What does 並ぶ mean?
並ぶ is a Japanese verb meaning “to line up, to stand in a row” in English. It can also be translated as “to rival” depending on context. It is written as 並ぶ in kanji, ならぶ in hiragana, and narabu in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N4 vocabulary.
Example sentences
列に並んで長い間待たされた後、身分証明として正式な出生証明書が必要だといわれた。
After a long wait in line, she was told she should get a certified copy of her birth certificate as identification.
彼は古今に並ぶ者のない偉大な政治家である。
He is the greatest statesman that ever lived.
Conjugation of 並ぶ
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Plain | 並ぶならぶ | 並ばないならばない |
| Plain past | 並んだならんだ | 並ばなかったならばなかった |
| Polite | 並びますならびます | 並びませんならびません |
| Polite past | 並びましたならびました | 並びませんでしたならびませんでした |
Other forms
Te-form並んでならんで
Potential並べるならべる
Passive並ばれるならばれる
Volitional並ぼうならぼう
Causative並ばせるならばせる
Conditional並べばならべば
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Transitive partner
並ぶ (it happens by itself)·並べる (someone does it)
並ぶ describes something happening by itself. 並べる describes someone doing it to something. Japanese keeps these apart where English often uses one verb for both.