なり
Japanese
Etymology 1
Reading of various words.
Noun
なり (rōmaji nari)
- 形, 態: clothing; appearance; shape; form
- 業: occupation
- 生り: bearing (of fruits)
- 成り, 為り: (shogi) promotion
- 鳴り: ringing
Etymology 2
/ni ari/ → /nari/
Contraction of older に (ni, case particle) + あり (ari, “to be, to exist”).[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [na̠ɾʲi]
Verb
なり (rōmaji nari)
- (Classical Japanese, now archaic) The classical copula “to be”, equivalent to modern Japanese である (de aru) or だ (da).
- c. late 9th – mid-10th century, Taketori Monogatari
- おのが身はこの国の人にもあらず、月の都の人なり。
- (please add an English translation of this quote)
- 1900, “鉄道唱歌第1集東海道編”:
- 大阪出でて右左 菜種ならざる畑もなし
- Ōsaka idete migihidari natane narazaru hata mo nashi
- (please add an English translation of this example)
- 大阪出でて右左 菜種ならざる畑もなし
- c. late 9th – mid-10th century, Taketori Monogatari
Conjugation
Classical conjugation of "なり" (ラ行変格活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
| Stem forms | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrealis (未然形) | なら | nara | ||
| Continuative (連用形) | なり | nari | ||
| Terminal (終止形) | なり | nari | ||
| Attributive (連体形) | なる | naru | ||
| Realis (已然形) | なれ | nare | ||
| Imperative (命令形) | なれ | nare | ||
| Key constructions | ||||
| Negative | ならず | narazu | ||
| Contrasting conjunction | なれど | naredo | ||
| Causal conjunction | なれば | nareba | ||
| Conditional conjunction | ならば | naraba | ||
| Past tense (firsthand knowledge) | なりき | nariki | ||
| Past tense (secondhand knowledge) | なりけり | narikeri | ||
| Perfect tense (conscious action) | なりつ | naritu | ||
| Perfect tense (natural event) | なりぬ | narinu | ||
| Perfect-continuative tense | なりたり[1] | naritari | ||
| [1]Often proscribed due to a redundancy of having 2 あり. | ||||
In Japanese school grammar, に (ni) is regarded as an alternative 連用形 (ren'yōkei).
Usage notes
- Attaches to a nominal or the 連体形 (rentaikei, “attributive form”) of declinables.
- The 終止形 (shūshikei, “terminal form”) of the copula can be spelled in kanji as 也 or 𬼂.
- 恋は渾沌の隷也 (Koi wa Kaosu no Shimobe nari, “Love is a Servant of Chaos”)
Derived terms
- 小なり (shōnari)
- 大なり (dainari)
Etymology 3
From the 終止形 (shūshikei, “terminal form”) of the classical auxiliary verb なり.
Particle
なり (rōmaji nari)
- Used when giving an example, without the implication that it might be the best or the only option
- 労働局になり相談したらどうですか？
- Rōdōkyoku ni nari sōdan shitara dō desu ka?
- What about consulting, for example, the Labor Bureau?
- 労働局になり相談したらどうですか？
- ... or ...
- 楽天なりどこなりで買い物をする
- Rakuten nari doko nari de kaimono o suru
- to shop at Rakuten or somewhere
- 楽天なりどこなりで買い物をする
Derived terms
- 大なり小なり (dai nari shō nari, “more or less, to some extent”)
Etymology 4
From なり (形, 態, nari).
Particle
なり (rōmaji nari)
- (after a verb in the dictionary form) ... as soon as ...
- 幼稚園から帰るなり、母に抱きついてきました。
- Yōchien kara kaeru nari, haha ni dakitsuite kimashita.
- As soon as she returned from kindergarten; she clung to her mom.
- 幼稚園から帰るなり、母に抱きついてきました。
- (after a verb in the past tense ～た) ... while ...
- 着たなり脱ごうとしません
- kita nari nugō to shimasen
- [it's so comfortable that] She doesn't want to take it off while wearing it
- 着たなり脱ごうとしません
Synonyms
- (as soon as): や否や (ya ina ya)
- (while still): 儘 (mama)
References
- 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan