ね

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ね U+306D, ね
HIRAGANA LETTER NE
← ぬ
 		Hiragana の →

Japanese

Stroke order
2 strokes

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji 祢 in the cursive sōsho style.

Syllable

ね • (ne) 

  1. The hiragana syllable ね (ne). Its equivalent in katakana is ネ (ne). It is the twenty-fourth syllable in the gojūon order; its position is な行え段 (na-gyō e-dan, “row na, section e”).
See also

Etymology 2

Compare Korean 네 (ne, “yes, yeah, right”).

Particle

ね • (ne) 

  1. (after a phrase) emphasis and question marker particle; asks for confirmation; right?; eh?; isn't it, innit?
    あなたは頭(あたま)がいいね。
    Anata wa atama ga ii ne.
    You’re smart, aren’t you.
    格(かっ)好(こう)いいですね。
    Kakkō ii desu ne.
    That’s pretty neat, eh?
    「ダメ。」「だよねー」
    “Dame.”“Da yo nē”
    "No." "Yeah, I thought so."
  2. (after -te, or sometimes -te kudasai) particle that softens a request, or conveys friendliness; okay?; please?
    頑(がん)張(ば)ってね。
    Ganbatte ne.
    Do your best.
    気(き)を付(つ)けてくださいね。
    Ki o tsukete kudasai ne.
    Please be careful, okay?
  3. meaningless filler particle, which may also have a softening effect when introducing information; well...; you see...

Usage notes

Sense 1 is used at such a frequency that it is often absent in a normal English translation, instead expressed with general inflection of voice, or context. It can also imply agreement. A common usage of it is in conjunction with particle さ (sa), as よね (yo ne).

Sense 3 is similar to filler particle さ (sa) in usage and placement, but is different in that it sounds more gentle, and also can be used in more polite situations (e.g. the common filler usage of ですね (desu ne), where です (desu) becomes part of the filler particle, and ignores its own grammatical meaning and usual syntax).

Synonym

See also

Interjection

ね • (ne) 

  1. (informal, begins sentences) used to catch listener’s attention; hey
    ね、知(し)ってる？
    Ne, shitteru?
    Hey, did you know?
  2. (informal, women's speech, see sense 1 above) I know, right?
  3. (informal, women's speech, see sense 2 above) please?
Synonyms

Etymology 3

For pronunciation and definitions of ね – see the following entries.
【子】1
(Chinese astrology) Rat, the first of the twelve Earthly Branches:
north
the hours between 11:00 P.M./midnight and 1:00/2:00 A.M.
a day or year assigned to the Rat
the eleventh month of the lunar calendar
a place name
(obsolete) variant katakana syllable ネ (ne)
Variant of katakana ネ (ne)
【音】1
a sound, voice
the cry of an animal
Alternative spelling
哭
【根】3
a root of a plant
(by extension) the source or root of something
the cause or basis for something
one's nature, the character one has by birth
【値】6
price
【寝】S
sleep, sleeping
【峰】S
summit of a mountain, peak
Alternative spellings
峯, 嶺
(This term, ね, is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.)
For a list of all kanji read as ね, see Category:Japanese kanji read as ね.)
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