Grammar and Parts of Speech in Japanese
As we learn to speak and understand any language, we also learn to distinguish between the “parts of speech” that make up that language.
For example, we use different “kinds” of words to serve different purposes in language.
You have learned these “parts of speech” or “kinds” of words in English (or another first/native language) but you may not have thought about how they apply in Japanese.
The MAIN parts speech in Japanese are much like those in English speech, including the following:
Nouns: めいし（名詞）People, Places and Things
Verbs: どうし（動詞）Actions, Occurrences, and States of Being
Adjectives: けいようし（形容詞）Modify, Describe, or Name an Attribute of Nouns
Adverbs: ふくし（副詞）Modify or Express a Relation between Verbs, Adjectives or Word Groups
Particles: In Japanese, there is also a whole group of “connectors” and word “markers” and “conjunctions” we generally lump together and call “Particles” in English. Some of these “particles” have parallel meanings in English, but some don’t. There are a WIDE variety of these used for MANY different purposes!
In Japanese Three, we will be reviewing ALL of the parts of speech and kinds of words we have learned so far, including particles, and then adding new and different forms as well.
We will continue a review of the parts of speech in this unit, Unit 3 (House), with a review of particles you have learned in the past, plus a few that may be new to you this year.
Overview of Particles in Japanese
Particles じょし（助詞） in Japanese encompass a whole group of one or more syllable Hiragana “short words” that are used to mark things, connect things, or otherwise modify things in sentences in addition to and between nouns, adjectives, verbs and other parts of sentences. Some of these particles have equivalent “meanings” in English, but some do not have a true, translated meaning in another word in English. They are better understood by the part of the sentence they “mark” or the function they serve in the sentence.
There are many particles in Japanese (close to 200 are possible), and many that use the same Hiragana character are used for a number of different purposes (so context is critical to understanding these). However, at this level, most students have probably only encountered a fairly small number of them, and only some uses of the same sound/Hiragana character(s) as a particle. Some particles are used in a variety of ways depending on the context, some can serve more than one function in different parts of sentences, and some can mean very different things in different situations.
This overview, and even the detailed information and examples provided in this Section are NOT intended to cover ALL the particles in Japanese! Note that most particles in Japanese follow or come AFTER the word they mark or modify, and this often means it occurs in backwards order compared to word orders in English.
The main “types” or “categories” of particles normally covered so far in Japanese studies for this level are outlined below. These are covered in more detail and with examples in the following parts of this section.
The particles は and が are used to “mark” or identify subjects and topics in Japanese sentences. Note that the particleは is written with the Hiragana character for the phonetic sound “ha” but it is pronounced “wa” only when used as a particle or part of a combination particle. Also note that there are other uses for the Hiragana character が used as a particle (more on this in other types of particles). These two particles are used to mark nouns that are performing actions in the sentence and/or topics of discussion in sentences. Neither of these particles have a true equivalent “word” in English, but there are ways to evaluate when their use is appropriate (more on this in the detailed section with examples for these particles). The two particles are sometimes swappable (meaning either one can be used in some situations) but they also have situations where only one or the other is appropriate. Learning when to use one versus the other is one of the ongoing challenges for students of the Japanese language!
The particles を and に are used to mark the “objects” of verbs or “actions” in sentences. The particle を is generally pronounced “o” in modern Japanese, but it can be pronounced as “wo” as the character representing it shows. Note that the Hiragana character を is ONLY used to represent the “direct object” particle (it is not used in words in modern Japanese). “Direct objects” are objects directly affected by the “action” or verb of the sentence (specific examples are found in the detailed section for this). The particle に is used to mark “indirect objects” of the action of the sentence (often the “recipients” of the action of the sentence). Note that sometimes if describing something “from” someone else (such as someone else giving you a gift) the particle から (meaning “from”) can be used instead of に. Note that there are many uses for the character に as particles in Japanese sentences, and this is only ONE of these uses.
The particles に、へ、And で are all used with “places” to indicate the direction/place/destination of motion (going, coming or returning) in a sentence. The particles に And へ are roughly equivalent to the word “to” in English (going TO, coming TO, or returning TO a place or event). The particle に is slightly more formal and can be used in ALL cases, but へ can also be used when going to a place (but not to an event). The particle へ is generally pronounced “e” instead of the full “he” the Hiragana character normally represents.
