What does NE (ね) really mean in Japanese?

If you study Japanese, you must have been curious about the expression NE (ね) which is often used in the same way as our born of English. The ending NE is often used for emphasis, agreement, request for confirmation, etc. As in English the born Japanese is equivalent to "it is not?" or "right?".

Does it have a relationship with the word in the Portuguese language? What other purposes is NE (ね) often used for? In this article, we will try to understand the true origin and meaning of the expression NE (ね). The explanation of this word may seem simple, but in reality it is more complex than it seems.

Naturally the NE (ね) is a particle that is often used at the end of sentences in the following ways: だよね / ですね / だね. It can be used either as a confirmation or a question (already answered) without using the KA particle (か). This ending in Japanese sentences is so common that it is difficult to explain its usage. Sometimes this expression even means “hey; we will".

What does ne (ね) really mean in Japanese?

The origin of NE in the Japanese language

Japan received a lot of influence from Portugal in its history. What makes you think that the NE (ね) was one of the words that the Japanese learned from the Portuguese. The problem is that there are records of the NE particle (ね) being used since the Heian Period (794-1185) long before the Portuguese immigrated to Japan.

Others believe that the Japanese influenced Brazilians to use the expression "né", as it is not common in Portugal. But this expression was also used before the Japanese immigrated to Brazil. This all seems to be a complete coincidence. In Portuguese it is easy to understand the expression "né" which comes from "is not". And in Japanese?

Before the existence of hiragana the word ね was written with the kanji (祢) which currently means shrine and ancestor. This kanji is also pronounced NAI (ない) which you find at the end of sentences and verbs as a not or negative. Some claim that the expression NE arose exactly from the expression NAI. It makes perfect sense ISN'T IT?

What does ne (ね) really mean in Japanese?
Who hasn't been irritated by: "Are you really shinichi?","shinichi kun dayone?"

Currently ね has a much deeper meaning of direct and indirect usage. The use of the word can be related to an emotional involvement and sometimes even used indirectly. The NE (ね) is so useful that it can be used to get attention, ask for confirmation, make a correction, criticize, show intimacy, and even teach children.

The NE (ね) in the middle of sentences in Japanese

If it was just an ending the article would have ended here. The big problem is that NE (ね) is often used in the middle of sentences giving other inexplicable meanings. See the sentence below:

  • あのねぇ、今日はね、ひろとゆかは付き合い始めた。可愛いねぇ?
  • Anonee, kyou wa ne, Hiro to Yuka wa tsukiai hajimeta. Kawaii huh?
  • Hey, today, Hiro and Yuka started dating. It is not fluffy?

It's kind of complicated to explain why to use the Nee (ねぇ) elongated in the middle of these sentences. It's like something natural and automatic, the Japanese know when to use it but they can't explain why. It's not like a “isn't it?”, it's more of an expression to emphasize the subject and draw the listener's attention.

It is common to find the NE (ね) lengthened (ねぇ) at any point in the sentence. Separately the Japanese usually say ねぇ ねぇ to get the person's attention, such as "look at this" or "hey". Some use netteba (ねぇってば) where the thebe it means annoyance, irritation and emotional closeness.

What does ne (ね) really mean in Japanese?

The NE is often used together with YO after deus. forming the expression desuyone (ですよね) where the yo shows the speaker's strong conviction of his opinion, and the ne expect the person to agree with it. please note that iine (いいね) is a very common term that is on social media in place of the famous like.

Examples of using NE (ね) in Japanese

To end the article, we will leave some example sentences for you to delve into the subject. Hope you enjoyed the article, we appreciate the comments and shares. We will also leave some interesting articles for you to read below:

  • 今日は君ついてないねえ
  • Kyou wa kimi tsuitenainee;
  • Today is not your day;
  • ねえねえ、知ってる?
  • Nee nee, do you love me?
  • Hey, do you know?
  • 遅いですね
  • It's slow, isn't it?
  • Are you slow in?
  • まあね。
  • Maan;
  • I think;
  • 聞いてね!
  • Kitene;
  • Hey listen!
  • 楽しいですよね
  • It's fun, isn't it?
  • This is fun (don't you think?);

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