they were godan verbs with ~ru ending.(大辞林:ら抜き言葉)
With a godan verb, the potential form ends in ~eru ～ｅる (also known as "potential verbs," kanou-doushi 可能動詞), while the the passive form ends in ~areru ～ａれる.
- kaku
書く
To write. - kakeru
書ける
To be able to write. - kakareru
書かれる
To be written.
More specifically, in a godan verb we replace the ending vowel ~u with something else (e.g. ~eru, ~areru), while in an ichidan verb we replace the ending syllable ~ru with something else (e.g. ~rareru).
See also: godan vs. ichidan verbs.
It just happens that godan verbs that end in ~ru in passive form remove the ~u of ~ru, and add ~areru, which gets you ~rareru, the exact same conjugation ichidan verbs would have, hence the confusion.
| godan | ichidan | |
|---|---|---|
| ~u/~ru | kir-u 切る To cut. |
ki-ru 着る To wear. |
| ~areru/~rareru Passive form. |
kir-areru 切られる To be cut. |
ki-rareru 着られる To be worn. Can wear. |
| ∅/~rareru Potential form. |
∅ | |
| ~eru/~reru Potential verb/~ra-nuki |
kir-eru 切れる Can cut. |
ki-reru 着れる Can wear. |
の to ん
An extremely common contraction is the no の particle becoming the n ん particle. This usually happens when it's used as a nominalizer at the end of sentences. For example:
- nigeru no da
逃げるのだ
[We'll] run away. - nigeru-n-da
逃げるんだ - kawaii no da
可愛いのだ
It's cute. - kawaii-n-da
可愛いんだ
This contraction can happen any time a no の particle can show up.
In particular, when the no の is qualified by a relative clause ending in a copula like da だ, the copula becomes attributive, turning into the so-called na な particle.
- kirei da
綺麗だ
It is pretty. - {kirei} na hito
綺麗な人
A person [that] {is pretty.}
A pretty person. - {kirei} na no da
綺麗なのだ
It is pretty. (nuanced usage.) - kirei na-n-da
綺麗なんだ
This nanda なんだ is a compound formed by the na な attributive copula, the no の nominalizer, and the da だ predicative copula. It's not to be confused with nanda 何だ, which is nani 何 plus the predicative copula.
- kore wa nanda?!
これはなんだ？！
This: what is?!
What is this?!
A contraction also happens with the de で particle.
- {kirei} na no de bikkuri shita
綺麗なのでびっくりした
Because it {is pretty}, [I] felt surprised.- no de
ので
Because. (secondary meaning.) - bikkuri
びっくり
*surprise*
- no de
- {kirei} na-n-de bikuri shita
綺麗なんでびっくりした
Similarly, this isn't to be confused with nande 何で.
- nande da yo?!
なんでだよ？！
Why?!
All contractions can also happen with the polite copula desu です.
- nigeru no desu 逃げるのです
nigeru-n-desu 逃げるんです - kawaii no desu 可愛いのです
kawaii-n-desu 可愛いんです - kirei na no desu 綺麗なのです
kirei na-n-desu 綺麗なんです
Although this contraction is normally used with the nominalizer function, it can show up in other functions, too.
Notably, ~no-uchi ～の家, means "the home of" someone. It's supposed to make something in a no-adjective, and it's often abbreviated to ~n-chi ～んち.
- ore no uchi
俺の家
The home of I.
My home. - ore-n-chi
俺んち
もの to もん
The word mono もの is sometimes contracted to mon もん.
- Context: Suzuki Iruma 鈴木入間 makes Valac Clara ウァラク・クララ sit on his lap in class. The entire class stares at them. In response, Iruma says:
- nanda yo
なんだよ
What is [it]?
[What are you looking at]? - mise-mon janee zo
見せもんじゃねーぞ
[This] isn't a show.- mise-mon - contraction of mise-mono 見せ物, a "thing," mono, that you "show," miseru, others.
- pii
ぴー
*head smoke noises* - Hearing this, Andro M. Jazz アンドロ・Ｍ・ジャズ retorts, making a gesture slapping the air:
- iya, {dou mitemo} mise-mon daro
いや どうみても見せもんだろ
No, {no matter how you look at [it]} [it] is a show.
- iya - "no" in the sense of "no, what you said is wrong:" this is clearly a show, and you're obviously doing it in front of everybody for everybody to see it.
This also happens when mono is used as a sentence ending particle, e.g. in the form of ~da mon ～だもん, which is particularly used by small children.
- Context: Hina-Ichigo 雛苺 pouts.
- .........
- Hina φ warukunai mon
ヒナ悪くないもん
"Hina isn't bad." (literally.)
It isn't Hina's fault.- She uses her own name as a first person pronoun.
るの to んの
A verb that ends in ~ru る plus no の, forming ~ru no ～るの, contracts to ~n'no んの. For example:
- yaru no ka?
やるのか？
Will [you] do [it]?- Often, "it" means a brawl. Fighting. So it's asking if someone wants to fight.
- yan'no ka?