The particle に is also used to indicate the location of something in a sentence, with the equivalent meaning of “at” or “in” in English (located AT or IN a place). The particle で is used after a place to indicate where an action is occurring, and is the equivalent of “at” or “in” in English in this context. Note that both に and で are used in other contexts and situations to mean different things.
The particle に is used after specific times and dates in Japanese in an equivalent to the words “at” or “on” in English when expressing times or dates (“at” 5:00, “on” Monday, etc). General times often do not require a particle, and a general rule of thumb is that if “at” or “on” is not needed in English, then the particle に is not needed in Japanese (see examples in the detailed section for these kinds of particles). The combination of the particles から and まで is used as an equivalent of “from” and “to” for both times and places to mark a beginning point and ending point (see examples in the detailed section for these particles).
The first connective particle most students in Japanese study is the “noun-connector” particle の. The の particle is used to make nouns “possessive” (such as “my house” わたしのうち) but it is also used to “link” nouns that modify each other (such as “Japanese teacher” にほんごのせんせい). It is also used to “nominalize” or convert verbs and proper adjectives into nouns (such as “like to eat sushi” すしをたべるのがすきです).
Another simple connective particle introduced early in Japanese study is the conjunction particle と meaning “and” between nouns (this is used ONLY between nouns). It is used in what can be called “exhaustive” lists of nouns where ALL the nouns ARE listed and connected with と. Unlike English, the particle と is used between EACH noun in the series (instead of commas then “and” before the last noun in the series as is done in English). The particle と is also used to mean “with” when describing who is doing an action (in the sense of someone is doing the action “with” someone else, meaning either “person A AND person B” OR “person A WITH person B).
A similar particle meaning “and” between nouns is や, but it is used for “incomplete” lists of nouns where some of the intended list are stated, but others are not (an “incomplete” list of nouns). The particle など may be added at the end of a list using や to emphasize that the list is “incomplete” (only part of the possible list is given in the sentence).
To connect two sentences with the simple meaning of “and” (Sentence 1 AND Sentence 2) the particle そして is used. It is normally used to being the second (or further) sentence in the series following “and”. In a series of actions mean to be sequential, however, the particle combination それから is used to mean “and then” (as in “first this, and then that”). It can be literally translated to mean “after that” where それ means “that” and から means “after”.
There are many specific particles used to “compare” things in Japanese, but the basic comparisons covered up to this point include saying something is “more” than something else using より; saying something is “not as much” as something else using ほど, and saying something is “about the same as” something else using the particle と followed by the word for “the same” or おなじ. These comparisons are introduced in Level Two (Unit 6 Animals) but are reviewed again in Level Three.
To “contrast” two sentence clauses or two full sentences, the particles が and でも can be used to mean “but” and “however” respectively. To contrast two clauses in the same sentence (a compound sentence) use が or “but”. Note that in Japanese, the particle が FOLLOWS the first clause instead of BEGINNING the second clause (“This BUT that” ClauseAが、ClauseB).
To contrast two separate sentences, the particle でも is used to mean “however” (“This sentence. However, that sentence.” SentenceA。でも、SentenceB。). Although not a true “contrasting” sentence, the particle から can be used at the end of a first sentence clause that expresses a “reason” or “cause” for what is described in the second sentence clause (the result). In this context, から takes on the English meaning of “because” “so” or “since” depending on how it’s phrased in English (such as Reasonから、Result Because of ClauseA, Clause B occurs).
The first sentence-ending particle normally studied in Japanese is the “question marker” particle か。It is used at the end of a question to replace the Western question mark (?). Note that the ? should NOT be used in Japanese unless the question is “incomplete” and lacks か。At the end (such as in “And you?” あなたは？).
Another sentence-ending particle used in Japanese is ね. It is used to add “emphasis” (with a “falling” intonation) or “confirmation” (with a “rising” intonation) of something in the sentence preceding it. It is sometimes translated in English as the phrase “isn’t it” (used as a statement for emphasis) or “isn’t it?” (used as a question for confirmation). It is also used routinely just as a way to express more politeness or friendliness in a conversation, or to “soften” the sentence or statement (making it less forceful or direct).
