There are many sentence-ending particles in Japanese and they are also very common in spoken language. These particles serve various functions in expressing the speaker's attitude, mood or intention. Sentence-ending particles may also appear at the beginning of a sentence or even mid-way through. Some may be used more by males than females and vice versa.
In this lesson, we will look at the sentence-ending particle ね which is commonly used to seek agreement or confirmation. This particle may also be presented as ねぇ, ねー or ね〜 in written language.
ね for Agreement with Others
The main key feature of ね is that it presents information as shared between the speaker and the listener. It is used in a way that assumes the listener is on the same page or has some prior knowledge of what is being said which may invite the listener to agree or acknowledge what is being said; this is very similar to saying something like "right?" or "isn’t it?" and so on.
As for nouns and na-adjectives, you will find that ね is usually placed after です or だ but i-adjectives don't need these since all conjugations take place with the i-adjectives themselves, the same with verbs too.
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| 強いね tsuyoi [ne] |
It's strong, don't you think? (She's strong, right?) |
| 静かですね shizuka desu [ne] |
It's quiet, right? (He's quiet, isn't he?) |
| 来ますね kimasu [ne] |
It will come, right? (You will come, won't you?) |
When someone else replies to your statement, they may also use ね as a way of confirming or agreeing with the shared feelings or opinions that you expressed with the assumption that both of you have the same information in common. They may even just reply with ね on it's own, usually lengthened in sound such as ねぇ, ねー or ね〜 and so on.
| Actor | Dialogue |
|---|---|
| Shino |
あの映画は面白かったね ano eiga wa omoshirokatta ne That movie was interesting, right? |
| Yuta |
うん、面白かったね un, omoshirokatta ne Yeah, it was interesting |
| Miki |
ねー ne~ Yeah (it was) |
If you are replying to someone in disagreement or have conflicting opinions or feelings, you cannot use ね to express this. There are other sentence-ending particles for this such as よ but we will cover that in another lesson.
ね for Confirmation
Without the use of ね at the end, a sentence will come across as a straightforward statement without seeking any confirmation. In the following example, the speaker is simply stating the fact that you are called "Kirby" and んだ adds a reason or explanatory tone to it.
キミは・・・カービィって言うんだ。
kimi wa... ka-byi tte iu nda.
As for you... (it's a fact that you are) called "Kirby".
This may seem like a very odd thing to say to someone as that person most likely already knows their own name. You are declaring and explaining the fact of their own name to them. By adding ね at the end, the speaker can express they are seeking confirmation or agreement and this in turn invites the listener to confirm or agree with the statement.
キミは・・・カービィって言うんだね。
kimi wa... ka-byi tte iu nda ne.
As for you... (you are) called "Kirby", right?
— from the video game: 星のカービィディスカバリー (Kirby Discovery of the Stars)
As you can see, ね indicates that both the listener and speaker already know about this information but the speaker is just seeking agreement or confirmation. In the example above, you could also interpret it as "Your name... it's Kirby, isn't it?".
In these cases, you do not need to respond with ね; the reason is that the speaker likely already knows the answer but they are just unsure or double-checking. They may not even be looking for confirmation. However, it still expresses that information is shared and everyone is in agreement.
For the sake of context, here is the rest of the example from above:
キミは・・・
kimi wa... ka-byi tte iu nda ne. boku wa efirin da yo! yoroshiku ne~!
Your name... it's "Kirby", right? I'm Efilin! Treat me well, okay!
If you are wondering why the か Particle is not being used here instead, that is because か is not really a question mark but a particle marking the unknown. It assumes that the speaker is lacking information about something (e.i: "Your name... Is it Kirby?"). If you are already aware of the listener's name but just want to confirm it, using か here would not give that impression.
ね to Soften Requests
Sometimes, a request may sound rather direct but adding ね creates a softer tone as a way of seeking the listener's cooperation while being friendly and non-imposing. It also assumes that the listener may already know or is in agreement.
One way of making requests is using the command form that we saw in a previous lesson.
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| 気を付けてくださいね ki o [tsukete kudasai ne] |
Please take care (Please, [be careful okay]) |
| ちょっと待ってね chotto [matte ne] |
Hold on just a second ([Wait] a little bit [okay]) |
| この記事を読んでね kono kiji o [yonde ne] |
Read this article ([read] this article [okay]) |
Giving commands can come across as generally rude, no matter what language you speak but here, the added ね makes this command less direct and gives a softer, more friendly and casual tone. After all, we are not directly making a request but just checking if or assuming the other person is on the same page.
By using ね with requests, we may also make suggestions sound softer too. Without ね, it would sound like a simple straightforward suggestion or request. Adding ね shows that you are assuming or seeking that everyone else is in agreement.
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| ちょっと休憩しようね chotto kyuukeishoyou [ne] |
Let's take a little break (A little rest, [okay]) |
| また今度よろしくね matakondo yoroshiku [ne] |
Maybe next time then, take care (Some other time, please take care, [okay]) |
As you can see, adding ね gives these suggestions a softer tone which also makes them sound more like friendly advice or invitations rather than commands. It's a way to encourage someone to consider the idea and express agreement.
