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I was watching a dorama and there was an introduction sentence with な between two nouns, as if the first noun was actually a na-adjective.

「大学3年。彼氏なんてもちろんいない。思い切って私らしくない変身をしたハロウイン…。ハロウインの夜、残り物私。」

That last sentence was actually written in the screen, so it's not even about being able to distinguish の of な. Is that a typo or a different use of な?

2 Answers 2

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残り物の私 is the standard way to say this. 残り物な私 is not a typo, but a nonstandard yet somewhat humorous way of saying the same thing. I don't think there is a name for this rhetorical technique where an ordinary noun is temporarily employed as a na-adjective, but it's a tactic you'll occasionally see in creative writing. Essentially, this is done to make a phrase sound informal, interesting and/or humorous by using words in a slightly unconventional way.

Similar examples used in titles:

  • ボードゲームな夜
    (ボードゲームの夜 is more "standard", but it's uninteresting)
  • クレオパトラな女たち
    ("Cleopatraic Women"(?) クレオパトラの女たち would mean something totally different)
  • シュガーな俺
    (This title is intentionally made to be puzzling, but those who read it would notice some unique meaning is hidden)

Sometimes, employing a noun (or no-adjective) as a na-adjective can also evoke some derived meaning. For example, see ピンクの vs ピンクな and 無垢の vs 無垢な.

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Fairly obviously this is the な form of the copula, the writer treating 残り物 as a 形容動詞. What nuance that brings to the utterance only the native speakers will be able to tell you.

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  • P.S. Standard Japanese would be, perhaps needless to say, 残り物の私.
    – N. Hunt
    Commented Oct 11, 2023 at 1:37

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