やんのか？
- Context: Kasuga Ayumu 春日歩 is a transfer student who came from Ōsaka 大阪. Because of this, Takino Tomo 滝野智 nickname her Ōsaka. Ayumu asks Tomo if she ever had a pet, and what was the pet called. Tomo answers she had a hamster, whom she named Hamu-chan.
- yappashi
やっぱし
[Just as I thought].- Her naming sense is too simplistic!
- nani?
なに？
What? - hito-n-chi no petto no namae ni monku φ an'no?
人んちのペットの名前に文句あんの？
Do [you] have a problem with the name of [other] people's pets?- hito-n-chi - contraction of hito no uchi 人の家, "a person's home," in this case in the sense of the pet of someone else's family.
- monku an'no - contraction of monku aru no, "to have a complaint," "to have a problem with."
- anta nani-sama?
あんた何様？
[Who do you think you are]?- nani-sama - literally "what"-sama, in the sense of something you attach the respectful honorific suffix ~sama ～様 to.
- Tomo is saying Ayumu is acting as if she were important enough to be entitled to complain about other people's pets, as someone of such importance would get the ~sama suffix, e.g.: okyakusama お客様, a "client," "customer," ou-sama 王様, a "king," kami-sama 神様, a "god," and so on.
- naa, kanojo tte {dou yattara} dekin'no?
なあ 彼女ってどうやったらできんの？
Hey, {what do [you] have to do} to make a girlfriend?
Although this sort of contraction typically occurs at sentence end, it can also occur before a no の nominalizer mid-sentence. For example:
- Context: Masa 雅 asks Tatsu たつ for help in a fight, who responds:
- {jibun de utta} kenka yaro
自分で売った喧嘩やろ
[That]'s a fight {[you] picked yourself}, [wasn't it]!- kenka wo uru
喧嘩を売る
To sell a fight. (literally.)
To pick a fight with someone.
- kenka wo uru
- {jibun de kata-tsuken}'no ga suji chau-n-ka!
自分で片つけんのが筋ちゃうんか！
{To clear [your mess] yourself} [is only logical], [am I wrong]?- kata-tsuken'no - contraction of kata-tsukeru no 片つけるの.
- suji - reason, logic, besides other meanings, can be used to refer to something that you're supposed or expected to do in response to something else because it's the reasonable thing.
- chau-n-ka - contraction of chau no ka.
- chau - Kansai dialect, equivalent to chigau 違う, "to differ," "to be wrong about something."
- Do it yourself!!
Ｄｏ ｉｔ ｙｏｕｒｓｅｌｆ！！
ているの to てんの
The te-iru form plus no の forms the phrase ~te-iru no ～ているの, which contracts to ~teru no ～てるの, which then contracts to ten'no てんの. For example:
- wakatte-iru no ka?
わかっているのか？
Do [you] understand? - wakatten'no ka?
わかってんのか？
- Context: Takagi 高木 catches Nishikata 西片 acting suspiciously.
- nee, Nishikata.
ねえ、西方。
Hey, Nishikata. - na, nani!? Takagi-san!?
な、何！？高木さん！？
W-what [is it]!? Takagi-san!? - nani φ shiten'no?
何してんの？
What are [you] doing? - betsu ni... nani-mo...
別に･･･何も･･･
Nothing... in particular...- betsu ni nani-mo shite-inai
別に何もしていない
[I] haven't done anything in particular.
- betsu ni nani-mo shite-inai
- fuun.
ふーん。
*humming skeptically.*
Right: Alba, アルバ
Anime: Sen'yuu. 戦勇。 (Episode 7)
- Context: Ruki thinks Alba didn't do anything the last battle, then Alba tells her she wasn't paying attention, reminding her of his heroic feats. Convinced, she says:
- sou da na, Aruba-kun mo ganbatta ne
そうだな、アルバくんも頑張ったね
[That's right], Alba-kun worked hard, too, huh. - *her overly long sleeves extend monstrously so she can give him a head pat.*
- arigatou Ruki.. tte nani kore!? ude dou natten'no!?
ありがとうルキ・・って何これ！？腕どうなってんの！？
Thank you, Ruki.. wait, what is this!? [What is going on with] [your] arm!?
- dou natten'no - contraction of dou natte-iru no どうなっているの, literally "what has [it] become."
ているのだ to てんだ
The phrase ~te-iru no da ～ているのだ contracts to ~teru no da ～てるのだ (removing i い), which contracts to ~ten'no da ～てんのだ (~ru no to ~n'no), which contracts to ~tenda ～てんだ (~no da to ~nda).
- nani wo yatte-iru no da?
何をやっているのだ？
What are [you] doing? - nani φ yattenda?
何やってんだ？
- Context: Kamado Tanjirou 竈門炭治郎 looks at Agatsuma Zen'itsu 我妻善逸 like he's looking at a pile of garbage.
- nan'nanda yo sono kao!!
何なんだよその顔！！
What's up with that face!! - yamero--------'!!
やめろーーーーっ！
Stop!! - nande sonna {{betsu no iki-mono φ miru} you na} me de ore wo mitenda
何でそんな別の生き物見るような目で俺を見てんだ
Why are [you] looking at me with such eyes [that] {look like {[they] see a different species}}.
