نا

The Prefix نا

Level 5

نا joins the word with no half-space, and it never goes in front of a verb.

How It Works

Afghan news and school books use نا words every day. The prefix ends in a letter that does not join the next one, so the two parts sit together with no half-space: ناممکن, نادرست.

AdjectiveWith ناMeaning
ممکنناممکنimpossible
درستنادرستwrong
راحتناراحتupset, uncomfortable
معلومنامعلومunknown
تمامناتمامunfinished
هموارناهموارuneven
مناسبنامناسبunsuitable

Some meanings need learning on their own: ناراحت says that a person is upset, and also that a chair or a bed is uncomfortable.

The prefix نا is not the verb ن. The verb takes ن + a verb form: نمی‌روم, نرفتم. نا goes on adjectives and nouns only.

Some opposites are different words, and they do not take نا: کلان and خورد, خوب and بد. Use بی‌ for a noun that is missing: بی‌خبر (see Adjectives With بی، با and پر).

Where to meet them: news reports use نامعلوم for facts that nobody knows yet, and teachers write نادرست next to a wrong answer. In conversation, ناراحت is the word for being upset.

Examples (5)

  1. معلم گفت که جواب دوم نادرست است.

    The teacher said that the second answer is wrong.

    نادرست is the opposite of درست.

  2. سرک ولسوالی ما ناهموار است و موتر باید آهسته برود.

    The road in our district is uneven, and cars have to go slowly.

    ناهموار is the opposite of هموار, which means even.

  3. وقت آمدن مهمان‌ها هنوز نامعلوم است.

    The time the guests will arrive is still unknown.

    نامعلوم is the opposite of معلوم, which means known.

  4. وقتی این خبر را شنیدم، ناراحت شدم.

    When I heard this news, I was upset.

    ناراحت is the opposite of راحت, but it means upset when it describes a person.

  5. کار ناتمام خود را فردا تمام می‌کنم.

    I will finish my unfinished work tomorrow.

    ناتمام is the opposite of تمام, and the sentence uses both.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting نا in front of a verb.

    من فردا نامی‌روم.
    من فردا نمی‌روم.

    The negative of a verb is ن, joined to می‌: نمی‌روم. نا belongs to adjectives.

  • Making an opposite with نا where Dari has its own word.

    برادر ناکلانم در مکتب درس می‌خواند.
    برادر خوردم در مکتب درس می‌خواند.

    The opposite of کلان is خورد. نا does not make it.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ناLevel 5The Prefix نا

Learn This First

نا goes before an adjective and gives its opposite, so you need to know adjectives.