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apothecaryscript · 2 months ago

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～The difference between the endings “だ(da)/です(desu)” and “なのだ(nano-da)/なのです(nano-desu)/なんだ(nan-da)/なんです(nan-desu)/んだ(n-da)/んです(n-desu)” in Japanese sentences～

Simple affirmative sentences in Japanese usually end with “だ/da” or “です/desu”, but there are also sentences where “の/no” “なの/nano” or “ん/n” “なん/nan” is added before them to make it “のだ/no-da”“なのだ/nano-da” or “んです/n-desu”“なんです/nan-desu”.

The role of “なの/nano” “の/no” and “なん/nan” “ん/n” is to emphasize. You can add them when you want to emphasize, like when telling a surprising fact to the listener, or when you want to pique the listener’s interest and then explain in more detail.

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When you want to say something normal, you don’t add them.

「猫猫(まおまお)は後宮(こうきゅう)で働(はたら)く下女(げじょ)だ/です」

Maomao is a servant girl working in the rear palace.

「猫猫は後宮で下女として働いている/います」

Maomao works as a servant girl in the rear palace.

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If you use “の/no” or “なの/nano” in the second half of the sentences, you can emphasize the second half;

「猫猫は後宮で働く下女だが/ですが、本職(ほんしょく)は薬屋(くすりや)なのだ/なのです」

Maomao is a servant girl working in the rear palace, but HER REAL JOB IS as an APOTHECARY.

「猫猫は後宮で下女として働いているが/いますが、実(じつ)は誘拐(ゆうかい)されてそこに売(う)り飛(と)ばされたのだ/のです」

Maomao works as a servant girl in the rear palace, but SHE WAS ACTUALLY KIDNAPPED and SOLD there.

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On the other hand, if you want to emphasize the first half of the sentences, add “の/no” or “なの/nano” to the end of the first half.

「猫猫は後宮で働く下女なのだ/なのですが、本職は薬屋だ/です」

Maomao IS a SERVANT GIRL WORKING IN the REAR PALACE, but her real job is as an apothecary.

「猫猫は後宮で下女として働いているのだ/のですが、実は誘拐されてそこに売り飛ばされた/ました」

Maomao WORKS AS a SERVANT GIRL in the REAR PALACE, but she was actually kidnapped and sold there.

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The sentences are not incorrect even if “の/no” or “なの/nano” is not added. It’s OK in case the speaker doesn’t want to emphasize anything or the listener already knows the fact.

「猫猫は後宮で働く下女だが/ですが、本職は薬屋だ/です」

「猫猫は後宮で下女として働いているが/いますが、実は誘拐されてそこに売り飛ばされた/ました」

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However, “なの/nano” or “の/no” is very formal or manly ways of saying, mainly used in written language or spoken in formal situation. So, in spoken language of daily conversation, “なん/nan” or “ん/n”, that sounds casual or soft, is mostly used instead. The difference in usage between “なの/nano” and “の/no”, and “なん/nan” and “ん/n” is as follows;

<Nouns: 「＋なの/nano」「なん/nan」>

formal 「薬屋なのだ/なのです」「下女なのだ/なのです」

casual/soft 「薬屋なんだ/なんです」「下女なんだ/なんです」

<Verbs: 「＋の/no」「＋ん/n」>

formal 「売り飛ばされたのだ/のです」「働いているのだ/のです」

casual/soft 「売り飛ばされたんだ/んです」「働いているんだ/んです」

<Adjectives＞

formal:「basic form ＋ “の/no”」

背(せ)が高(たか)い: tall...「彼(かれ)は、とても背が高いのだ/のです」: He is very tall.

casual/soft: 「basic form ＋ “ん/n”」

可愛(かわい)い: cute...「彼女(かのじょ)の笑顔(えがお)は、すごく可愛いんだ/んです」: Her smile is so cute.

Similarly, the words whose basic form end in “な/na”, such as 「きれいな: beautiful」 and 「上手(じょうず)な: good, well」, become 「きれいな＋のだ/のです/んだ/んです」and「上手な＋のだ/のです/んだ/んです」.

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Whether it is formal or casual/soft depends a lot on the personality of the speaker. For example, KNH’s characters are…

＜Gaoshun＞ Since he always speak in formal way, he uses “なの” or “の��.

高順「実は、知人が大層困っておりまして…大変妙な話なのですが…」

Gaoshun “Jitsuwa, chijinga taiso komatte-ori-mashite… Taihen myona hanashi nano-desuga…”

Gaoshun “Well, an acquaintance of mine is very concerned. It’s a very strange situation, but…”

＜Jinshi＞ He generally speaks casually to Maomao, but he speaks formally when discussing serious work-related topics.

壬氏「フゥ…。というわけで、風明が自首してきたのだが、何か知らないか？」(serious topic)

Jinshi “Fu… To-iu-wakede, Fonminga jishu shite Kitano-daga, nanika shiranaika?”

