Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
へん. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
へん, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
へん in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
へん you have here. The definition of the word
へん will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
へん, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Japanese
Etymology 1
From Classical Japanese せん (sen), from はせん (wa sen), with は merged with the preceding syllable or becoming や, giving やへん (yahen). In turn, はせん is a composition of は (wa, topic marker or emphasis marker), せ (se, “to do”, irrealis stem) and ん (n, “not”).
The consonantal shift /s/ to /h/ is also seen in other words in Kansai, e.g. さん (san) to Kansai はん (han).
Suffix
へん • (-hen)
- (Kansai) negates verbs in non-past tense
Usage notes
- This word is morphologically an inflectional suffix. It is classified as 助動詞 (jodōshi, “auxiliary verb”) in traditional Japanese grammar.
Etymology 2
Counter
へん • (-hen)
- 編, 篇: volume of a printed work
- 遍: times
Noun
へん • (hen)
- 変: strange, (musical notes) flat
- 編: compilation, knit, plait, braid, twist, editing, completed poem, part of a book
- 辺: side, edge
- 偏: a type of Chinese radical, left half
- 編, 篇: compilation, volume
- 片: piece, flake