Why are you looking at me as if I'm a different creature. As if I'm not a human being like you.- ore wo mite-iru no da
俺を見ているのだ
To be seeing me.
To be looking at me.
- ore wo mite-iru no da
ておる to とる
The phrase ~te-oru ～ておる contracts to ~toru ～とる. This phrase has the same meaning as ~te-iru ～ている, except that it seems to be more dialectal and older, being used by ancient or elder characters in fiction. The contraction works the same as ~teru ～てる.
- neko ga shabette-oru
猫がしゃべっておる
The cat is speaking. - neko ga shabettoru
猫がしゃべっとる
ておるのじゃ to とんじゃ
The phrase ~te-oru no ja ておるのじゃ contracts to ~tonja ～とんじゃ by the same process that ~te-iru no da ～ているのだ contracts to ~tenda ～てんだ.
- Context: Kurogoma Katsuo 黒駒勝男 explains the perfect ratio of rice crackers to peanuts.
- Note: kakipii 柿ピー is common mixture of two snacks, kaki no tane 柿の種, which is rice cracker shaped as a "persimmon seed," and peanuts.
- kaki to piinattsu no wariai wa hichi tai san ni kimattoru yaroo gaaa!!
柿とピーナッツの割合は７：３に決まっとるやろーがァァ！！
The ratio of rice crackers to peanuts is [obviously] 7:3!!- hichi - same as shichi 七, "seven."
- kimattoru yarou - same as kimatte-iru darou 決まっているだろう.
- yo no naka no koto wa subete kore, hichi tai san de picchiri umaku wakerareru yoo nattonja!!
世の中の事は全てコレ ７：３でピッチリうまく分けられるよーなっとんじゃ！！
Everything in the word is this (like his hair), [created so that] [it] can be perfectly divided into seven to three!- wakerareru yoo ni nattonja - same as wakerareru you ni natte-iru no da 分けられるようになっているのだ.
- An eventivization of the stative verb wakerareru, "to be able to divide," which is the potential form of wakeru 分ける, "to divide."
- hichi tai san ga uchuu banbutsu kongen no ougonhi ja, boke kora kasuu!!
７：３が宇宙万物根元の黄金比じゃボケコラカスぅ！！
Seven to three is the golden ratio of the origin of all creation in the universe, *expletives*!!
るな to んな
A verb ending in ru る plus the na な sentence ending particle forms ~ru na ～るな, which contracts to n'na んな.
- ki ni suru na
気にするな
Don't mind it. - ki ni sun'na
気にすんな - koko ni kuru na
ここに来るな
Don't come here. - koko ni kun'na
ここに来んな
らない to んない
The negative form of a godan verb with ~ru ending, which ends in ~ranai ～らない, contracts to ~n'nai ～んない.
- wakaranai
分からない
[I] don't know. - wakan'nai
分かんない
- Context: Kuga Yuuma 空閑遊真 knows your habits.
- omae...... tsuman'nai uso φ tsuku ne
おまえ･･････つまんないウソ つくね
You...... tell boring lies, [don't you]?- tsumaranai
つまらない
Boring.
- Negative form of tsumaru つまる.
- tsumaranai
Anime: Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai? ~Tensai-Tachi no Ren'ai Zunousen~ かぐや様は告らせたい？～天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦～ (Season 2) (Episode 1, Stitch)
- Context: Hayasaka writes a message online.
- seitokai-shitsu φ dare mo inai shi~
生徒会室誰もいないし～
There's nobody in the student council room. - kiitenai shi~
聞いてないし～
[I] didn't hear [about this]. - yooji owan'nai shi~
よーじおわんないし～
The things [I] have to do don't end~. (i.e. Hayasaka's errands don't end.)- youji ga owaranai shi
用事が終らないし
- owaru
終わる
To end.
- owaru
- youji ga owaranai shi
- maji-manji~
マジ卍～
[This is the worst]~ - te na wake de himajin wa toshoshitsu ni shuugoo
てなわけでヒマジンは図書室にシューゴー
[Given that], people with free time meet up in the library.- himajin
暇人
A person who is hima 暇, being "free," not busy. - shuugou suru
集合する
To assemble. To convene. To meet up.
- himajin
では to じゃ
The casual negative copula janai じゃない is a contraction of the more literary dewa nai ではない.
- baka janai no?
馬鹿じゃないの？
Aren't [you] stupid? - baka dewa nai no?
馬鹿ではないの？
Although that's the most common case of this contraction, it can also show up in any other situation where dewa では can show up.
- kore dewa dame da
これではダメだ
With this, it's no-good.- dame
ダメ
No good. (among dozens of other meanings.)
- dame
- kore ja dame da
これじゃダメだ - dewa, hajimeyou
では、始めよう
Then, let's start. - ja, hajimeyou
じゃ、始めよう
In de-wa では you can analyze de で as the te-form of the da だ copula, and wa は as the wa は particle.
In godan verbs with a te-forms ending in de で, when they come before wa は, forming ~de wa ～では, that contracts to ~ja ～じゃ, too.
