学ぶ
Japanese
    
| Kanji in this term | 
|---|
| 学 | 
| まな Grade: 1 | 
| kun’yomi | 
| Alternative spelling | 
|---|
| 學ぶ (kyūjitai) | 
Etymology
    
From 真似 (mana, “imitating, copying”) + ぶ (-bu, “to seem like, to act like”, verb-forming suffix). Cognate with 学ぶ (manebu).[1][2][3][4][5]
The initial mana might be a phonetic shift from mane, itself the continuative or stem nominal form of classical verb 真似 (manu, “to imitate, to copy”), from 真 (ma-, “true, real”) + 似 (nu, “copy, imitate”, lower bigrade conjugation; not attested in isolation).
First cited in the Nihon Shoki of 720.[2]
The ぶ (-bu) suffix usually conjugated with the upper bigrade pattern (上二段活用 (kami nidan katsuyō)), and manabu conjugated this way until the early Heian period (early 800s). Starting from the mid-Heian (roughly the 900s or 1000s), manabu shifted to conjugate using the classical yodan pattern, the precursor to the modern godan conjugation (五段活用 (godan katsuyō)).[2]
Pronunciation
    
- (Tokyo) まなぶ [mànábú] (Heiban – [0])[4][5][6]
- (Tokyo) まなぶ [mànáꜜbù] (Nakadaka – [2])[4]
- IPA(key): [ma̠na̠bɯ̟ᵝ]
- Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of "学ぶ"
| Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary | |||
| Stem forms | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal (終止形) Attributive (連体形) | 学ぶ | まなぶ | [mànábú] | 
| Imperative (命令形) | 学べ | まなべ | [mànábé] | 
| Key constructions | |||
| Passive | 学ばれる | まなばれる | [mànábárérú] | 
| Causative | 学ばせる | まなばせる | [mànábásérú] | 
| Potential | 学べる | まなべる | [mànábérú] | 
| Volitional | 学ぼう | まなぼー | [mànábóꜜò] | 
| Negative | 学ばない | まなばない | [mànábánáí] | 
| Negative perfective | 学ばなかった | まなばなかった | [mànábánáꜜkàttà] | 
| Formal | 学びます | まなびます | [mànábímáꜜsù] | 
| Perfective | 学んだ | まなんだ | [mànáńdá] | 
| Conjunctive | 学んで | まなんで | [mànáńdé] | 
| Hypothetical conditional | 学べば | まなべば | [mànábéꜜbà] | 
Verb
    
Conjugation
    
| Katsuyōkei ("stem forms") | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mizenkei ("imperfective") | 学ば | まなば | manaba | 
| Ren’yōkei ("continuative") | 学び | まなび | manabi | 
| Shūshikei ("terminal") | 学ぶ | まなぶ | manabu | 
| Rentaikei ("attributive") | 学ぶ | まなぶ | manabu | 
| Kateikei ("hypothetical") | 学べ | まなべ | manabe | 
| Meireikei ("imperative") | 学べ | まなべ | manabe | 
| Key constructions | |||
| Passive | 学ばれる | まなばれる | manabareru | 
| Causative | 学ばせる 学ばす | まなばせる まなばす | manabaseru manabasu | 
| Potential | 学べる | まなべる | manaberu | 
| Volitional | 学ぼう | まなぼう | manabō | 
| Negative | 学ばない | まなばない | manabanai | 
| Negative continuative | 学ばず | まなばず | manabazu | 
| Formal | 学びます | まなびます | manabimasu | 
| Perfective | 学んだ | まなんだ | mananda | 
| Conjunctive | 学んで | まなんで | manande | 
| Hypothetical conditional | 学べば | まなべば | manabeba | 
Middle Japanese until the early Heian period(early 800s):
| Stem forms | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irrealis (未然形) | 学び | まなび | manabi | 
| Continuative (連用形) | 学び | まなび | manabi | 
| Terminal (終止形) | 学ぶ | まなぶ | manabu | 
| Attributive (連体形) | 学ぶる | まなぶる | manaburu | 
| Realis (已然形) | 学ぶれ | まなぶれ | manabure | 
| Imperative (命令形) | 学びよ | まなびよ | manabiyo | 
| Key constructions | |||
| Negative | 学びず | まなびず | manabizu | 
| Contrasting conjunction | 学ぶれど | まなぶれど | manaburedo | 
| Causal conjunction | 学ぶれば | まなぶれば | manabureba | 
| Conditional conjunction | 学びば | まなびば | manabiba | 
| Past tense (firsthand knowledge) | 学びき | まなびき | manabiki | 
| Past tense (secondhand knowledge) | 学びけり | まなびけり | manabikeri | 
| Perfect tense (conscious action) | 学びつ | まなびつ | manabitu | 
| Perfect tense (natural event) | 学びぬ | まなびぬ | manabinu | 
| Perfect-continuative tense | 学びたり | まなびたり | manabitari | 
| Volitional | 学びむ | まなびむ | manabimu | 
Middle Japanese since the mid-Heian period (roughly the 900s or 1000s):
| Stem forms | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irrealis (未然形) | 学ば | まなば | manaba | 
| Continuative (連用形) | 学び | まなび | manabi | 
| Terminal (終止形) | 学ぶ | まなぶ | manabu | 
| Attributive (連体形) | 学ぶ | まなぶ | manabu | 
| Realis (已然形) | 学べ | まなべ | manabe | 
| Imperative (命令形) | 学べ | まなべ | manabe | 
| Key constructions | |||
| Negative | 学ばず | まなばず | manabazu | 
| Contrasting conjunction | 学べど | まなべど | manabedo | 
| Causal conjunction | 学べば | まなべば | manabeba | 
| Conditional conjunction | 学ばば | まなばば | manababa | 
| Past tense (firsthand knowledge) | 学びき | まなびき | manabiki | 
| Past tense (secondhand knowledge) | 学びけり | まなびけり | manabikeri | 
| Perfect tense (conscious action) | 学びつ | まなびつ | manabitu | 
| Perfect tense (natural event) | 学びぬ | まなびぬ | manabinu | 
| Perfect-continuative tense | 学べり 学びたり | まなべり まなびたり | manaberi manabitari | 
| Volitional | 学ばむ | まなばむ | manabamu | 
References
    
- Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
- “学”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”) (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
- “学ぶ”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
- Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN