modality N3 common casualpolite
なんて — how ~! / what (a) ~! (exclamatory)
なんて
Meaning
- how ~! / what a ~! — heads an adjective or noun phrase to exclaim over its degree
This なんて opens an exclamation: なんて + adjective/noun + (the rest, often だろう or trailing off) = 'how ~!'. It marks strong feeling — admiration, shock, dismay — at the quality named: なんて美しい景色だろう ('what a beautiful view!'). It's the same surface as the citing なんて but a different construction: here it points *forward* to a quality, not back at a quote. なんという is a heavier variant.
Key sentence
なんてきれいな花でしょう。
What a beautiful flower!
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| なんて + adjective / na-adj / noun phrase (+ だろう・でしょう / trailing) | なんて + Aい / Naな N + （だろう） | なんて優しい人 / なんてひどい |
Examples
なんておいしいんだろう。
How delicious this is!
なんてかわいい赤ちゃんなんでしょう。
What an adorable baby!
なんてことだ。
What a thing (to happen)! / Good grief.
Easily confused with
なんと Same 'how ~!' exclamation; なんと is a touch more formal/literary and also works as a standalone 'and would you believe…!', while exclamatory なんて is the everyday spoken form. なんて (citing) Same surface, opposite direction: this exclamatory なんて leads into a quality ('how ~!'); the citing なんて re-quotes a preceding word or clause with attitude (帰るなんて).
Notes
- Often closes with なんだろう / なんでしょう or just trails off (なんて素敵な…！). The fuller なんという + noun ('what (a) ~') is interchangeable in writing.
See なんて in real sentences
Jengo shows なんて the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar.