じゃん

じゃん is a casual sentence-final particle. It is a contraction of じゃないか, and it keeps that phrase's rhetorical-question force: the speaker states something and invites the listener to see it the same way.

Functions

• Seeking agreement: invites confirmation of what was just said, like English "right?" or "isn't it?"
• Pointing out the evident: presents something as plain to see, often with mild triumph ("see, you can do it") or mild reproach ("you did say that")

Common patterns

じゃん attaches to the plain form of the preceding word, and だ is dropped before it:

• Noun: 学生(がくせい)じゃん (you're a student, right?)
• Na-adjective stem: 便利(べんり)じゃん (that's handy, isn't it?)
• I-adjective: 安(やす)いじゃん (that's cheap!)
• Verb, plain form: 言(い)ったじゃん (you did say that)

Similar words

• ね seeks agreement gently and suits any register; じゃん is blunter and strictly casual
• よね checks a belief the speaker already holds; じゃん pushes the listener to accept the point
• じゃんか is the emphatic version, common when protesting
• やん is the Kansai counterpart

Watch out

• Do not keep だ: not ×学生(がくせい)だじゃん, but 学生(がくせい)じゃん
• Never use it with a superior or a customer. It marks the speaker as on familiar terms with the listener, so it can sound rude even when the content is polite.

Register

Historically a Tokai regional form, じゃん spread through Yokohama into Kanto speech and is now general casual Japanese, especially among younger speakers.