Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
ではない. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
ではない, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
ではない in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
ではない you have here. The definition of the word
ではない will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
ではない, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Japanese
Alternative forms
- (informal) じゃない (ja nai)
- でない (de nai)
Etymology
Comprised of で (de, copula in the conjunctive form) + は (wa, topic and contrastive particle) + ない (nai, “not”, negation).
Negative form of である (de aru) with a contrastive は (wa). である (de aru) ultimately descends from にあり (ni ari):
- にあり (ni ari) → にてあり (nite ari, conjunctive) → であり (de ari, contraction) → である (de aru, shift to modern conjugation pattern)
Verb
ではない • (de wa nai)
- (formal) negative of だ and である: is not
- 彼は只者ではない。
- Kare wa tadamono de wa nai.
- He is no ordinary person.