# nay for nai



## Pacerier

Hi all, is it common for people to say "nay" instead of "nai" for negative verb forms?

And how may we write this "nay" in kana?


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## kenjoluma

... huh?



Are you talking about 「...ない」to「...ね」?

If it is that you are talking about, yes, it is pretty common. A bit rough, bit masculine, a bit dialectal.


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## Arui Kashiwagi

Yes, "_-ai_" or "_-oi_" at the end of adjectives or negative verbs often morphs into "_-ee_" in a spoken word. "_nai_" is one of those examples (It's pronounced like "nay" in English).

いらない _iranai _=> いらねえ, いらねー _iranee_
たかい _takai _=> たけえ, たけー _takee_
おもしろい _omosiroi _=> おもしれえ, おもしれー _omosiree_
おそい _osoi _=> おせえ, おせー _osee_

Some people also morph "-ui" into "-ii".

さむい _samui _=> さみい, さみー _samii__

_ But these pronunciations are usually considered rude & masculine.


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## Aoyama

The ending あい(combined with all consonants, かい、さい、たいetc) as well as えい, changes colloquially (or slang) in え (or romaji ee as in French é).
Beside the examples given by A.K., you can also have : hidoi/hidee, katai/katee etc.
For omoshiroi/omoshiree or even osoi/osee ... I have never heard them. But they may exist.


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## Pacerier

heys all thanks for the help =)


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## Pacerier

*By the way* is it ok for people to swap all "Nai" to "N*ē*" while speaking?


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## kenjoluma

In terms of communication, yes, you can.
But as a language learner, there is no reason to switch your standard Japanese into something which is not.

Remember: Based on context, that could be a social blunder, sometimes considered as a faux pas. Until you master the subtle difference, I would say no.


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## Aoyama

I would go a bit further. Clearly, this ending *ē *for ai (and thus nē for nai) is colloquial if not vulgar. It should not be used unless either you "master the subtle difference" or at least your level of the (Japanese) language allows you to play with slang/polite level speech.


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## Pacerier

Heys thanks for the help =)


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## Δημήτρης

> The ending あい(combined with all consonants, かい、さい、たいetc) as well as  えい, changes colloquially (or slang) in え (or romaji ee *as in French é*).



Wait, does that é there imply that its vowel contrasts with the standard Japanese /e:/ phoneme? Or I am overthinking it? (recently I read about some Japanese dialects that contrast between two types of long おう, so I might be somehow excited over finding other similar details).


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## Aoyama

> does that é there imply that its vowel contrasts with the standard Japanese /e:/ phoneme?


That could lead to a lengthy discussion ...
To give a short answer, YES, I would think that this "ee" is _longer_ than the usual Japanese /e:/. But it is not different as in French "é" and "è" (though dialectal pronunciation might show a difference).
This being said, young people may pronounce "yabai" as yabè (not yabé), or "takai" as takè for _emphasis. _This could be taken as a vocalic difference.


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## Δημήτρης

Aoyama said:


> That could lead to a lengthy discussion ...
> To give a short answer, YES, I would think that this "ee" is _longer_ than the usual Japanese /e:/. But it is not different as in French "é" and "è" (though dialectal pronunciation might show a difference).
> This being said, young people may pronounce "yabai" as yabè (not yabé), or "takai" as takè for _emphasis. _This could be taken as a vocalic difference.



I see. It's a matter of length rather than quality. Thanks for shedding light on this, Aoyama.


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