Do A (instruction)
ご飯をしっかり食べなさい。
Eat (your food) well.
29
もう遅いから早く寝なさい。
It's already late, so hurry up and go to bed.
21
遊びに行く前に歯を磨きなさい。
Brush your teeth before you go out to play.
17
肉だけじゃなくて、野菜も全部食べなさい。
Eat all your vegetables, not just the meat.
15
出掛ける前に部屋の掃除をしなさい。
Please clean your room before you head out.
Getting the sentences
Construction
(Elements in parentheses are optional.)
Dict. Form
Conjugated
あげる
あげなさい
おす
おしなさい
かう
かいなさい
かく
かきなさい
くる
きなさい
しぬ
しになさい
Dict. Form
Conjugated
とる
とりなさい
もつ
もちなさい
よぶ
よびなさい
よむ
よみなさい
いそぐ
いそぎなさい
する
しなさい
Basic Examples:
部屋を片付けなさい (clean your room)
Notes
Usually used by teachers towards students, and parents towards children.
Related Expressions
てごらん
Where this grammar is found
User notes
Level:
(4 years ago)
The shortened form of なさい (な) can be used between very close friends, although it might sound like you consider yourself smarter and wiser when you use it since it's generally used by teachers and parents. Be careful not to confuse it with the prohibitive form, especially with phrases like "やんな," which could either mean "do it" or "don't do it."
4
emmy
Level: 3
(12 years ago)
I was just about to write the same usage note after I saw the discussion on the prohibitive な but 宮本勝利 beat me to it by 3+ years :D
Just to clarify the above:
ねるな！Don't sleep! / Don't fall asleep!
ねな！ Go to sleep / Please sleep
やるな！Don't do it!
やりな！Please do it.
Just to clarify the above:
ねるな！Don't sleep! / Don't fall asleep!
ねな！ Go to sleep / Please sleep
やるな！Don't do it!
やりな！Please do it.
10
宮本勝利
Level: 1
(14 years ago)
なさい is quite often shortened to な. Be careful not to confuse it with the negative imperative (prohibitive) form [seen here: http://www.renshuu.org/index.php?page=grammar/individual&id=74] which is the infinitive + な whereas なさい comes after a verb stem.
15
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