ず

See also: す

ず U+305A, ず
HIRAGANA LETTER ZU
Composition:す [U+3059] + ◌゙ [U+3099]
← す
[U+3059] 		Hiragana せ →
[U+305B]

Japanese

Stroke order

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [zɯᵝ]
  • IPA(key): [d͡zɯᵝ] (only in word-initial position, or in careful speech)

Etymology 1

The hiragana character す (su) with a dakuten (゛).

Syllable

ず (romaji zu)

  1. The hiragana syllable ず (zu). Its equivalent in katakana is ズ (zu).
See also

Etymology 2

From Old Japanese. Generally considered to be a combination of negation suffix ぬ (nu) in its 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of に (ni) + honorific suffix す (su).[1][2][3]

/nisu/ → */nzu/ → /zu/

Appears both as zu and as the older nisu form in the Man'yōshū poetry anthology.

Suffix

ず (rōmaji -zu)

  1. not
    何 (なに)も知 (し)らず
    nani mo shirazu
    not knowing anything
Usage notes

Much as the older negation suffix ぬ (nu) and the modern negation suffix ない (nai), ず (zu) must come after the 未然形 (mizenkei, “irrealis or incomplete form”) of a verb.

The suffix ず (zu) is more formal than the everyday negation suffix ない (nai).

Etymology 3

The reading for various kanji.

Noun

ず (rōmaji zu)

  1. 図: diagram, figure, illustration
  2. 徒: imprisonment for one to three years
  3. 頭: head

Verb

ず (nidan conjugation, rōmaji zu)

  1. 出: (obsolete) come out

References

  1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. ↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ↑ 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
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