- yonde wa iru kedo...
読んではいるけど･･･
Reading: [he] is, but...
[He] is reading, but... - yonja iru kedo...
読んじゃいるけど･･･ - shinde wa dame!
死んではダメ！
Dying: no good!
Don't die! (that would be bad!) - shinja dame!
死んじゃダメ！
では to じゃあ
An alternative contraction for dewa では is jaa じゃあ. They're practically the same thing. The only difference is that janai じゃない is more normal than jaanai じゃあない.
- baka jaanai no?
馬鹿じゃあないの？
(this is unusual. Who are you? Roswaal?) - kore jaa dame da
これじゃあダメだ
(this is fine.) - jaa, hajimeyou
じゃあ、始めよう
(this is fine, too.) - yonjaa iru kedo...
読んじゃあいるけど･･･
(yep.) - shinjaa dame!
死んじゃあダメ！
(also yep.)
ては to ちゃ
The te-form before the wa は particle forms ~te-wa ～ては, which contracts to ~cha ～ちゃ.
- mite wa iru
見てはいる
Seeing, [he] is. - micha iru
見ちゃいる - mite wa dame!
見てはダメ！
Seeing: no good.
Don't look. - micha dame!
見ちゃダメ！
- Context: Edward Elric エドワード・エルリック sulks over his ineptitude.
- taiiku-zuwari
体育座り
The preferred sitting position of sulking characters.
- taiiku-zuwari
- ore wa baka da
オレはバカだ
I'm an idiot. - ano toki kara sukoshi mo seichou shicha-inai
あの時から少しも成長しちゃいない
[I] haven't matured even a little since that time.- ano toki kara seichou shite-iru
あの時から成長している
To have matured since that time. - seichou shite wa inai
成長してはいない
To not have matured. (but to have done other things.)
- ano toki kara seichou shite-iru
This is often seen with the combinations ~cha dame ～ちゃダメ, ~cha ikenai ～ちゃいけない, ~cha naranai ～ちゃならない, which pretty much all mean the same thing.
- hito wo koroshite wa ikenai
人を殺してはいけない
Killing people: can't go.
Don't kill people. - hito wo koroshicha ikenai
人を殺しちゃいけない - Note: naranai ならない, "can't be," tends to be used by more serious characters in more serious reprimands, so you're unlikely to see a character that says naranai and uses a contraction like cha at the same time.
This usage and contraction is also more common in the negative form, with ~nakute wa ～なくては contracted to ~nakucha ～なくちゃ.
- ganbaranakute wa!
頑張らなくては！
If [I] don't work hard... [it's no good]!
- I gotta work hard!
- ganbaranakucha!
頑張らなくちゃ！
れば to りゃ
A verb ending in ~ru ～る in its the ~ba ～ば form ends in ~reba ～れば, which contracts to ~rya ～りゃ.
- nigereba ii-n-da
逃げればいいんだ
If run away: it's good.
It's better if [you] run away.
[You] should run away. - nigerya ii-n-da
逃げりゃいいんだ
- Context: Two-Hands succinctly elaborates her argument against the notion of which the appearance and/or background history pertaining to a firearm is of any importance.
- hitotsu ii koto oseete yaru yo.
一ついいことおせえてやるよ。
[I'll] teach one good thing. - konna mon wa na,
こんなもんはな、
This sorta thing, [you see], - utete atarya ii-n-da yo.
撃てて当たりゃいいんだよ。
[If you] shoot and [it] hits, [it's] good.
- That's enough.
- utete atareba ii
撃てて当てればいい
Good if shoot and hit.
ければ to けりゃ
An i-adjective in ba ば form ends in ~kereba ～ければ, which contracts to ~kerya ～けりゃ.
- kawaikereba ii-n-da
可愛ければいいんだ
If [it's] cute [it's] good.
[It's] good so long [it's] cute. - kawaikerya ii-n-da
可愛けりゃいいんだ
ければ to きゃ
The phrase ~kereba ～ければ also contracts to ~kya ～きゃ.
- kawaikya ii-n-da
可愛きゃいいんだ
In particular, ~nakereba ～なければ contracts to nakya なきゃ.
らなければ to んなきゃ
The ba-form of the negative form of a godan verb ending in ~ru, which ends in ~ranakereba ～らなければ, contracts to ~n'nakereba ～んなければ (~ranai ～らない to ~n'nai ～んない), which contracts to ~n'nakya ～んなきゃ.
- Context: Takamine Kiyomaro 高嶺清麿 speaks to his concerned mother.
- yakamashii'!!!
やかましいっ！！！
[You're] noisy!!!
[Stop annoying me!!!] - ore-sama ga, nande anna {tei-reberu na} yatsura to {tomodachi ni} nan'nakya ikenee-n-da yo'!!?
オレ様が、なんであんな低レベルな奴らと友達になんなきゃいけねーんだよっ！！？
Why do I have to become {friends} with {low-level} guys like those!!?
