N

From the Etruscan letter 𐌍 (n, en), from the Ancient Greek letter Ν (N, nu), derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤍 (n, nun), possibly from the Egyptian hieroglyph 𓆓.

Letter

N (lower case n)

The fourteenth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

Symbol

N

(chemistry) Symbol for nitrogen.
(metrology) Symbol for newton, the SI unit of force.
- 2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Outlaws: Adhi Codex entry:
  When attacking, adhi drive opponents out of secure positions to make them vulnerable to gunfire or a concerted attack by the rest of the pack. Their jaw strength has been measured in excess of 1900 N, dangerous even when wearing a hardsuit.
(biochemistry) IUPAC 1-letter abbreviation for aspargine
(physics) electron number
(music) Neapolitan chord (usually in first inversion, therefore followed by a superscript six)
(linguistics) A wildcard for a nasal consonant (nasal stop)

Gallery

Letter styles
Uppercase and lowercase versions of N, in normal and italic type
Uppercase and lowercase N in Fraktur

English

Etymology 1

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n, plural Ns or N's)

The fourteenth letter of the English alphabet, called en and written in the Latin script.

Number

N (upper case, lower case n)

The ordinal number fourteenth, derived from this letter of the English alphabet, called en and written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

(name of letter) IPA^(key): /ɛn/
Rhymes: -ɛn

Audio (US)

(file)

Audio (UK)

(file)

Noun

N

Translations

north — see also north

French: N (fr) m
German: N (de) m
Greek: Β (el) (V)
Hungarian: É (hu)
Russian: С (ru) (S)
Swedish: N (sv)

Etymology 2

Abbreviations.

N

(stenoscript) the prefix or word-initial sequence inter-, enter-, intr- or entr-.
(stenoscript) the sound sequence /(V)ntr/.
(stenoscript) Abbreviation of north.

Afar

Letter

N

The eighteenth letter in the Afar alphabet.

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /ɛn/

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The fourteenth letter of the Afrikaans alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

N (plural N'e, diminutive N'etjie)

N

Angami

Letter

N

The twenty-fifth letter of the Angami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Azerbaijani

Letter

N upper case (lower case n)

The twentieth letter of the Azerbaijani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Basque

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ene/,

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The fourteenth letter of the Basque alphabet, called ene and written in the Latin script.

Central Franconian

Etymology

/n/ is from West Germanic *n.
/ŋ/ is from West Germanic *ng; in most of Ripuarian from *n after long high vowels and from *nd.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /n/, (in ng, nk) /ŋ/

Letter

N

A letter in the German-based alphabet of Central Franconian.
A letter in the Dutch-based alphabet of Central Franconian.

Usage notes

Doubling of N

In the German-based spelling, n is doubled after short vowels except in certain function words and when the letter is followed by another consonant within the word stem.
In the Dutch-based spelling, n is doubled after short vowels if the syllable were otherwise open.

Chinese

Alternative forms

n

Etymology 1

Likely from the mathematical usage of n to denote an arbitrary number. Compare Korean N and Japanese n番煎じ.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): ēn (en¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄣ
Cantonese (Jyutping): en¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: ēn
  - Zhuyin: ㄣ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: en
  - Wade–Giles: ên¹
  - Yale: ēn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: en
  - Palladius: энь (enʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˀən⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: en¹
  - Yale: colloquial sounds not defined
  - Cantonese Pinyin: en¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: colloquial sounds not defined
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɛːn⁵⁵/

Numeral

N

countless; several
點解我打咗N次都冇人接電話嘅？ [Cantonese, trad.]
点解我打咗N次都冇人接电话嘅？ [Cantonese, simp.]
dim² gaai² ngo⁵ daa² zo² en¹ ci³ dou¹ mou⁵ jan⁴ zip³ din⁶ waa^6-2 ge²?
How come I called several times but no one picked up the phone?
- 追了N部美劇，英語還超爛… [MSC, trad.]
  追了N部美剧，英语还超烂… [MSC, simp.]
  From:
  zhuīle ēn bù měijù, yīngyǔ hái chāo làn...
  You've binged countless American TV dramas, but your English still sucks…
- 你不用看了。我已經看過N次了。 [MSC, trad.]
  你不用看了。我已经看过N次了。 [MSC, simp.]
  From: 1996, 瓊瑤 (qióngyáo) and 林久愉, 一簾幽夢 (TV drama), episode 1, 30:34
  Nǐ bùyòng kàn le. Wǒ yǐjīng kàn guò ēn cì le.
  You don't need to look. I've already looked multiple times.

