Today, we’re going to learn how to use んじゃない(~n janai) and じゃないの(janai no). This article goes over the topic covered in this video. I recommend you watch the video first and read this whenever you want to review.
Using んじゃない when You’re Guessing
Before, we learned how to use の(no) to explain things and じゃない(janai) or じゃん(jan) to say things that we expect the listener to agree with.
かわいいじゃない？/かわいいじゃん？
Kawaii janai?/Kawaii jan?
It’s cute, right/remember? (I know you feel the same way.)
〜あるじゃない？/〜あるじゃん？
〜aru janai?/ 〜aru jan?
There’s 〜, right?/remember? (I know you do.)
Next, we’ll learn about んじゃない(~n janai), which you use when you’re not sure about something, and you’re guessing. Unlike じゃない, which sounds feminine, んじゃない isn’t feminine, so you don’t have to worry about using it if you’re male.
〜んじゃない?
〜n janai?
〜んじゃないですか?
〜n janai desu ka? (formal)
I’m guessing it’s〜/ It’s probably〜 (I’m not sure, though…)
For example, say you and a friend are looking for a place to eat, and your friend spots an expensive looking restaurant. Then you can say to her:
高いんじゃない？
Takain janai?
I’m guessing it’s expensive/It’s probably expensive.
You could also say:
高いと思う。
Takai to omou.
I think it’s expensive.
高いかも。
Takai ka mo.
Maybe it’s expensive.
多分高い。
Tabun takai.
Probably it’s expensive.
So how is んじゃない different from the ones above? んじゃない sounds the least sure, and you use it only when you’re guessing.
As another example, suppose your friend tries to call her boyfriend, but he won’t pick up. Trying to comfort her, you say:
忙しいんじゃない？
Isogashiin janai?
I’m guessing he’s busy?/He’s probably busy.
If you use 思うto say:
忙しいと思う。
Isogashii to omou.
I think he’s busy.
This sounds like a statement, or like you know your friend’s boyfriend, which seems strange since you’re talking about your friend’s boyfriend, not your own.
Again, you could use かも and 多分 like this:
忙しいかも。
Isogashii kamo.
Maybe he’s busy.
多分忙しい。
Tabun isogashii.
He’s probably busy.
However, these two sentences still sound like you’re more sure than when you use んじゃない. When you’re just guessing, you should use んじゃない.
As another example, suppose your friend’s baby is crying, and you don’t know why. In this case, you can say:
お腹（が）空いてるんじゃない？
O-naka (ga) suiterun janai?
Maybe your baby is hungry?
お腹が空いた(o-naka ga suita) = hungry (stomach is empty)
Or maybe your dog is panting hard for some reason, and you say:
暑いんじゃない？
Atsuin janai?
Maybe the dog is hot?
Be careful not to confuse じゃない and んじゃない.
暑いじゃない？
Atsui janai?
It’s hot, right? (You must feel the same way.)
暑いんじゃない？
Atsuin janai?
I’m guessing it’s hot?
今オーストラリアは暑いじゃん？
Ima oosutoraria wa atsui jan?
オーストラリアは今暑いじゃない？
Oosutoraria wa ima atsui janai?
As you know, at the moment it’s hot in Australia, right?
オーストラリアは今暑いんじゃない？
Oosutoraria wa ima atsuin janai?
I’m guessing it’s hot in Australia right now.
You can also use the past tense or negation form with んじゃない.
行くんじゃない？
Ikun janai?
I’m guessing he’s going?
行ったんじゃない？
Ittan janai?
I’m guessing he went?
行かないんじゃない？
Ikanain janai?
I’m guessing he’s not going?
おいしくないんじゃない？
Oishikunain janai?
I’m guessing it’s not delicious?
By the way, you can also use the negation form with じゃない/じゃん.
かわいくないじゃん。
Kawaikunai jan.
You know it’s not cute.
おいしくないじゃん。
Oishikunai jan.
You know it’s not delicious.
静かじゃないじゃん。
Shizuka janai jan.
静かじゃないじゃない。
Shizuka janai janai.
You know it’s not quiet.
That’s a lot of じゃ’s and ない’s!
Using 〜んじゃないの when You Thought Wrong
You can also add の(no) when you think something was true, but you just discovered it isn’t.
〜んじゃないの？
〜n janai no?
I thought it was〜?
行くんじゃない？
Ikun janai?
I guess he’s going?
行くんじゃないの？
Ikun janai no?
I thought he was going?
え、手伝ってくれるんじゃないの？
E, tetsudatte kurerun janai no?
I thought you were going to help me?
え、手伝ってくれるんじゃなかったの？
E, tetsudatte kurerun janakatta no?
I thought you had planned to help me?
体調悪いんじゃないの？
Taichou waruin janai no?
I thought you were unwell?
日本人なんじゃないの？
Nihonjin nan janai no?
I thought you were Japanese?
* Here, we use なん because 日本人(nihonjin, Japanese person) is a noun. You also need to put なん after adjectives that require a な.
