じゃない・
This じゃない isn't "not": you think something is so, and want the other person to see it. Straight after a verb or an い-adjective it is never the negative. After a noun or a な-adjective, the voice tells the two apart.
asking them to agree
Wouldn't it be more convenient to have tomorrow's meeting online?
How to form it
Plain form + じゃない／じゃないか
言ったじゃない, いいじゃない. A noun or a な-adjective drops だ: 雨じゃない, 便利じゃない. Polite: じゃないですか. With friends, often じゃん. In writing, ではないか.
Suggesting
Plain form + んじゃない？
A noun or a な-adjective takes な: 休みなんじゃない？
Telling it from the negative
After a verb or an い-adjective: never the negative
The negative じゃない belongs to nouns and な-adjectives. Verbs and い-adjectives have negatives of their own.
See? You did it all by yourself!
"Couldn't do it" would be できなかった.
After a noun or a な-adjective: the voice decides
That isn't rain.
The negative. The voice drops inside ない, from な to い.
That's rain, isn't it?
Not the negative. ない has no drop in it, and the voice rises at the end.
In writing, ？ or ！ is usually the sign. With よ, じゃないよ is the negative.
the negative
He doesn't work here. He's a customer.
What people do with it
They know it, and act as if they didn't
Reminding: "I told you", "remember?". Said sharply, it scolds.
This is why I told you to get in touch first!
Something turns out better than you thought, or different
Noticing: "oh, it is!". A common way to praise.
Oh, it works fine after all!
After a noun or a な-adjective, with the voice rising
Asking them to agree: "isn't it?"
This place is famous, isn't it?
Oh, come on. One day off won't hurt.
Pressing a point you think is plain.
じゃない or んじゃない？
I think that's fine.
With ん, an opinion lightly given: "I think…, don't you?". It can sound lukewarm.
After a verb or an い-adjective, the question that asks for agreement is んじゃない？.
Couldn't we just use another entrance?
じゃん, じゃないですか, じゃないか
| Form | Who says it, and where |
|---|---|
| じゃん | Casual, and very common among friends. Never the negative. |
| じゃないですか | Polite. Also "you know how…", bringing up something the other person knows. |
| じゃないか | Firmer. In conversation, mostly from men; manga and dramas are full of it. |
| ではないか | Essays and speeches. In formal speech, ではありませんか. |
See, I told you.
You know the new bakery by the station? It's good.
Why, this way we can cut the working time a lot.
Judging from these figures too, demand may well keep growing.
Close neighbours
The plain "is not", after a noun or a な-adjective.
This is not the exit.
でしょう・だろうN5
Also "right?", from someone sure of the answer, and it scolds the same way.
I told you so, didn't I?
The careful, written way to give an opinion as a question.
Children today are perhaps too busy.
After a "let's" form, a rallying call: "let us…".
For the sake of the next generation, let us act now.
Check yourself
1What does this mean?
昨日、
Choose an answer to see why.
2A friend looks out of the window and says this. There is no drop in ない, and her voice rises at the end. What does she mean?
あれ、
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
い-adjectives: くない？
An い-adjective asks for agreement with its own negative, the voice rising at the end.
Isn't this soup a bit spicy?
When んじゃない is a negative
With the drop inside ない and a falling voice, んじゃない is "it isn't that…". After a dictionary form, said sharply, it is an order: "don't". Parents, teachers and coaches tell people off with it. The polite んじゃありません is a telling-off too.
It wasn't me who ate it.
Don't run in the hallway!
More sentences
Oh, that's the café that used to be by the station!
Hey, this cake is better than I expected.
See? You managed to tidy up properly!
The homework was due yesterday, remember?
After だった it can't be the negative: that is じゃなかった.
I think this plan is easier to follow, don't you?
If we leave now, shouldn't we have plenty of time?
Come on, there's no need to overthink it.
Wouldn't this schedule make it hard for a lot of people to take part?