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My dictionary says 助動詞{じょどうし} means "auxiliary verb". This sounds intuitively
correct; 動詞 means verb, so 助動詞 sounds like a type of verb.

But the
[助動詞「ない」](http://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84?dic=daijisen&oid=13597900)
looks like an auxiliary _adjective_ , not an auxiliary verb.

This is confusing. I suppose I don't know exactly what a 助動詞 is. Does it mean
that ない is a type of verb? That seems strange, because it doesn't look much
like a verb. Or is 助動詞 a wider category than just "auxiliary verbs"? That
seems strange, too, because they're called 動詞.

What exactly is ない?
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2012-12-22T17:24:55.310
9826
2014-10-20T02:42:14.210
2014-10-20T02:42:14.210
question
conjugations negation terminology auxiliaries
Is ない an "auxiliary verb"?
In Japanese, a 助動詞 is a conjugatable particle, as opposed to 助詞 which do not
conjugate. Like noun, verb etc, 助動詞 is now considered a part of of speech. The
terminology is rather unfortunate, but originally (early Meiji) it was sub-
classified under the category of verb (動詞). This is due to the influence of
English in which 助動詞 represents "auxiliary verbs" which express tense (will,
shall, have, be), mood (will, shall, may, must, can, be), passive (be) etc.

Regarding nai, as the dictionary states, it attaches to the irrealis (未然形)
form. It conjugates, thus having multiple forms: nakaro (< nakara), naku, nai,
nakere. More precisely, the only form is nak-. To this, the verb ar- attaches
resulting in the other forms:

  * naku + ara > nakara: To this, attaches -u and /au/ coalesce into o:.
  * naku: The adverbial / conjunctive form (連用形) as seen in all adjectives.
  * nai < naki. The attributive form as seen in all adjectives.
  * nakere: naku + are > nakere.
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2012-12-22T17:59:39.860
9827
2012-12-22T17:59:39.860
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answer