1.
photographic negative; negative film
The developed film strip from a film camera where light and dark areas are reversed. Used as the source for printing photographs in traditional film photography.
2.
negative; pessimistic outlook (colloquial abbreviation)
A colloquial shortening of ネガティブ (negative), used to describe a pessimistic or negative attitude or way of thinking.
Short for ネガフィルム (negative film) in the photography sense. Despite the decline of film photography, the word remains in use when discussing old photographs or artistic film photography.
The colloquial abbreviation of ネガティブ is common in casual speech and online, especially among younger speakers. It functions as a quasi-adjective modifying nouns directly (ネガな...).
Common collocations
- ネガフィルム: negative film
- ネガを焼く: to print from a negative
- ネガを現像する: to develop negatives
- ネガな気持ち: negative feelings
- ネガな発言: negative remarks
Similar words
- ネガティブ: negative — the full loanword form
- ポジ: positive (film) — the opposite in photography, where colors appear as they are
- フィルム: film — the physical medium itself