- NDL
More Gender Differences
NikoBack in Lesson #149, we looked at some differences between male and female language.
That lesson was mostly about how to talk like a guy.
Important, sure.
But not as important as (NOT) talking like a girl.
In that previous lesson, I told you the following rule, which might seem kind of confusing:
In feminine language, it is common to end a statement (i.e. NOT a question) with の or なの.
But sometimes when we're talking, we don't have time to be thinking about what's a statement, what's a question, what particles we're using, blah, blah.
So here's an easy rule that I've come up with...
If you're a guy, NEVER end a sentence with のよ or のね.
The particle ね, when added to the end of a sentence, means something like "huh?" or "right?" and is used to elicit agreement.
And when we put よ onto the end of a sentence, it adds emphasis to a statement.
So, you're not likely to see these particles on the end of questions (maybe ね sometimes, but I wouldn't worry about that).
It is feminine to use の at the end of statements (i.e. not questions).
→ Sentences ending with ね and よ are usually statements (i.e. not questions).
→ → It is feminine to put のね and のよ onto the end of sentences.
So what do you say if you're a guy?!
Feminine → Masculine
～のね → ～んだね
～のよ → ～んだよ
***Side Note***
If you're not sure when to use the "の／ん of explanation," as I call it, please check out this article, which talks about it a little bit. It takes a long time to really get a feel for this aspect of Japanese, so don't fret if it all seems confusing for a while.
Examples for ～のね → ～んだね
Feminine:
寒がりなのね。
さむがり なのね。
You don't like the cold, do you?
寒がり is a word that you'd use for a person that is sensitive to cold temperatures. It's hard to translate into natural English. Also, note that we need to add な before のね. This is because 寒がり is a noun. We also need the な after na-adjectives if they are followed by の or ん. We don't need the な after verbs or i-adjectives. You'll see more of these below.
Masculine:
寒がりなんだね。
さむがり なんだね。
You don't like the cold, do you?
Feminine:
もう帰っちゃうのね。
もう かえっちゃう のね。
So you're going home, then?
This could be said after the listener mentioned that they're going home or when they appear to be getting ready to go home. It can be confusing to use ね after の or ん, because the の／ん has the nuance that the speaker is just learning this new information, but the ね has the nuance of "right?" or "huh?"
I tried to get that across in the English, but it's difficult to come up with a perfect translation. You're best off just getting a feel for this stuff over time.
Masculine:
もう帰っちゃうんだね。
もう かえっちゃう んだね。
So you're going home, then?
Feminine:
みんな車で来たのね。
みんな くるま で きた のね。
So everyone came by car, then?
Masculine:
みんな車で来たんだね。
みんな くるま で きた んだね。
So everyone came by car, then?
Examples for ～のよ → ～んだよ
Feminine:
このレストランすごい人気なのよ。
この レストラン すごい にんき なのよ。
This restaurant is really popular.
Masculine:
このレストランすごい人気なんだよ。
この レストラン すごい にんき なんだよ。
This restaurant is really popular.
Feminine:
台湾で大きい地震があったのよ。
たいわん で おおきい じしん が あった のよ。
There was a big earthquake in Taiwan.
Masculine:
台湾で大きい地震があったんだよ。
たいわん で おおきい じしん が あった んだよ。
There was a big earthquake in Taiwan.
Feminine:
靴が見当たらないのよ。
くつ が みあたらない のよ。
I can't find my shoes.
The nuance is that the listener saw the speaker frantically searching for something, and now the speaker is explaining that she can't find her shoes!
Masculine:
靴が見当たらないんだよ。
くつ が みあたらない んだよ。
I can't find my shoes.
Anyways, I hope that helps a bit.
By the way, I learned all of this just by high volumes of exposure to the language. Nobody ever explained it for me T_T.
This is good news for you, because it means that, even if it seems confusing now, you'll probably pick it up much faster than I did.
Niko
