Japanese with Manga

Don't know with わかんない

Grammar Explanation: Contracting 〜らない to 〜んない

Manga panel from ひとりぼっちの○○生活 showing example of Don't know with わかんない.
ひとりぼっちの○○生活 » Volume 1 » Page 36

Nako learns of Bocchi’s necessity to become friends with everyone in class.

なこ:
「全員(ぜんいん)と友達(ともだち)かー」
“Friends with the whole class, huh?”
「大丈夫(だいじょうぶ)なのかー？」
“Will you be okay...?”
ぼっち:
「わかんないでも頑張(がんば)る！」
“I don't know, but I'll try my best!”
Literal: “I don't know, but I'll do my best!”

わからない contracts here to わかんない.

Key Points

1わかんない = わからない (casual contraction)
  • わかんない is a casual spoken contraction of わからない (“I don’t know / I’m not sure”).
  • In more neutral speech you’d usually say わからない.
2「わかんないでも頑張(がんば)る」= “I don’t know, but I’ll try”
  • でも here works like “but / even so”, connecting the uncertainty to the decision to act.

Vocabulary

(All right)

大丈夫(だいじょうぶ) means all right, okay, safe, or problem-free. Historically it could mean a great or admirable man, but in modern Japanese it is a broad reassurance word.

(Everyone)

全員(ぜんいん) refers to all the people present or all members of a specific group, without exception.

See Also

ひとりぼっちの○○生活 © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.