Derived terms

N無人士／N无人士 (en¹ mou⁴ jan⁴ si⁶)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation 1

Mandarin
(Pinyin): ēn (en¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄣ
Cantonese (Jyutping): en¹
Southern Min (Teochew, Peng'im): êng⁵
Wu (Wugniu)
- (Northern): ⁵e-ng; ¹e-ng

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: ēn
  - Zhuyin: ㄣ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: en
  - Wade–Giles: ên¹
  - Yale: ēn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: en
  - Palladius: энь (enʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˀən⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: en¹
  - Yale: colloquial sounds not defined
  - Cantonese Pinyin: en¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: colloquial sounds not defined
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɛːn⁵⁵/
Southern Min
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: êng⁵
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: êng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /eŋ⁵⁵/
Wu
- (Shanghai):
  - Wugniu: ⁵e-ng; ¹e-ng
  - MiniDict: e^去 ng; e^平 ng
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²e-hhngg; ¹e-hhngg
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /e³³ ŋ̍⁴⁴/, /e⁵⁵ ŋ̍²¹/

Note: Often realised as one syllable with a /n/ final.

Letter

N

The fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet.

Pronunciation 2

Mandarin
(Pinyin): nē, nê̄ (ne¹, nê¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄋㄜ, ㄋㄝ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, common)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: nē
  - Zhuyin: ㄋㄜ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: ne
  - Wade–Giles: nê¹
  - Yale: nē
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: nhe
  - Palladius: нэ (nɛ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /nɤ⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, official)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: nê̄
  - Zhuyin: ㄋㄝ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: nê
  - Wade–Giles: neh¹
  - Yale: nē
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: nhè
  - Palladius: нэй (nɛj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /nɛ⁵⁵/

Letter

N

The fourteenth letter used in Pinyin.

Usage notes

《汉语拼音方案》 defines a standard pronunciation for each letter. However, these pronunciations are rarely used in education; another pronunciation is commonly used instead.
The pronunciation above are only used while referring to letters in Pinyin. They are not used in other context (such as English).

Dutch

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /ɛn/
Audio (file)

Letter

N (capital, lowercase n)

The fourteenth letter of the Dutch alphabet.

Noun

N

Abbreviation of noord; north

Esperanto

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /no/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /n/
Audio (file)

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The eighteenth letter of the Esperanto alphabet, called no or en and written in the Latin script.

Noun

N

Abbreviation of nordo (“north”).

Estonian

Estonian Wikipedia has an article on:

N

Wikipedia ^et

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The fourteenth letter of the Estonian alphabet, called enn and written in the Latin script.

Finnish

Etymology

The Finnish orthography using the Latin script was based on those of Swedish, German and Latin, and was first used in the mid-16th century. No earlier script is known. See the Wikipedia article on Finnish for more information, and N for information on the development of the glyph itself.

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The fourteenth letter of the Finnish alphabet, called än or en and written in the Latin script.

Noun

N

Abbreviation of non sine laude approbatur.
Abbreviation of nainen (“woman, female”).

French

Pronunciation

(letter): IPA^(key): /ɛn/
Audio (Paris) (file)
Rhymes: -ɛn

Noun

N

Abbreviation of nord.

Letter

N

the fourteenth letter of the French alphabet

Galician

Noun

N

Abbreviation of norte (“north”).

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of "north"): S

German

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʔɛn/
Audio (file)

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The fourteenth letter of the German alphabet.

Noun

N

Abbreviation of Nord; north

Hungarian

Pronunciation

(phoneme): IPA^(key):
(letter name): IPA^(key):

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The twenty-second letter of the Hungarian alphabet, called enn and written in the Latin script.

Declension

Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	N	N-ek
accusative	N-et	N-eket
dative	N-nek	N-eknek
instrumental	N-nel	N-ekkel
causal-final	N-ért	N-ekért
translative	N-né	N-ekké
terminative	N-ig	N-ekig
essive-formal	N-ként	N-ekként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	N-ben	N-ekben
superessive	N-en	N-eken
adessive	N-nél	N-eknél
illative	N-be	N-ekbe
sublative	N-re	N-ekre
allative	N-hez	N-ekhez
elative	N-ből	N-ekből
delative	N-ről	N-ekről
ablative	N-től	N-ektől
non-attributive possessive - singular	N-é	N-eké
non-attributive possessive - plural	N-éi	N-ekéi

Possessive forms of N
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	N-em	N-jeim
2nd person sing.	N-ed	N-jeid
3rd person sing.	N-je	N-jei
1st person plural	N-ünk	N-jeink
2nd person plural	N-etek	N-jeitek
3rd person plural	N-jük	N-jeik

Ido

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /n/

Letter

N (lower case n)

The fourteenth letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Indonesian

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /ɛn/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /n/

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The fourteenth letter of the Indonesian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Italian

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:

N

Wikipedia ^it

Pronunciation

(letter name) IPA^(key): /ˈɛn.ne/
- Rhymes: -ɛnne
(phonemic realization) IPA^(key): /n/

Letter

N f or m (invariable, upper case, lower case n)

The twelfth letter of the Italian alphabet, called enne and written in the Latin script.

Noun

N m

Abbreviation of nord; north

Kashubian

Etymology

The Kashubian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Kashubian alphabet article on Wikipedia for more, and N for development of the glyph itself.

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The nineteenth letter of the Kashubian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Korean

Etymology

From the mathematical sense. Compare Chinese N.

