【ね・ne】to confirm, to emphasize, works as a multi-purpose lubricant word

ね・ne = to confirm, to emphasize, to encourage approval or agreement

You can use this to say:

Exactly!
It's a nice day, isn't it?
This is delicious, don't you think?

"Ne" usually comes at the end of a sentence to add a little flavor to what you're saying. You can also start a conversation by "Ne~". This is a soft "hey". (very casual).

Most often, "Ne" is used to emphasize a point, and at the same time, to encourage other's agreement.

Careful!

In the extreme case, you hear someone uses "ne" after every single word, for example:

anone, kinō ne, gakkō ni ittara ne, minnaga ne, ・・・・(this sounds immature and not recommended, but just as an example)

"Ne" is often replaced by "na" by male speakers. Female uses "na" much much less.

EXAMPLES

Confirmation

Grace

2023ねんは「うさぎ-どし」ですよね？
(2023 nen wa usagi-dosi desuyo ne?)

(Year 2023 will be the year of Rabbit, right?)

そうですね。うさぎどしですね。
(Sodesune. Usagi-dosi desu.)

Keiko

(That's right. It will be the year of Rabbit.)

Emphasize

Grace

そのほん、あとでちゃんとかたづけてくださいね。
(Sono hon, ato de chanto katadukete kudasai ne.)

(Make sure to put the book away after, ok?)

わかってます。あそこのほんだなですよね？
(Wakattemasu. Asoko no hondana desuyone?)

Keiko

(I know.. the book shelf over there, right?)

A tip

"ね・ne" is something you will learn naturally by listening to real life conversations. "ね・ne" is not a critical part of a sentence so you don't need to worry too much.

Just remember, when you hear "ね・ne"at the end of a sentence, the person is asking for your confirmation or agreement. If you do, then your answer would be "そうですね・so desu ne." or similar.

Let's learn Japanese!