na no desu?

nemesae · 13 Dec 2005

I've come across this construction, なのです (or often abbreviated to なんです) very often at the end of sentences lately while trying to translate interviews and although I can guess for the meaning, I don't fully understand the use of it. Could someone explain this to me? Especially the combination of な and の like this.

サビのためにあるＡメロなんですよ

(I still don't know the meaning of sabi and mero in this construction either but it's about music and composition they are talking here, to give you a bit of context)

easier example:

どんな感じなんですか？

MeAndroo · 14 Dec 2005

Nanodesu/nanda is often used as a indicator of an explanation. If you ask "donna kanji nan desu ka," you're asking the person to expound upon the feelings and explain them. Adding the yo, like in your first example, further emphasizes the fact that it's an explanation.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the mero in your sentence was for melody.

Mikawa Ossan · 14 Dec 2005

MeAndroo is right.

なんだ and なんです are the same as のだ, んだ, のです, and んです if you know what those are. The usage is slightly different although the meaning is the same.

My guess is that サビ refers to 寂, as in 侘びと寂. So basically in my theory, the guy is saying that "A-melody" is to put 寂 into the song.

I'm not good at describing Japanese concepts in English (sorry), but I'm sure that there are more than a few online dictionaries that will contain this word.

epigene · 14 Dec 2005

I think MeAndroo explained the "nano desu" part already.

"Mero" is short for melody as Mikawa-san suggested.

"Sabi" is a music term in Japanese that is translated in English as "bridge" in song structure. (This is what an online dictionary on music said.) For the layman, "sabi" is the "catchiest" part of the song or the part that has momentum--the part that people recognize the song for.

In Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On (Theme from Titanic)," for instance, the "sabi" will be the part that begins with "Near, far, wherever you are..."

I hope you understand this explanation...

Glenn · 15 Dec 2005

Shouldn't that be the chorus, then? The bridge is the section around the middle (I guess usually 2/3 through) that breaks the verse-chorus pattern. The "near, far..." part is the chorus of that song, from what I remember.

epigene · 15 Dec 2005

Glenn,

My apologies for not explaining thoroughly. :sorry:

I meant that "sabi" is the term for "bridge" as you said. However, I have noticed people (i.e., non-professional amateur karaoke fans) refer to the "catchiest" part of the song as "sabi" (which can be the chorus part).
音楽辞書なら意美音−imion−

Because I'm neither a karaoke fan nor a music expert, I can't say for sure... It may be that only the people I know understand the term incorrectly...
We need a Japanese with knowledge of karaoke or music to post an opinion...

nemesae · 15 Dec 2005

thank you for your answers! And I sort of figured that mero stands for melody, but thanks for discussing on the sabi part. I don't think I would have figured out it would rougly mean bridge or catchiest part of the song all that easily.

About na no desu: I'm familiar with the no desu forms (and nda and all similar meanings in polite and plain form) but why would the na be added here? Does it have a special meaning or is it only a replacement for da? (I should study on that a bit more, but I know that in some cases na does become a replacement for da, just not if that's the case here).

and sorry for no kana, typed this on a computer with no ime >->

Glenn · 15 Dec 2005

nemesae said:
...is it only a replacement for da?

Yes, that's exactly what it is.

nice gaijin · 15 Dec 2005

when using the no desu/na no desu form, na is added in cases where the last word of the sentence is a noun or na-adjective. Other than that it's the same structure as the no desu forms.

example of nan desu with na-adjective
コーヒーが嫌いなんです。

similarly, when used within a larger sentence
コーヒーが嫌いなので、飲みません。
(な serves the same function as だ when using から with nouns and na-adjectives, such as 嫌いだから、飲まない。)

example with a noun
お父さんは医者なんです。

and with an い-adjective
ケーキがおいしいんです。
ケーキがおいしいので、食べたい。

nekocat · 5 Jul 2007

1.奥様は魔女だったのです。
2.奥様は魔女なのです。
3.東京の大気汚染はひどいのです。
Let me explain the difference if you use の.
な in なの is a variant of copula （です、だ）.
の is a nominalizer. (what makes other unit a noun phrase/clause)
In 1, だった is already a copula, so there's no need for nominalizing.
In 2, 魔女 is a noun, and needs a copula.
In 3, ひどい is an adjective, and needs a copula.

EDIT: of course you can say the following, the versions without の.

1.奥様は魔女でした。
2.奥様は魔女です。
3.東京の大気汚染はひどいです。

The7thSamurai · 5 Jul 2007

nekocat said:
1.奥様は魔女だったのです。
2.奥様は魔女なのです。
3.東京の大気汚染はひどいのです。
Let me explain the difference if you use の.
な in なの is a variant of copula （です、だ）.
の is a nominalizer. (what makes other unit a noun phrase/clause)
In 1, だった is already a copula, so there's no need for nominalizing.
In 2, 魔女 is a noun, and needs a copula.
In 3, ひどい is an adjective, and needs a copula.

EDIT: of course you can say the following, the versions without の.

1.奥様は魔女でした。
2.奥様は魔女です。
3.東京の大気汚染はひどいです。

い adjectives do not need a copula because they are pseudo verbs. 「それは悪い。」 is a complete and perfect sentence. The sentence 東京の大気汚染はひどいのです means "it's that Tokyo's air pollution is awful", or "it's because Tokyo's air pollution is awful". In that sentence です = の, and の = 東京の大気汚染はひどい.

The な in 奥様は魔女なのです acts like the な in adjectives. This sentence means "it's that his wife is a witch", or "it's because his wife is a witch". Again, です = の, and の = 奥様は魔女. The な is used because the word before it is a noun.

nekocat · 5 Jul 2007

@Bucko You're excellent in grammar, but I'd say the following:

の is a nominalizer.

The7thSamurai · 5 Jul 2007

nekocat said:
You're excellent in grammar, but I'd say the following:

の is a nominalizer.

Yeah you're right. That's basically was I was saying

By the way, the quoted text in your last post here is coming up with jibberish on my computer. Is it jibberish on yours too or is there something wrong with my display settings?

J44xm · 5 Jul 2007

I, too, see gibberish!

nekocat · 6 Jul 2007

Mine too, could anyone tell me the reason!?
No matter which encoding I tried, it's all gibberish.

Could anyone also tell me which configuration should I see to be able to read this website without changing the encoding to ISO to Shift-JIS?

na no desu?

nemesae

先輩

MeAndroo

先輩

Mikawa Ossan

いかんわ！

epigene

相変わらず不束者です

Glenn

一切皆苦

epigene

相変わらず不束者です

nemesae

先輩

Glenn

一切皆苦

nice gaijin

Resident Realist

nekocat

先輩

The7thSamurai

Master of the Universe

nekocat

先輩

The7thSamurai

Master of the Universe

J44xm

経験値が足りない

nekocat

先輩

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