4579
Since there is possibility of "じゃありません" instead of "じゃないです" (which is logical,
given "ありません" is polite "ない"), and it also seemed that I have seen "じゃ" used
without "ない", I'd like to ask, what "じゃ" exactly means? It looks like some
kind of particle which was used in old Japanese but is not used any more.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-06T17:09:16.253
4578
2012-09-27T05:18:28.767
2012-09-27T05:18:28.767
501
1127
question
particles contractions particle-で particle-は copula
What is じゃ in じゃない?
It's a contraction of `では` (particle `で`, which has various uses, and the
topic marker `は`). It is not particularly related to classical Japanese, and
is not used only with negation.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-06T17:21:51.680
4579
2012-02-06T17:21:51.680
4578
answer