Jinshi “And so, Fengming turned herself in. Do you know anything about it?”

壬氏「ある武官からもらったものなんだが、味見してくれないか？」（casual）

Jinshi “Aru bukan-kara moratta mono nandaga, ajimi shite kurenaika?”

Jinshi “I received these from a certain military officer. Can you taste them?”

＜Maomao＞ She usually speaks casually, but sometimes formally when talking to herself about serious topics.

猫猫「ん？酒を蒸留しています。何度も蒸留させると、濃いアルコールが取れるんです」(casual)

Maomao “N? Sake’o joryu-shite-imasu. Nandomo joryu-saseruto, koi arukōruga torerun-desu.”

Maomao “I’m distilling alcohol. By distilling repeatedly, I can create a very strong alcohol.”

猫猫（しかし、おかしなことだ。後宮には愛��動物の類いはほとんどいない。動物を飼うには許可が必要で、犬猫の場合、去勢も必要である。一体どこで生まれた子猫なのか）(simple & formal)

Maomao (Shikashi, okashina kotoda. Kokyu-niwa aigan-dobutsuno taguiwa hotondo inai. Dobutsu’o kau-niwa kyokaga hitsuyode, inu-nekono baai, kyoseimo hitsuyode aru. Ittai dokode umareta koneko nanoka.)

Maomao (This is strange, though. There are almost no pets in the rear palace. Keeping an animal requires a permit, and cats and dogs need to be castrated. Where was this kitten born?)

＜Xiaolan＞ Since she always speaks casually and softly, it’s likely that she only use “なん/nan” and “ん/n”.

小蘭「最後の日なら、少し時間をもらえそうなんだけど…」

Shaoran “Saigono hi-nara, sukoshi jikan’o moraeso-nanda-kedo…”

Xiaolan “I might get some time off on the last day.”

小蘭「あっ、猫猫！これから手習い所なんだ！」

Shaoran “A, Maomao! Kore-kara tenarai-jo nanda!”

Xiaolan “Oh, Maomao! I’m about to go off to school!”

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In the first place, the reason I wrote this post was because I received a question about 「んだろうか」 in Maomao’s line 「おやじ、ちゃんと飯(めし)食(く)ってんだろうか」: “I wonder if Dad’s eating properly.” This line is very rough and manly. If another character were to say the same line, the way they said it would probably be different;

①Maomao – おやじ、ちゃんと飯食って(＋る)んだろうか (very rough)

②Jinshi/Gaoshun/Basen – 父上(ちちうえ)は、ちゃんと食事(しょくじ)をしている(＋の)だろうか (formal & noble & manly)

③Concubine Gyokuyou/Lihua – お父様(とうさま)、ちゃんと食事をとっている(＋の)かしら (formal & noble & feminine)

④Yinghua/Ailan/Guiyuan - お父(とう)さん、ちゃんとご飯(はん)食(た)べてる(＋の)かしら(casual & feminine)

⑤Xiaolan - お父さん、ちゃんとご飯食べてる(＋の)かなぁ？(casual & friendly)

おやじ/父上/お父さん = Dad

ちゃんと = properly

飯食って(る)/食事をしている/食事をとっている/ご飯食べてる = is eating

ん/の = (emphasizing. You can omit it, if you don’t want to emphasize.)

だろうか/かしら/かなぁ？ = I wonder if

When I broke the sentence like above, I couldn’t tell whether the “ん/n” in Maomao’s line 「食ってんだろうか」 meant emphasizing or just speaking roughly.

A.「食ってるだろうか」→「食ってんだろうか」(without “の/no” - just saying roughly)

B.「食ってるのだろうか」→「食ってるんだろうか」→「食ってんだろうか」(with “の/no” and changed to “ん/n” due to rough speaking - emphasizing)

I think it’s one of A and B above, but I can’t say for sure. Maybe it’s something only the author or Maomao herself knows. Either way, it’s a pretty rough way of speaking.

By the way, concerning above ③④⑤ examples, the feminine/soft ending “かしら/kashira” and “かな/kana” always combine with “の/no”, not “ん/n”. 「～のかしら」 and 「～のかな」 work, but 「～んかしら」 and 「～んかな」 doesn’t.

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I’ve covered quite a lot of detail, and I wonder if I was able to make you understand me well in English. I’ve never studied to teach Japanese, so I’m sorry if I’m not explaining things well.

When you watch anime with English translation, you probably won’t notice much difference, but spoken language of the original Japanese lines varies greatly depending on the character’s gender, age, position, personality, and even their relationship with the person they’re speaking to. So, if you can notice the differences in the way they speak, you’ll be able to understand the characters more deeply. I would be happy to help you all in any way I can, so please feel free to ask any questions you may have.

#apothecary english #apothecary romaji #the apothecary diaries #apothecary diaries #learning japanese #japanese #薬屋のひとりごと #薬屋のひとりごと　英語 #薬屋　英語　学習 #japan #KNH

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