This is an Okinawan word ending. It shows that something happened in the past. It is like the Japanese word ending "~ta".
Verb [stem] + たんPrimary
This is an Okinawan word ending. It shows that something happened in the past. It is like the Japanese word ending "~ta".
昨日、映画を観たん。
I saw a movie yesterday.
あの人、もう帰ったん？
Has that person gone home already?
これが私が見たん映画やいびーん。
This is the movie that I saw.
今日は、初めてゴーヤーチャンプルー作ったん。
Today, I made Goya Champuru for the first time.
This grammar point is like a chameleon. It changes its sound a little. This depends on the sound just before it. But it always means the same thing: past tense.
This is different from saying you did not do something. You cannot just add "not" to this ending. You use a different ending for negative past tense.
Don't use this when you want to say something did NOT happen. For example, you cannot say '食べんたん' (tabentan) to mean 'didn't eat'. This ending is only for things that DID happen in the past.
Use this when you want to tell a story. It helps you talk about things that happened in the past. It is good for sharing your own experiences.
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