なり

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spellings
也 (terminal form) 𬼂 (terminal form, cursive, obsolete) 𬻿 (terminal form, cursive, obsolete)

/ni ari/ → /nari/

Contraction of older に (ni, case particle) +‎ あり (ari, “to be, to exist”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [na̠ɾʲi]

Verb

なり • (nari) 

1. (Classical Japanese or literary) the classical copula “to be”, equivalent to modern Japanese である (de aru) or だ (da), or adjective particle な (na)

   偉(い)大(だい)なる我(わ)が祖(そ)国(こく)

   idai naru waga sokoku

   our glorious motherland

   • c. late 9th-mid-10th century, Taketori Monogatari:

     おのが身はこの国の人にもあらず、月の都の人なり。

     I am not one of this land, but [am] of the Moon Capital.

   • 1900, “鉄道唱歌・東海道編 (Tetsudō shōka Tōkaidō-hen)”:

     大(おお)阪(さか)出(い)でて右(みぎ)左(ひだり)　菜(な)種(たね)ならざる畑(はた)もなし

     Ōsaka idete migihidari natane narazaru hata mo nashi

     Exiting Osaka, fields to the left and right, none which are not rape

Usage notes

• Attaches to a nominal or the 連体形 (rentaikei, “attributive form”) of declinables.
• The 終止形 (shūshikei, “terminal form”) of the copula can be spelled in kanji as 也, 𬼂 or 𬻿.
  • 恋は渾沌の隷也 (Koi wa Kaosu no Shimobe nari, “Love is a Servant of Chaos”)
• The kanji form is usually used to denote a sum of money, e.g. 二千円也 (nisen en nari).

Conjugation

Classical conjugation of "なり" (ナリ活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形)	なら		nara
Continuative (連用形)	に[1] なり[2]		ni nari
Terminal (終止形)	なり		nari
Attributive (連体形)	なる		naru
Realis (已然形)	なれ		nare
Imperative (命令形)	なれ		nare
Key constructions
Negative	ならず		narazu
Contrasting conjunction	なれど		naredo
Causal conjunction	なれば		nareba
Conditional conjunction	ならば		naraba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge)	なりき		nariki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge)	なりけり		narikeri
Adverbial	に		ni
[1]Without auxiliary verb. [2]With auxiliary verb.

Derived terms

• な (na, na-adjective ending)
• なら (nara)
• のみならず (nomi narazu)
• 如(い)何(か)なる (ikanaru)
• 大(おお)いなる (ōinaru)
• 異(こと)なる (kotonaru)
• 更(さら)なる (saranaru)
• 単(たん)なる (tannaru)
• 可(か)也(なり) (kanari): considerably; quite

Etymology 2

From the 終止形 (shūshikei, “terminal form”) of the classical auxiliary verb なり.

Particle

なり • (nari) 

1. Used when giving an example, without the implication that it might be the best or the only option

   労(ろう)働(どう)局(きょく)になり相(そう)談(だん)したらどうですか？

   Rōdōkyoku ni nari sōdan shitara dō desu ka?

   What about consulting, for example, the Labor Bureau?

2. ... or ...

   楽(らく)天(てん)なりどこなりで買(か)い物(もの)をする[1]

   Rakuten nari doko nari de kaimono o suru

   to shop at Rakuten or somewhere

Derived terms

• 大(だい)なり小(しょう)なり (dai nari shō nari, “more or less, to some extent”)

Etymology 3

From Old Japanese なり (nari).

Thought to be a contraction of 音 (na, the bound apophonic form of 音 (ne), "sound") +‎ あり (ari, “to be”).

Suffix

なり • (-nari) ^†-ri

1. (Classical Japanese) A modal auxiliary verb indicating hearsay or conjecture based on what is heard: it sounds like; it is said that
   • c. 935, 土佐日記

     男(をとこ)もすなる日(にっ)記(き)といふものを、女(をんな)もしてみむとて、するなり。

     Otoko mo sunaru nikki to ifu mono o, onna mo shite mimu tote, suru nari.

     The so-called diaries that men are said to write - now, a woman will try her hand at writing one.

Usage notes

• This word is morphologically a clitic. It is classified as 助動詞 (jodōshi, “auxiliary verb”) in traditional Japanese grammar.
• Attaches to the 終止形 (shūshikei, “terminal form”) of most inflectable words, but to the 連体形 (rentaikei, “attributive form”) of ラ行変格活用 (“ra-irregular”) verbs. In the latter case, the final る is usually omitted in writing, e.g. あなり (anari) instead of あるなり (arunari); this is interpreted as unwritten 撥音便 (hatsuonbin), so that あなり (anari) is read as あんなり (annari).
• Conjectures based on something heard, as opposed to めり (meri) which conjectures based on something seen.

Conjugation

Classical conjugation of "なり" (ラ行変格活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形)			-
Continuative (連用形)	なり		nari
Terminal (終止形)	なり		nari
Attributive (連体形)	なる		naru
Realis (已然形)	なれ		nare
Imperative (命令形)			-

Etymology 4

For pronunciation and definitions of なり – see the following entries.

【形】2 [noun] [from 720] the shape or form of something [noun] [from late 900s] one's clothing and appearance [noun] [from mid 1600s] one's body shape or form [noun] [from 1477] one's circumstances or situation [noun] [from 1773] one's reputation [noun] [from 1763] (following the plain imperfective form (attributive form, 連体形 (rentaikei)) or plain perfective form of a verb) indicates the state of the affixed verb or phrase: compare English just as [noun] [from 1915] (following the plain imperfective form (attributive form, 連体形 (rentaikei)) of an adjective) indicates responding to the affixed adjective: compare English fitting [noun] [from 1928] (following the plain imperfective form (attributive form, 連体形 (rentaikei)) of a verb) indicates the moment of the action occurring: compare English as soon as [noun] (after a verb in the past tense ～た (～た)) ... while ... [suffix] following the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of a verb, indicates the state of the affixed verb or phrase: compare English just as [suffix] [from 1951] following a noun, indicates a state fitting or becoming to the affixed noun [suffix] [from late 1300s] following a noun, indicates that shape or form: compare English like Alternative spelling 態

【業】3 [noun] (archaic, possibly obsolete) a living, a job, what one does to earn a living

【鳴り】 [noun] ringing

(This term, なり, is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as なり, see Category:Japanese kanji read as なり.)

Etymology 5

Reading of various words.

Noun

なり • (nari) 

1. 生り: bearing (of fruits)
2. 成り, 為り: (shogi) promotion

References

• Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN