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One friend of mine told me when she was living in Japan, she liked to end her sentences with ん (maybe instead of の).

Examples:

  • 明日学校にいくん?

  • 明日学校に行かないと思う…風邪引いたん。

Actually I've never seen it! But my friend told me they used it!
I just want to know if it's possible. And if Japanese would think it a little strange if I said ん instead of の.

3 Answers 3

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Your two examples are incorrect in the “standard” dialect.

Some dialects (such as the Gunma dialect and the Saitama dialect) use ん instead of の in a question as in your first example. The second example may also be used in some dialects.

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  • +1 for mentioning it may be a dialect thing. Commented Jun 29, 2011 at 6:18
  • 1
    How about そうなん?I hear this all the time in Kitakyushu.
    – phirru
    Commented Jun 29, 2011 at 7:14
  • @phirru: That is the same use as the first example in the question. As I wrote, that is not used in the “standard” dialect. Commented Jun 29, 2011 at 12:36
  • maybe this link can help: www.geocities.jp/yumi_yumi56/hiroshima/1.html
    – repecmps
    Commented Jul 1, 2011 at 3:41
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    Your answer is correct, but gives the wrong impression that it is used only in a few minor dialects (such as Gunma and Saitama dialects). It is in fact used in most of the kansai dialects, and the western part of Japan. Also, it is better to describe the relation between and (deletion of the vowel).
    – user458
    Commented Dec 26, 2011 at 6:45
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if you wanted to end with just ん without the です you should probably just use the informal of んです which is の

明日学校にいくの?

明日学校に行かないと思う、、、風邪引いたの。

ん like tsuyoshi said, is a dialect version of の seen in various regions of Japan. While it doesn't seem to be used in Aichi, all of my co-workers know of it. So it could be said that you can use it and you will be understood, but it is definately not standard japanese.

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  • A good friend of mine from Aichi uses ん to end sentences all the time. It's possible that he's just imitating other dialects, but I can't say for sure.
    – rintaun
    Commented Jun 29, 2011 at 10:44
  • @Mark btw do you mean to say that の = んです and 明日学校にいくの = 明日学校にいくんです ?
    – Pacerier
    Commented Sep 21, 2011 at 16:52
  • yup... that's exactly what i think i was trying to say ;) Commented Sep 26, 2011 at 15:31
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I can't think of one time I have heard that...Not to say it hasn't happened. Using the whole んです smoothly was stressed at school, as it makes your Japanese sound really natural. So I think I would notice if I heard someone end on the ん...I would stick to the normal usage until you hear a native speaker use it the way your friend did.

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