# Using だ in informal speech



## L.gray

Hello everyone,

I have a question regarding the use of だ in everyday causal speech.

I know that だ may sound kind of cold or rude when you say it to a friend, for instance, and I know there are exceptions to that, but what I've been wondering about is whether I can drop だ when using the explanatory ん at the end of a sentence/clause.  Here's what I mean:

１．バスが来なかったんだ。
２．バスがこなかったん。

Does the だ in 1. sound rude when used after the ん? Can it be dropped?

Thank you in advance!


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## SoLaTiDoberman

１．バスが来なかったんだ。
This is not rude.　This is a masculine colloquial sentence. If a man says this, it's natural. If a woman says this, it may sound weird.

１’. バスが来なかったんだよ。This sentence is softer, milder and politer than 1.


２．バスがこなかったん。 This sentence is just weird. 
However, if it is a colloquial question, it can be natural: バスが来なかったん？


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## fitter.happier

In addition to what SoLaTiDoberman said, バスが来なかった*の* is also acceptable as a statement, but it is more feminine-sounding.


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## Flaminius

こなかったん is a dialectal form from Kyoto.  It may be more widely used in the Kansai area.


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## SoLaTiDoberman

Flaminius said:


> こなかったん is a dialectal form from Kyoto.  It may be more widely used in the Kansai area.


Oh, really?
I didn't know that.
バスが、き～へんかったん （よ）


バスが来なかった。is natural, by the way.


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## Flaminius

Ah, the verb phrase could undergo dialectal euphony.  My point is that the Kyoto dialect has the sentential particle ん.


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## SoLaTiDoberman

バスが来（き）～へん。
バスが来（こ）ん。


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## Flaminius

No.  The ん under discussion is derived from の.  Yours is part of the negative auxiliary へん (< せぬ).  Some examples of the Kyoto ん (< の) are:
思うてしもたん。
うれしかったん。
なにしてたん。


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## SoLaTiDoberman

思うてしもたん。  
うれしかったん。
なにしてたん。  This is a question, isn't it?


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## Flaminius

Yes, that goes to show that the Kyoto ん works just like the standard の.


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