Don't worry with すんな
Grammar Explanation: Contracting 〜る＋な to 〜んな
Takeo takes his pregnant mother to the hospital, as she’s getting close to delivery. Once there, she gives Takeo and his friend Suna a list of things to take care of during her stay.
- 母さん:
- 「大丈夫から心配すんな」
- “I'll be fine, so don't worry.”
Key Points
- すんな = contraction of するな (“don’t do”)
- すんな is a casual spoken contraction of するな (the prohibitive form: “don’t do X”)
- The full form here would be: 心配するな → “Don’t worry”
- Pattern: 〜る ＋ な → 〜んな (drop る, add んな)
- Why this contraction sounds casual
- The prohibitive な itself is already informal/casual (more direct than ないで)
- The contraction 〜んな makes it even more colloquial and abrupt
- Common in everyday speech, especially among family or close friends
- 心配する = “to worry”
- 心配 means “worry” or “concern” (noun)
- 心配する turns it into a verb: “to worry”
- Other examples: 勉強する (“to study”), 準備する (“to prepare”)
- から adds reasoning
- 大丈夫だから = “because I’ll be fine”
- The から connects the reason to the command that follows
- “I’ll be fine, so (therefore) don’t worry”