Why does　なんてね　mean "Just kidding"?


I very often see なんてね or some similar phrase being translated to "Just
kidding"? but why does it mean this and how does the grammar behind it work?




なんて is an informal word that is used after some phrase and implies it is not
important.

  * [Usage of なんて and なんか as emphasis](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/421/5010)

> Basically when you're kind of ignoring the importance of, or even slightly
> putting down, the topic of the sentence. 愛なんか要らない。(I don't need love!)

  * [など; なんか; なんて](https://web.archive.org/web/20190311201757/http://www.jgram.org/pages/viewOne.php?tagE=nado%3B%20nanka%3B%20nante)

So when なんて is used like a standalone interjection, it means you said the
previous sentence not seriously.

ね is a sentence-end particle and thus optional. You can say なんて! ("kidding!")
without largely changing the meaning. なんてな is the same (sounds a bit more
masculine).

