English Translation
Brilliant!
What exactly is the connotation of じゃん? My understanding is that it’s used as a negative to ask for confirmation (じゃない), just as “isn’t it,” is used in English, as in, “it’s awesome, isn’t it.”
Brilliant!
What exactly is the connotation of じゃん? My understanding is that it’s used as a negative to ask for confirmation (じゃない), just as “isn’t it,” is used in English, as in, “it’s awesome, isn’t it.”
@ericaw
In a linguistic term, じゃん is for a “tag question” (that is …, isn’t it?).
The standard formal form is 〜ではありませんか?, ではありませんか!! or ではありませんか… So, じゃん isn’t always a pure question to seek an answer or confirmation.
じゃん used to be a dialect around Nagoya area but already widely spread to the East part of Japan including Tokyo metropolitan areas. So, it’s quite common.
There are several connotations and I don’t think I can fully cover all of them.
Surprise
頑張ったじゃん! (= 私はあなたが頑張ったと思いますが、あなたもそう思いませんか?) = Wow, you worked very hard, didn’t you? I’m amazed!
これ、いいじゃん。(= これは良いものですね。あなたもそう思いませんか?) = That’s dumb good!
Upset
嫌だって言ったじゃん! (= 私は嫌だと言ったではありませんか! ) = Didn’t you hear that I said “no”, did you?
Persuasive
これからじゃん。( = これからではありませんか?) = That’s not the end but just a beginning. You still have a chance from now on, don’t you?
Disappointment
あーあ、台無しじゃん… (= あぁ、これでは台無しではありませんか…) = Oh my gosh. It’s a complete disaster…