- {tomodachi ni} naru
友だちになる
To become {friends}. - {{tomodachi ni} naranakereba} ikenai
友達にならなければいけない
{If [I] don't become {friends [with them]}}, [it] can't go. (literally.)
I must become friends with them.
I have to become friends with them.
- {tomodachi ni} naru
ておけば to ときゃ
The phrase ~te-okeba ～ておけば contracts to ~tokeba ～とけば (~te-oku to ~toku), which contracts to ~tokya ～ときゃ.
- benkyou shite-okeba yokatta
勉強しておけばよかった
It would have been better if I had studied.
I wish I had studied. - benkyou shitokya yokatta
勉強しときゃよかった
- Context: Sakata Gintoki 坂田銀時 being the boke ボケ for Shimura Shinpachi's 志村新八 tsukkomi ツッコミ.
- sou... karushiumu da
そう･･･カルシウムだ
[That's right]... calcium. - {karushiumu sae tottokya} subete φ {umaku} iku-n-da yo
カルシウムさえとっときゃ全てうまくいくんだよ
{If [you] just took calcium}, everything would go {well}, [you see].
All you need to do is ingest calcium, and everything will go well.- totte-okeba
取っておけば
If [you] took [calcium].
If [you] ingested [calcium]. - toru
取る
To take.
To ingest [a medicine].
- totte-okeba
- ichigo gyunyuu
いちご牛乳
Strawberry cow-milk. - juken sensou, oya to no kakushitsu, {ki ni naru} ano ko
受験戦争 親との確執 気になるあの娘
The exam war, discord with [your] parents, that girl [that] {[you] are interested into}.- Exam war refers to university entrance exams and the competition surrounding it.
- toriaezu {{karushiumu tottokya} subete φ {umaku}...
とりあえずカルシウムとっときゃ全てうまく･･･
Anyway {if [you] take calcium} everything [will go] {well}... - iku} wake φ nee daro!!
いくわけねーだろ！！
[There's no way that's true]!!- There's no way to translate the phrases above literally, because one completes the other, and the first one ends in the adverb umaku, "well."
- subete ga {umaku} iku
すべてがうまくいく
Everything will go {well}. (what Gintoki intended to say.) - {subete ga {umaku} iku} wake ga nai
すべてがうまくいくわけがない
There's no way [that] {everything will go {well}}. (how Shinpachi completed the sentence.)
- {ikura karushiumu tottetatte} naa, {kuruma ni hanerarerya} hone mo oreru wa!!
幾らカルシウムとってたってなァ車にはねられりゃ骨も折れるわ！！
{No matter how much calcium [you] take}, [you see], {if [you] get hit by a car} [your] bones break!!- ~tatte ～たって - same as ~temo ～ても.
- hanerarerya - contraction of hanerarereba はねられえば, ba-form of passive form of:
- haneru
跳ねる
(For a car) to hit [someone].
てしまう to ちゃう
A verb in te-form followed by the auxiliary shimau しまう, forming ~te-shimau ～てしまう, contracts to ~chau ～ちゃう.
- owatte-shimau!
終わってしまう！
It'll end up ending!
It's going to end! (oh no!) - owacchau!
終わっちゃう！
The suru する verb is sometimes it's contracted to shicchau しっちゃう instead.
- taigaku shite-shimau
退学してしまう
[He'll] end up dropping out of school. (oh no!) - taigaku shichau
退学しちゃう - taigaku shicchau
退学しっちゃう
てしまった to ちゃった
The contracted form can even be inflected.
- koroshite-shimatta
殺してしまった
[I] killed [someone]. (oh kamisama, what have I done?!) - koroshichatta
殺しちゃった
[I] killed [someone]. (oopsie! Teehee!)
Although the meaning is always the same, characters that use contracted forms all the time in anime tend to be the cutesy ones.
でしまう to じゃう
When the te-form of the verb ends in de で, forming de-shimau でしまう, it's contracted to ~jau ～じゃう.
- shinde-shimau!
死んでしまう！
[He'll] end up dying! (oh no!) - shinjau!
死んじゃう！
でしまった to じゃった
Similarly, in the past form de-shimatta でしまった becomes ~jatta ～じゃった.
- yonde-shimatta
読んでしまった
[I] ended up reading [it]. (oh no.) - yonjatta
読んじゃった
てしまう to ちまう
The phrase ~te-shimau ～てしまう also contracts to ~chimau ～ちまう.
- owachimau
終わちまう
It'll end up ending!
でしまう to ぢまう
Similarly, ~de-shimau ～でしまう also contracts to ~dimau ～ぢまう. This is pronounced the same way as ~jimau ～じまう in standard dialect.
See yotsugana 四つ仮名 for details.
- shinjimau
死んじまう
[He'll] end up dying! (oh no!)
れは to りゃ
The kosoado pronouns kore, sore, are これ, それ, あれ before the wa は particle contract to korya, sorya, arya こりゃ, そりゃ, ありゃ.
- sore wa sugoi
それはすごい
That is amazing. - sorya sugoi
そりゃすごい - nanda kore wa!
何だこれは！
What is this?! - nanda korya!