ね for Emotions or Feelings
When it's not used for seeking agreement, confirmation or requests, ね can be used to express emotions or feelings of admiration. This may sometimes come across as very formal so do not expect to see or hear it used a lot if not at all.
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| きれいな花ね kirei na hana [ne] |
What a pretty flower |
| この景色本当に美しいね kono keshiki hontouni utsukushii [ne] |
This scenery is truly beautiful |
| 素晴らしい本だったね subarashii hon datta [ne] |
It was such a wonderful book |
The use of ね assumes that the listener is also on the page; if someone were to show you a flower and you responded by saying "What a pretty flower", you are assuming the other person thinks it's pretty too.
This can also be used in negative sentences too but be careful as it can come across as a strong denial of something. For that reason, it isn't very common except maybe in Anime and Manga and so on.
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| きれいな花じゃないね kirei na hana janai [ne] |
It's not a pretty flower |
| この景色本当に美しくないね kono keshiki hontouni utsukushikunai [ne] |
This scenery is really not beautiful |
| 素晴らしい本じゃなかったね subarashii hon janakatta [ne] |
It wasn't a great book |
ね for Mild Assertions of Opinions
Following on the idea of ね creating a softer tone and seeking cooperation or acceptance, ね can be used to soften the directness of opinions. If you simply want to express your opinion, there is no need to add ね at the end. Unfortunately, stating opinions can come across as quite rude or offensive in any language or culture, after all.
Adding ね is one way of sharing your personal viewpoints or beliefs in a calm and casual manner without being forceful or aggressively making others accept your opinion; for example, saying "I believe learning Japanese from textbooks isn't helpful" instead of "Learning Japanese from textbooks teaches you nothing about real life Japanese and everyone should think the same".
教科書で
kyoukasho de nihongo o manabu koto wa yakunitatanai to omou ne
I think learning Japanese from textbooks is useless (don't you think?)
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| そうですかね sou desu ka [ne] |
Is that so? (I wonder / Do you think so?) |
| そんなに悪くないと思うんですけどね sonna ni warukunai to omou ndesu kedo [ne] |
I don't think it's that bad (I think, it's not that bad) |
ポケモンって
pokemon tte dakko suruto attakai nda yo ne
Pokemon, they feel so warm when you cuddle them.
— ポケットモンスター Let's Go! (Pokemon Let's Go!)
ね for Attention or as a Filler
So far, you've seen ね being used at the end of a sentence but sometimes, you'll see it at the beginning or even mid-way. When used at the beginning of a sentence, it acts kind of like a way of getting someone's attention similar to "hey" in a more softer and politer context than "oi" [British].
Of course, there are more ways of getting someones attention than just saying "hey", such as "say", "look", "see", "listen" and so on. As already seen, ね is being used in friendly and non-imposing manner.
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| ねぇ、しのちゃん [ne~] shino-chan |
(Hey) Shino (Say, Shino-chan) |
| ねえ、これって妖怪のしわざだよね・・・？ [ne~] kore tte youkai no shiwaza da yo ne...? |
(Say) this is the work of a Yokai, don't you think...? |
| ねえ、この店の売れ筋はまひなおしなんだって！ [ne~] kono mise no uresuji wa mahi naoshi nan'datte! |
(Listen) I've heard the best seller of this shop is the paralysis heal! |
In the examples above, there are no exact translations in English, it's simply just there to get the listener's attention. You may interpret them however you wish. What we've marked are just some possibilities.
ね may also appear anywhere in a sentence but have no meaning whatsoever; if anything, it's just a filler word. It's common to find them after other particles but they do not contribute any significant meaning to the conversation. Usually, they may be used to avoid silence in speech or more importantly, to keep the attention of the listener: "like", "you know", "well", "so" etc.
※ Example sentence (2) were taken from the game 妖怪ウォッチ (Youkai Watch).
※ Example sentence (3) was taken from ポケットモンスター Let's Go! (Pokemon Let's Go!)
Additional Notes
Try to not strictly translate sentence-ending particles between Japanese and English, since there are no equivalent words or meanings in English. Everything we express or interpret in these lessons are just there to give you a general concept or idea of how these work, then for you to understand and use them on your own through casual and common language.
While it may be used for confirmation, being casual or showing friendliness, be mindful that when using ね, as we have already seen, we are assuming the listener is on the same page and share the same information.
For that reason, using ね when the listener isn't aware of something can come across as sarcastic. After all, you are assuming that they already know information you and maybe others are aware of. It's like saying: ("What's his name?"), "He's Shino, everyone knows that".
In British, "oi" is a very casual way of getting someone's attention while "hey" isn't as common and may be considered more formal. Depending on context, "hey" can be very rude or offensive. I understand that Americans don't use "oi" or may see it as more sharper but I am not an American. I do know "hey" is more common in the USA.
Some words may have different meanings or expressions so check out online dictionaries such as japandict.com or jisho.org to find out more.
These example sentences may be presented in an unnatural or artificial way. Continue to broaden your research and listen to how real Japanese native people speak. It's important to make sure you have many other resources to use. Do not rely on this website alone.
Related Lessons and References
Here is a list of other pages as a reference of what else you may be interested in reading: