nn
See also: nn., nN, NN, Nn, N.N., N. N., n̄ʻn̄, and -nn
Translingual
Symbol
nn
- (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Norwegian Nynorsk.
English
Adverb
nn (not comparable)
- (Philippines) Alternative form of NN (“noon”).
Egyptian
Pronunciation
- (modern Egyptological) IPA(key): /nɛn/
- Conventional anglicization: nen
Pronoun
|
proximal demonstrative pronoun
- this, that
- c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 149–150:
- ꜥḥꜥ.n sbt.n.f jm.j m nn ḏd.n.j m nf m jb.f ḏd.f n.j (j)n wr n.k ꜥntjw ḫpr.t(j) ⟨m⟩ nb sntr
- Then he laughed at me – and at this that I’d said – as being wrong to his mind, saying to me: Are you abundant in myrrh, turned into a lord of incense?[1]
Usage notes
This demonstrative is a pronoun, and so does not directly modify nouns. In Middle Egyptian it becomes used as a demonstrative for plural nouns in place of the old adjectives jpn and jptn. When used in this way, it precedes the noun, with the genitival adjective n(j) in between, e.g. "these feet" is nn n(j) rdw (literally "this of feet").
It forms a contrastive pair with the demonstrative pronoun nf, in which nn is proximal.
Inflection
Old Egyptian demonstratives
| determiners | pronouns1 | adverbs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| number | singular | dual | plural | unmarked | ||||
| gender | masculine | feminine | masculine | feminine | masculine | feminine | unmarked | |
| proximal to speaker | pn | tn, jtn | jpnj | jptnj | jpn | jptn | nn | — |
| distal | pf | tf | jpfj | jptfj | jpf | jptf | nf | — |
| proximal to spoken of | pj, pw, py, p | tj, tw, jtw | jpwj | jptwj | jpw | jptw | nw | — |
| vocative | pꜣ | tꜣ | — | — | — | — | nꜣ | ꜥꜣ |
| ||||||||
Middle Egyptian demonstratives
| determiners and pronouns | adverbs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| number | singular | plural1 | ||||
| gender | masculine | feminine | unmarked | |||
| proximal | pn | tn | nn | ꜥn | ||
| distal | pf, pfꜣ | tf, tfꜣ | nf, nfꜣ | ꜥf | ||
| ‘copula’; vocative | pw, pwy | tw, twy | nw | — | ||
| anaphoric | pꜣ | tꜣ | nꜣ | ꜥꜣ | ||
| ||||||
Late Egyptian demonstratives and articles
| masculine | feminine | plural | adverb | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pronoun | pꜣw | dj | ||||
| determiners and pronouns | pꜣj | tꜣj | nꜣj | |||
| possessive determiners (used with suffix pronouns) | pꜣy | tꜣy | nꜣy | |||
| relational pronouns (‘possessive prefixes’) | p-n, pꜣ | t-nt, tꜣ | nꜣyw, nꜣ | |||
| definite articles | pꜣ | tꜣ | nꜣ1 | |||
| indefinite articles | wꜥ1 | nhꜣy1 | ||||
| ||||||
Alternative forms
Alternative hieroglyphic writings of nn
| ||
| nn |
Particle
|
proclitic
- (since Middle Egyptian) not; negates an adverbial or adjectival sentence
- c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 130–131:
- ḫpr.n r.s nn wj ḥnꜥ(w) ꜣm.nj nn wj m ḥr(j) jb.sn
- But it happened while I wasn’t with them, and they burned up while I wasn’t in their midst.
- (since Middle Egyptian, uncommon) not; negates a nominal sentence [since the 12th Dynasty]
- (since Middle Egyptian) not; negates a subjunctive main clause with future meaning
- (since Middle Egyptian, with a following noun or pronoun) there is no, there are no; introduces an independent negated existential clause
- c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 99–101:
- wꜥ jm nb mꜥkꜣ jb.f nḫt ꜥ.f r snnw.f nn wḫꜣ m ḥr(j) jb.sn
- Each one of them, his mind was more observant and his arm was stronger than his fellow’s. There was no fool in their midst.
- c. 1859 BCE – 1813 BCE, The Loyalist Teaching (Stele of Sehetepibre/Cairo CG 20538 Verso) line 19:[2]
- nn jz n sbj ḥr ḥm.f jw ẖꜣt.f m qmꜣ n mw
- There is no tomb for a rebel against His Majesty; his corpse is thrown to the water.
- (since Middle Egyptian, with a following noun or pronoun) without; there not being any …; introduces a subordinated negated existential clause
- c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 6–8:
- jzwt.n jj.t(j) ꜥd.t(j) nn nhw n mšꜥ.n
- Our crew has returned intact, without loss to our expedition.
- (since Middle Egyptian, used without anything negated following) or not; contrasts with a preceding clause or phrase
Usage notes
- When negating an adverbial or adjectival sentence, this particle stands near the beginning of the negated sentence, before the subject, but it can be preceded by other particles. It is followed by a nominal subject, a demonstrative pronoun, or a dependent pronoun as subject.
- When (exceptionally) negating a nominal sentence, this particle either pairs with the particle js like the ordinary negative particle for nominal sentences, nj, or simply stands by itself at the beginning of the sentence.
Derived terms
- nn zp
Further reading
- James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, 194, 414 page 54–55, 194, 414.
- Faulkner, Raymond (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN
- Loprieno, Antonio (1995) Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN
- Or ‘You aren’t abundant in myrrh …’, if the initial particle is read as negative nj instead of interrogative jn. The expected negative particle for such a clause would be nn, so an interrogative is more plausible. For a detailed discussion see Scalf, Foy (2009) “Is That a Rhetorical Question? Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage 1115) 150 Reconsidered” in Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, volume 136, issue 2, pages 155–159.
- H. O. Lange and H. Schäfer (1908) Grab- und Denksteine des Mittleren Reichs im Museum von Kairo, volume II, page 149
Italian
Adverb
nn
- (Internet slang, text messaging, slang) Abbreviation of non (“not”).
Portuguese
Adverb
nn
- (Internet slang, text messaging) Alternative form of n (“not”)
Noun
nn m (uncountable)
- (Internet slang, text messaging) Alternative form of n (“no”)
Interjection
nn
- (Internet slang, text messaging) Alternative form of n (“no”)