何だこりゃ！
Although dorya どりゃ is a word in Japanese, it isn't the contraction of dore wa どれは, since an interrogative pronoun like dore どれ can't be the topic of a sentence. Instead, dorya is used as an interjection, like "take that!" or "look!"
ない to ん
The negative suffix nai ない is sometimes contracted to just n ん. For example:
- shiranai
知らない
[I] don't know. - shiran
知らん
[I] dunno. - wakaranai
分からない
[I] don't know. (in a different way.) - warakan
分からん
[I] dunno.
This commonly appears in questions in the negative that aren't actually questions, but just the speaker asserting their opinion and seeking agreement. For example:
- kawaii janai!
可愛いじゃない！
It's cute, isn't it!
It's cute, don't you think!
It's cute, don't you agree! - kawaii jan!
可愛いじゃん！
という to っつ
The suffix ttsu っつ, often seen as ttsu no っつの and ttsu ka っつか, is a contraction of tte iu っていう or to iu という.
- muri to iu no
無理というの
"Impossible" is [what] [I'm] saying.
It's impossible, is what I'm telling you. - muri tte iu no
無理っていうの - muri ttsu no
無理っつの - kawaii to iu ka, kirei to iu ka
可愛いというか、綺麗というか
[I'm] saying [it's] cute, [I'm] saying [it's] pretty.
It's cute, I mean, it's pretty. (stumbling to find words.) - kawaii tte iu ka, kirei tte iu ka
可愛いっていうか、綺麗っていうか - kawaii ttsu ka, kirei ttsu ka
可愛いっつか、綺麗っつか
といった to っつった
The past conjugation to-itta といった can be contracted to ttsu-ttaっつった.
- dakara yamero to itta darou
だからやめろといっただろう
Because [of that]: "stop" is [what] [I] said, didn't I?
[That's] why [I] told [you] to stop, didn't I? - dakara yamero ttsu-tta daro
だからやめろっつっただろ
といって to っつって
Similarly, the te-form to-itte といって gets contracted to ttsu-tte っつって. To make matters worse, since te-iru no ているの can get contracted to te-n てん, you can get this monstrosity:
- matte to itte iru no da
待ってといっているのだ
"Wait" is what [I'm] saying.
[I'm] telling [you] "to wait." - matte ttsu-tte-n-da
待ってっつってんだ
い Adjectives
The i-adjectives can be contracted in some very confusing ways.
aい to eぇ
An i-adjective ending in ~ai ～aい can be contracted to ~ee ～eぇ. For example:
- takai
高い
High.
Expensive. - takee
高ぇ！ - kowai
怖い
Scary. - kowee
怖ぇ
This is particularly tricky because even the stem of the adjective is contracted. To elaborate:
- takai
高い（たかい） - takee
高ぇ（たけぇ）
Normally, a change in the okurigana can change the reading of the kanji, but those readings can be found in a dictionary. With contractions, a small kana like the small e ぇ at the end of the word changes the reading in a way that can't even be found in a dictionary.
A word that often receives this contraction is nai ない.
- kowakunai
怖くない
Not scary. - kowakunee
怖くねぇ
Variants include:
- kowakunee
怖くねえ
(same meaning, no small kana.) - kowakunee
怖くねー
(same meaning) - kowakune
怖くね
(same meaning, but shorter.)
In particular, the last variant can be mistaken for the ne ね sentence-ending particle.
Some contractions are even more complicated than you'd expect:
- kowai
怖い（こわい）
Scary. - koee
怖ぇ（こえぇ）
Above, wa わ turned into e え. It didn't turn into we ゑ because we ゑ is an archaic kana.
oい to えぇ
Adjectives that end in ~oi ～oい can contract to ~ee ～えぇ. For example:
- tsuyoi
強い（つよい）
Strong. - tsuee
強ぇ（つえぇ） - kakko-ii
かっこいい
Cool. - kakkee
かっけー
The word ee ええ, "good," might be some sort of contraction of yoi よい. I'm not sure.
- kore de yoi
これでよい
With this, it's good. - kore de ee
これでええ
Not to be confused with the ee ええ that's used in agreement, "yes."
- Context: Harima Kenji 播磨拳児 goes join a ship crew to sail the seas.
- o! wakee na...
お！若ェな･･･
Ooh! Young, [aren't you]...
- wakai
若い
Young.
- wakai
- niichan... ittoku ga shukkou shitara ichinen wa oka ni modoranee...
兄ちゃん･･･言っとくが出航したら一年は陸に戻らねぇ･･･
Kiddo... [let me warn you], after [we] set sail, [we] won't be back shore in [at least] one year.- modoranai
戻らない
To not come back.
- modoranai
- umi dewa omae no "otoko" ga tamesareru...
海ではお前の“男”が試される･･･
In the sea, your "man" will be tested...
- In the sense of how much of a man he is, i.e. if he's man enough to brave the seas, or if he'll chicken out.
- See also: otoko 漢, quotation marks.
- sore wa wakatteru-n-darou na?
それは分かってるんだろうな？
[You] understand that, [right]? - giro'
ギロッ
*glare*
~uい to いぃ
Adjectives that end in ~ui ～uい can contract to ~ii ～iぃ.
