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I am quite confused as to how "見る" has suddenly changed into another word, albeit similar meaning when you do this: "見な."

My question is, how has the "na" appeared and the "ru" disappear?

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  • Compare "confuse" with "confusion". They are different words but have a similar meaning. The final "e" changed into "ion". How did "ion" appear and "e" disappear?
    – Earthliŋ ♦
    Commented Jan 18, 2014 at 15:46
  • Ah, I see the point you are trying to prove, @Earthling, however, I'm actually looking for a detailed explanation. Although analogy is a great way of explaining what happens, it does not explain how.
    – Myrl
    Commented Jan 18, 2014 at 15:49
  • Then you have to explain what you mean when you ask "how"?
    – Earthliŋ ♦
    Commented Jan 18, 2014 at 15:56
  • @Earthling, I'm wondering whether the way of adding "na" is out of the verb bases or is it out of some verb + noun or verb + verb.
    – Myrl
    Commented Jan 18, 2014 at 15:59
  • You mean like 'what is this な here from'?
    – Sjiveru
    Commented Jan 18, 2014 at 16:02

2 Answers 2

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見な is a shortened form of 見なさい, which, as you probably know, is form from the ます-stem + なさい.

These shortened forms (見な, 食べな, 帰りな, ...) are only used in spoken language.

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This な, expressing an order, can be thought of as coming from a shortened version of なさい:

見なさい！　→　見な！

It attaches to the 連用形 of a verb, which is the same form 〜ます attaches to:

見 + ます 　＝ 見ます
見 + な　　 ＝ 見な

動き + ます ＝ 動きます
動き + な　 ＝ 動きな

It is easily confused with another な, which expresses an order not to do something; this other な attaches to the 終止形, which is the plain form of a verb you find in a dictionary:

動く　　　　to move
動くな！　　Don't move!

Look at the difference between the two な forms:

見な！　　　Look!
見るな！　　Don't look!

動きな！　　Move!
動くな！　　Don't move!

If you don't understand why these verbs conjugate differently, you'll need to read in your textbook about the basic two types of verbs. (These are called by various names, including "Type 1 and 2", "vowel and consonant stem" and 一段動詞・五段動詞.)

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  • I see, thank you for the answer, however Earthling gave the answer earlier than you have. I am grateful though, considering that you took the time to answer to my question.
    – Myrl
    Commented Jan 18, 2014 at 16:13
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    Although I should note that 終止形＋な has another possible meaning.
    – user1478
    Commented Jan 19, 2014 at 8:40

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