Meaning

Primary

No

Alternative

Not

Word Type

interjection

Explanation

The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well.

Note that ( いな ) is very formal and somewhat archaic. Today, it's most commonly used in the expression 〜か否か (whether… or not).

Reading

いな
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)
いや
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word is made up of a single kanji, it probably uses the kun'yomi reading. You did not learn this reading, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

Instead of saying "no" you say "na," and instead of saying "na" you say いな.

Note that can also be read いや, which is a common way to say “no” in modern Japanese, but that reading is almost always written in kana.

Context

Context Sentences

そのビデオを見るか否か、まだ決めきれていない。

I haven’t decided if I’ll watch the video or not yet.

Kanji Composition