- warui
悪い（わるい）
Bad.
[My] bad. Sorry. - warii
悪ぃ（わりぃ） - samui
寒い（さむい）
Cold. - samii
寒ぃ（さみぃ）
(same meaning.)
～い Removal
Sometimes, the ~i ending of an i-adjective is dropped altogether. In this case, the word is typically spelled without kanji.
- sugo
すご
Amazing. (sugoi 凄い.) - kowa
こわ
Scary. (kowai 怖い.) - haya
はや
Quick. (hayai 早い, 速い.) - samu
さむ
Cold. (samui 寒い.)
Anime: Zombieland Saga: Revenge (Episode 6)
です to っす
The polite copula desu です can be contracted to ssu っす. This creates an odd situation where a character is using polite speech, but they aren't polite enough to speak without contracting words.
In anime, delinquents or gang members speaking to their senpai 先輩, aniki 兄貴, boss, or whatever, use -ssu. That's because such characters generally speak in a contracted, casual way, but even in gangs you're supposed to use keigo 敬語, "respectful speech," toward your seniors and superiors.
Of course, that's not always the case. It could be that the character simply speaks that way, without being a delinquent or anything. In fact, he could even work an office job, like being a detective in the police force, and use ssu. There's nothing special about it.
- ore wa Tanaka desu
俺は田中です
I'm Tanaka. - ore, Tanaka-ssu
俺 田中っす - yabai desu ne
やばいですね
[That's] dangerous, isn't it? - yabai-ssu ne
やばいっすね - sou desu ne
そうですね
Yes, that's so. - sou-ssu ne
そうっすね
This contraction combines with the n ん contraction.
- kirei na no desu
綺麗なのです
It's pretty.- This is a gentleman talking.
- kirei na-n-ssu
綺麗なんっす
- This is not a gentleman talking.
でしょ to っしょ
Similarly, desho でしょ can be contracted to ssho っしょ.
- kawaii desho?
可愛いでしょ？
It's cute, isn't it? - kawaii ssho?
可愛いっしょ？
ます to っす
The suffix masu ます can't be contracted to ssu っす. However, ssu っす can be used as a sorta polite suffix that attaches to verbs.
The reason for this not being a contraction is because masu attaches to the ren'youkei 連用形 form of verbs (the so-called "masu stem"), but ssu attaches to the shuushikei 終止形 form (the predicative form). Observe:
- iku
行く
To go. (shuushikei.) - iki
行き
Going. (ren'youkei.) - iki-masu
行きます
To go. (polite form.) - iku-ssu
行くっす
To go. (sorta polite thing, I guess.)
So this isn't a contraction of masu.
Probably, what happened is that people started using ssu instead of desu. But if you use desu, you're supposed to use masu too. So they just started using ssu instead of masu, too.
Thus, if a character uses ssu instead of desu, he's probably going to use ssu instead of masu, too.
ぬ to ん
The suffix ~nu ～ぬ contracts to n ん. Although this suffix is often negative like nai ない, it's not always negative. Notably:
- keshikaru
怪しかる
Unknown. Weird. - keshikaranu
怪しからぬ
Immoral. - keshikaran
怪しからん
- In anime, keshikaran, "immoral," is often translated as "lewd," because of reasons.
は to ぁ
Although highly unusual, the wa は particle contracts a ぁ, written in small kana, when it's pronounced quickly enough to skip the w~ consonant.
- boku wa shiranai
僕は知らない
I don't know. - boku a shiran
僕ぁ知らん
I dunno.
- Context: Nomura Fudou 納村不道, who uses otaku as second person pronoun, fights Onigawara Rin 鬼瓦輪.
- nanni se yo, {jibun no karada ni furerareta} nowa homete yaru ga
なんにせよ自分の体に触れられたのは褒めてやるが
[In any case], [I] will praise [you] for {having been able to touch [my] body}.- furerareta - past form of furerareru, potential form of fureru 触れる, "to touch."
- ii-kagen fukai da
いい加減不快だ
[It] is unpleasant [already, stop it]. - {ii-nokoshite-oku} koto wa aru ka?
言い残しておくことはあるか？
Do [you] have anything {to leave said}? (literally.)
Any last words? - "buki wo sutete te wo agero"
“武器を捨てて手を上げろ”
"Drop [your] weapon and raise [your] hands." - otaku wa katana da ga ore a juu wo tsuki-tsuketeru
おたくは刀だがオレぁ銃を突きつけてる
You [have] a sword but I [have] a gun.- Example of contrastive wa は, except the second wa は is an a ぁ.
- tsuki-tsukeru
突きつける
To thrust [a weapon] at [someone].
- kachi-me wa nai ze
勝ち目はないぜ
[You] have no chance of winning.
Give up.
は to ゃ
The wa は particle contracts to a small ya ゃ when the marked word is a pronoun ending in ~shi ～し, for the diphthong ~sha ～しゃ.
See also: compound kana.
- atashi wa
あたしは
I. - atasha
あたしゃ
- Context: an old man gets stopped by a couple of policewomen for not obeying a traffic sign.