静かなんじゃないの？
Shizuka nan janai no?
I thought it would be quiet?
noun + なん + じゃないの？
noun + nan + janai no?
na-adjective + なん + じゃないの？
na-adjective + nan + janai no?
寝てないの？
Netenai no?
You’re not sleeping?(Why?)/ Huh, you’re not sleeping.
寝てるんじゃない？
Neterun janai?
I’m guessing he’s/she’s sleeping?
寝てるんじゃないの？
Neterun janai no?
I thought you/he/she was sleeping?
おいしいんじゃない？
Oishiin janai?
I’m guessing it’s delicious?
おいしくないんじゃない？
Oishikunain janai?
I’m guessing it’s not delicious?
* Remember that you use んじゃない to talk about a third person, so don’t say the line above to your friend when they are actually eating. In that case, you can just ask them if it’s delicious:
おいしいの？
Oishii no?
Is it delicious?
おいしくないの？
Oishikunai no?
Is it not delicious?(Is that why you’re not eating?)
Using んじゃない for Partial Negation
Another way to use んじゃない is when the listener says something that is partially correct, and you want to clarify, or you don’t want to reject them outright.
Suppose your friend says to you:
あ〜、もやし好きなんだ。おいしくて安いよね。
A〜, moyashi suki nan da. Oishikute yasui yo ne.
Oh, so you like moyashi (bean sprouts). They’re delicious and cheap, right?
You reply:
好きなんじゃないけど、安いからよく食べる。
Suki nan janai kedo, yasui kara yoku taberu.
It’s not that I like them… but I eat them often because they’re cheap.
Maybe you see your friend studying kanji and say:
漢字(が)好きなんだね。
Kanji (ga) suki nan da ne.
Oh, you must like kanji, right?
Then your friend replies:
好きなんじゃない…
Suki nan janai…
It’s not that I like them…
Be careful not to mix up んじゃない with じゃないの.
好きじゃないの/んだ/んです vs 好きなんじゃない
Suki janai no/〜n da/〜n desu vs suki nan janai
I don’t like〜 vs It’s not that I like〜
Suppose you are ordering a sandwich, and you don’t want any cucumber in it. You would say:
きゅうりを入れないでください。好きじゃないんです。
Kyuuri wo irenaide kudasai. Suki janain desu.
Please don’t put in cucumbers. I don’t like them…
In this case, it wouldn’t make sense to use んじゃない like this:
❌きゅうりを入れないでください。好きなんじゃないです。
Kyuuri wo irenaide kudasai. Suki nan janai desu.
Please don’t put in cucumbers. It’s not that I like them…
Suppose your friend posts a picture of her dinner on Instagram. (In Japanese, this is called 食テロ(shoku tero), or “food terrorism”.)
彼とうちで晩ご飯食べた♡
Kare to uchi de ban go-han tabeta♡
I ate dinner with my boyfriend at home <3
Then you post a comment saying:
作ってあげたんだ？
Tsukutte agetan da?
Oh, (I see) you made it for him?
Your friend replies:
いや、作ったんじゃないよ。
Iya, tsukuttan janai yo.
Nah, I didn’t make it…
お店で買ってきたのを並べただけ。
O-mise de katte kita no wo narabeta dake.
I just bought them at the store and put them (on the plate).
In this case, it wouldn’t make sense to use の like this:
作らなかったの。
Tsukuranakatta no.
I didn’t make them (that’s why).
As mentioned in another video, の is used when you want to explain something, so it wouldn’t feel right in this situation unless your friend asks:
なんで作らなかったの？
Nande tsukuranakatta no?
Why didn’t you make it? (Please explain./I’m curious.)
As another example, suppose your friend says:
メイドカフェに行った。
Meido kafe ni itta.
I went to a maid cafe.
And you respond:
秋葉原に行ったんだ！楽しかった？
Akihabara ni ittan da! Tanoshikatta?
Oh, so you must have gone to Akihabara then. Was it fun?
Then they answer:
秋葉原に行ったんじゃないけど、楽しかったよ。
Akihabara ni ittan janai kedo, tanoshikatta yo.
I didn’t go to Akihabara, but it was fun.
As one last reminder, remember that んじゃないis used for third parties, not about yourself or the listener.
明日忙しいんだ？
Ashita isogashiin da?
So I assume you’re busy tomorrow.
明日忙しいんじゃない？
Ashita isogashiin janai?
I’m guessing he/she is busy tomorrow.
Let’s sum up what we learned today:
- Use んじゃない when you’re not sure and are making a guess.
- Use んじゃないの when you thought something was true, but you just discovered it isn’t.
- You can also use んじゃない when someone says something that is partially true, and you want to clarify, or you don’t want to reject them outright.
- Don’t confuse んじゃない with じゃない, which you say when you expect the listener to agree with you.
Thanks for reading until the end. It might be hard not to confuse んじゃない withじゃない, but if you keep practicing, you’ll get the hang of it!
