End partical no?

[rpgherogaz]

I notice that in some informal dialogs, no is at the end of the sentence?

Does this still mean it is a possessive? or does it have some other meaning, maybe a exclamation or something?

E.G

shiken ni goukaku shita no!

Any help?

arigatou
Gareth

[Esel]

It's a shortening of "~ no desu ka", used as an informal way of making a sentence into a question.

[Javizy]

If it ends in an exclamation mark, then it's probably being used for emphasis. It can be used to convey a few different things, so to explain it clearly would take a bit of time. I'd really recommend 'A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar' by Seiichi Makino for clear explanations about all this sort of thing.

[rpgherogaz]

thanks you very much

I looked on the grammer vocab here, but it doesnt seem to cover it, either that or I simply could not find it, in which case i really do apologise!


Thanks again both of you for the very quick replies!

[wccrawford]

The book I'm reading for grammar (a manga guide to japanese, I think it was) says that 'no' in that position means the sentence is explaining something.

I may get this wrong, but here we go:

What color is that car? aoi desu. (not explaining, just stating.)
Why did you buy that car? aoi no desu. (explaining why.) Might also be 'aoi n desu' or 'aoi no'.

Please, somebody correct me if I've misunderstood.

[mieth]

crawff I think I have to say pintogazureteiru my friend. That usage of no is to nomalize an adjective to say something like a red one or a blue one or an expensive one. As in like what time or kind. So the example you gave is different that the usage of the original poster. By the way I recommend the beginners, intermediate, and advanced guide to japanese grammar. aka the yellow book the blue book and the red book. The fact that your grammar guide has mislead to make this explanation for the previous usage is evidence enough for me that your study material is weak. Dont get me wrong. I dont think its a lack of effort or any fault of your own but I suggest better study materials. Good luck man.

[wccrawford]

He asked what it meant at the end of a sentence, not what it normally means. He knows it's normally a possessive.

[rpgherogaz]

That is true, i am fully aware that no is a possessive partical, and that such things as aoi no desu means a blue one.

having "no" at the end of the setence however, seems to be slightly diffrent to me personally when reading translations.

Ano ne, shiken ni goukaku shita no!
Guess what, I passed the exam!

itsu kara Rondon ni iru no?
Since when have you been in London?

iru being an existance verb, can not be possesive or a specific can it?

Am i being silly or is there logic behind this? if so, that is the question I am trying to ask

Muzukashii da yo

[rpgherogaz]

The book I'm reading for grammar (a manga guide to japanese, I think it was) says that 'no' in that position means the sentence is explaining something.

I may get this wrong, but here we go:

What color is that car? aoi desu. (not explaining, just stating.)
Why did you buy that car? aoi no desu. (explaining why.) Might also be 'aoi n desu' or 'aoi no'.

Please, somebody correct me if I've misunderstood.

This does make sence to me. using the examples i have, it kind of makes it seem like a exclamation more than a explanation however, maybe it has some interogative feature?

[wccrawford]

'aoi no desu' was a very bad example, since it also means something else.

When I get home tonight, I'll try to quote an example from the book. It was a lot clearer than I am.

[Javizy]

The book I'm reading for grammar (a manga guide to japanese, I think it was) says that 'no' in that position means the sentence is explaining something.

I may get this wrong, but here we go:

What color is that car? aoi desu. (not explaining, just stating.)
Why did you buy that car? aoi no desu. (explaining why.) Might also be 'aoi n desu' or 'aoi no'.

Please, somebody correct me if I've misunderstood.

This does make sence to me. using the examples i have, it kind of makes it seem like a exclamation more than a explanation however, maybe it has some interogative feature?

It's a very soft explanatory/emphatic particle used by children or women. It works the same as 'n(o) da'. I'd explain it more, but I'd just reference the book I recommended, so you might as well buy it and read it straight from the source. You'll be punching in the dark with all sorts of grammar without this gem, and in a lot of cases it will be when you already think you know something inside out. I guarantee you'll learn something about even the most basic points by reading the explanations in this book.

[wccrawford]

While I find the book Javizy recommended terribly boring, it -is- a great reference book. I have it, but haven't used it much as I wanted to get through a less boring book first.

[wccrawford]

The examples:

A scholar is explain a cat's 'flehman' reaction in long terms, then boils it down to something simple:
kusai no desu. (Something is smelly, but the no makes it an explanation of why the cat has that reaction.)

The landlady is gathering liquid from plants. Kosuke asks why and receives this answer:
Kinjo ni kubaru n da yo. (I'm going to distribute it to the neighborhood.)

A doctor asks the patient to have his wife feed him less salt. The response:
Dokushin na n desu. (I'm single.)

There's a few more, but you get the picture.

[gerald_ford]

It's a very soft explanatory/emphatic particle used by children or women. It works the same as 'n(o) da'. I'd explain it more, but I'd just reference the book I recommended, so you might as well buy it and read it straight from the source. You'll be punching in the dark with all sorts of grammar without this gem, and in a lot of cases it will be when you already think you know something inside out. I guarantee you'll learn something about even the most basic points by reading the explanations in this book.

Thanks Javizy. That is how my wife has explained it to me in the past, which essentially makes it fact. She also mentioned that men are more likely to say "no ka" as in "taben no ka?" or "have you eaten?". But of course, this is casual or when speaking to subordinates, so be very careful when using it.

Also, you've convinced me to buy the book. I needed a reference like that so I stop asking my wife. Since she grew up with language, she is not always sure how to explain it, so this will save her some grief. Cheers!

[hajime]

Using の as a sentence ending particle is covered somewhere in Beginner Season 1 lessons 115-117 (lesson 117 I think). It's probably covered other places but that's the one I remember.