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key):
Phonetic hangul:

Romanizations
Revised Romanization^?	en
Revised Romanization (translit.)^?	en
McCune–Reischauer^?	en
Yale Romanization^?	eyn

South Gyeongsang (Busan) pitch accent: N의 / N에 / N까지

Syllables in red take high pitch. This word always takes high pitch and also heightens the next suffixed syllable, unless it is 에.

Numeral

N • (en)

an arbitrary or unspecified number of some size, normally greater than three
N수생
ensusaeng
someone preparing the university entrance exam for more than three years

돈 은 N분 의 1 로 내 자.
Don-eun enbun-ui il-lo nae-ja.
Let's split the bill.
(literally, “Let's pay one out of n.”)

Latvian

Latvian Wikipedia has an article on:

N

Wikipedia ^lv

Etymology

Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key):

(file)

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The twenty-first letter of the Latvian alphabet, called en and written in the Latin script.

Malay

Malay Wikipedia has an article on:

N

Wikipedia ^ms

Pronunciation

(Name of letter) IPA^(key):
(Phoneme) IPA^(key):

Letter

N

The fourteenth letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Nupe

Pronunciation

(phoneme): IPA^(key): /n/, IPA^(key): /ŋ/, IPA^(key): / ̃/

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The seventeenth letter of the Nupe alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Polish

Etymology

The Polish orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the history of Polish orthography article on Wikipedia for more, and N for development of the glyph itself.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /n/

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The eighteenth letter of the Polish alphabet, called en and written in the Latin script.

Portuguese

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The fourteenth letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

N m (uncountable)

Abbreviation of norte.

Romani

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /n/

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

(International Standard) The eighteenth letter of the Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.
(Pan-Vlax) The nineteenth letter of the Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Romanian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /n/

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The seventeenth letter of the Romanian alphabet, called en, ne, or nî and written in the Latin script.

Saanich

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /n/, /nʼ/

Letter

N

The twenty-first letter of the Saanich alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Scottish Gaelic

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The twelfth letter of the Scottish Gaelic alphabet, written in the Latin script. It is preceded by m and followed by o. Its traditional name is nuin (“ash”).

Silesian

Etymology

The Silesian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Silesian language article on Wikipedia for more, and N for development of the glyph itself.

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The seventeenth letter of the Silesian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Skolt Sami

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /n/

Letter

N (lower case n)

The twenty-second letter of the Skolt Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Slovene

Slovene Wikipedia has an article on:

N

Wikipedia ^sl

Letter

N (capital, lowercase n)

The 15th letter of the Slovene alphabet. Preceded by M and followed by O.

Somali

Pronunciation

(phoneme): IPA^(key): /n/
(letter name): IPA^(key): /nʉn/

Letter

N upper case (lower case n)

The nineteenth letter of the Somali alphabet, called nun and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

The nineteenth letter of the Somali alphabet, which follows Arabic abjad order. It is preceded by M and followed by W.

Spanish

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

the 14th letter of the Spanish alphabet

Noun

N m

Abbreviation of norte; north

Tagalog

Etymology

From Spanish N. Each pronunciation has a different source:

Filipino alphabet pronunciation is influenced by English N.
Abakada alphabet pronunciation is influenced by Baybayin character ᜈ (na).
Abecedario pronunciation is from Spanish N.

Pronunciation

(letter name, Filipino alphabet): IPA^(key): /ʔen/,
(letter name, Abakada alphabet): IPA^(key): /ˈna/,
(letter name, Abecedario): IPA^(key): /ˈʔene/,
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /n/,
Rhymes: -en, -a, -ene
Hyphenation: N

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n, Baybayin spelling ᜁᜈ᜔)

The fourteenth letter of the Tagalog alphabet (Filipino alphabet), called en and written in the Latin script.

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n, Baybayin spelling ᜈ)

The eleventh letter of the Tagalog alphabet (Abakada alphabet), called na and written in the Latin script.

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n, Baybayin spelling ᜁᜈᜒ)

(historical) The sixteenth letter of the Tagalog alphabet (Abecedario), called ene and written in the Latin script.

Turkish

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The seventeenth letter of the Turkish alphabet, called ne and written in the Latin script.

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key):
(Huế) IPA^(key):
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key):
Phonetic: e nờ^{The template Template:vi-IPA does not use the parameter(s): 2=en-nờ}

3=nờ thấp 4=nờ Please see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The sixteenth letter of the Vietnamese alphabet, called e-nờ, en-nờ, nờ thấp, or nờ and written in the Latin script.

Welsh

Pronunciation

(standard) IPA^(key): /ɛn/
- (informal) IPA^(key): /n/

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The eighteenth letter of the Welsh alphabet, called en and written in the Latin script. It is preceded by M and followed by O.

Mutation

N cannot mutate in Welsh.

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

(phoneme): IPA^(key): /n/, IPA^(key): /ŋ/, IPA^(key): / ̃/
(letter name): IPA^(key): /nĩ́/

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The fifteenth letter of the Yoruba alphabet, called ní and written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ŋ̄/

Pronoun

N̄ or N

Alternative letter-case form of n (“I”)

Zulu

Letter

N (upper case, lower case n)

The fourteenth letter of the Zulu alphabet, written in the Latin script.