- washa {anta-ra ga umareru} mae kara unten shitoru-n-ja
わしゃあんたらが生まれる前から運転しとるんじゃ
I have been driving since {before you [two] were born}.- shitoru - a contraction of shite-oru しておる, in this case synonymous with shite-iru している.
- ja じゃ - same as the da だ copula, typically used by old men.
- {washi ga menkyo wo totta} koro niwa anna hyoushiki φ nakatta zo!!
わしが免許を取った頃には あんな標識なかったぞ！！
When {I took [my] license} that [traffic] sign didn't exist!!
Above, the pronoun washi わし is pronounced normally in washi ga わしが, but merges into washa わしゃ when marked by wa は.
Sokuonbin and Rendaku
The sokuonbin 促音便 is a change of pronunciation that sort of contracts a word by joining two morphemes using a small tsu っ.
- ichi. hatsu.
一。発。（いちはつ）
One. Shot. - ippatsu
一発（いっぱつ）
One shot.
This is a formally recognized contraction, found in dictionaries, used in kaki-kotoba and so on. It's featured in lots of words in Japanese.
- gaku, kou 学, 校（がくこう）
gakkou 学校 （がっこう）
School.
The sokuonbin can also happen informally, in which case a word gets pronounced with the sokuon 促音, the sound represented by the small tsu, even if in the dictionary it's spelled without the sokuon. For example:
- sentakuki
洗濯機（せんたくき）
Washing machine. - sentakki
せんたっき
In rare cases, the change in phonetics changes the meaning. For example:
- sou ka
そうか
I see.
Is that so? - sokka
そっか
I see.- The longer syllable in sou ka reflects the curiosity of the speaker. When it's shortened to sokka, it's less likely to be used in the curious meaning, and more likely to be used in the "I understand," "I see," "I get it," comprehension meaning.
A similar pronunciation change, but that doesn't contract, is the rendaku 連濁.
- kin. ha.
金。歯。（きんは）
Gold. Tooth. - kinba
金歯（きんば）
Gold tooth. Golden tooth.
The conjugation of godan verbs involves contractions such as the sokuonbin. For example, to conjugate katsu 勝つ, "to win" to the past form, you attach the ta た jodoushi 助動詞 to the ren'youkei of katsu, which is kachi 勝ち, forming kachi-ta 勝ちた, and that contracts to katta 勝った, "won."
Similar changes in pronunciation are called i-onbin イ音便 (kaita 書いた), renjoudaku 連声濁 (oyoida 泳いだ), and hatsuonbin 撥音便 (asonda 遊んだ).
The modern de で particle is a contraction of an older nite にて particle.
- Geeto: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri
GATE 自衛隊 彼の地にて、斯く戦えり
- jieitai
自衛隊
The "Self-Defense Force." The Japanese army. - kanochi
彼の地
That land. - nite
にて
Marks the place where an action occurred.
In [that land]. - de
で - Kaku Tatakaeri
斯く戦えり
Such way fought. So fought. Fought like this. - "The Self-Defense Force, in that land, so fought."
- jieitai
Slangs
Some slangs contain contractions. For example:
- kon'nichi wa desu
こんにちはです
Good day. (greeting.)- chiissu
ちーっす
- chiissu
- arigatou gozaimasu
ありがとうございます
Thank you.- azassu
あざっす - azaasu
あざーす
- azassu
- sumimasen
すみません
Sorry.- saasen
さーせん
- saasen
- hanpa nai
半端ない
Not half-heart.
Serious. For real.- hanpa nee
はなぱねぇ - panee
パネェ
- hanpa nee
Other Contractions
Some other contractions you may find around:
- honto
ほんと
Really. Truly. - hontou
本当 - sumimasen
すみません
Sorry. - suimasen
すいません - de arimasu
であります
Is. Are. To be. - de arinsu
でありんす
- Historically used by courtesans. See: Female Language.
References
- ら抜き言葉 - 大辞林 第三版 via kotobank.jp, accessed 2019-07-15.
Thanks for this incredibly useful article! As for 怖い -> 怖ぇ, isn't it because historically all Japanese-origin /oa/ sequences were realised as /owa/ (think mitsuk-eru/mitsuk-aru and o-eru/o-(w)aru) or otherwise separated (kosame)?
ReplyDeleteI don't know, but that makes sense. Personally, I've always thought it was the opposite, owaru becomes oweru but since we sounds the same as e in modern Japanese it becomes oeru. The same would apply to other ergative verb pairs, e.g.: fuyasu becomes fuyeru but since ye doesn't exist it becomes fueru. I've never bothered to check if this was correct, though, so it's likely it's as you say instead.
DeleteI was about to say that 可愛い seems a good example of /w/ insertion (in this case in between aa), then checked and found I was completely wrong: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%8F%AF%E6%84%9B%E3%81%84#Etymology_1. Oh well, I better stick to modern Japanese for the time being :D Thanks for the link, checking it out now!
ReplyDeleteHoly cow poo! Man that's some serious work! Thank-in-you!
ReplyDelete