A similar sentence-ending particle used is ねえ (with the extra vowel) can be used to add more emphasis (somewhat like an exclamation mark ! is used in English). These particles are used in many different situations and are common in Japanese conversation.
Another sentence-ending particle used in Japanese is よ. This is used at the end of a sentence to add emphasis, much like an English exclamation mark !, and is especially used in commands or forceful statements. It should be used sparingly as it is considered rather strong and intrusive for regular sentences and statements in Japanese.
There are other sentence-ending particles used (some primarily by women and some primarily by men) that correlate with the particles just described above, but they will be saved for a future level of Japanese study.
The particle (で is discussed above in relation to its use with “place” words, but it has other uses, some that have been covered so far. This particle is also used to mark the “means by which an action” takes place in some sentence contexts. This can indicate a “tool” that is used to accomplish an action (for example, a “pencil” may be the “means or tool” by which you “write” えんぴつでかきます)or the “method” by which something is accomplished (for example, a student may go to school “by means” of a bus (バスで学校に行きます.)There are other uses for this particle not covered yet, but these three uses should cover what is needed at this point.
The particle も is used as an equivalent for the English “also” or “too” in certain contexts. This usually occurs in a series of events, sentences, or conversation items where adding another item to the series (to mean “this also” or “that too”) is logical. For example, if your friend says he is going to the movies tonight, and you want to say you are “also” going to the movies (or you are going to the movies “too”) you can say( 私もえいがに行きます。 There are other contexts for use for this particle, but so far, that’s all that is needed at this point.
The particle と is used to mean “and” and “with” in contexts already described above, but it’s also used in the specific situation of “quoting” something in Japanese. To express “says” or “said” the quoted material ends with といいます（と言います）。Quoted material generally has the pattern of Person (Who says the quote)は「Quote.」と言います。
Types of Particles
This section builds on the “Overview of Particles” in the last section and adds more detail and examples to the discussions and review of types of particles covered in Japanese grammar so far in this series of courses. Please be sure to CLICK EACH SECTION below to read about different types of particles and how they are used.
The particle は and が are used to “mark” or identify SUBJECTS and TOPICS in Japanese sentences. These are used to mark nouns that are performing actions in the sentence and/or to mark the topics of discussion in sentences (sometimes these two are the same and sometimes they are not). There are not direct equivalents to learn in English for how these are used, but situations and context can provide guidance on when and how to use them. Learning when to use one versus the other is one of the ongoing challenges for students of the Japanese language!
The particle は (pronounced as “wa” when used as a particle) is often described as the TOPIC MARKER for the topic of discussion, while the particle が is often described as the SUBJECT MARKER for a noun that performs an action. These two can also be thought of in the opposite manner depending on how the “topic” and “subject” are described or identified in a sentence. The subject and topic of the sentence are also often the same, in which case the particle は is general used. The difference between the two tends to cause confusion among beginners but their usage can be summed up better as a matter of the MAIN FOCUS in sentences as will be shown in explanations and examples below.
The topic particle は is used when introducing a topic and has the MAIN FOCUS on the ACTION of the sentence (the verb or the adjective of the sentence). This often marks a person or persons who are doing the action, but that is not always the case. This is the most commonly used particle to mark the subject/topic of the sentence. The subject marker が is used when the MAIN FOCUS is on the SUBJECT of the action (not the action itself). This again can be a person or persons, but it can also be a number of other things. Is this confusing yet? Please make SURE you read the rest of this explanation AND the examples for each situation!
One can also think of the particle は as replacing the English phrases "AS FOR…”, "ON THE TOPIC OF…” or "REGARDING…" where the ACTION is the MAIN FOCUS (Not who or what is doing the action). The particle が where the MAIN FOCUS is more on WHO or WHAT is doing the action (instead of the action itself). While the phrases that can be added to identify situations to use the particle はaren’t usually actually used in English very often, they can be “mentally added” to sentences to show how to use these expressions and tell the difference between using はand が.
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The particles を (written with the Hiragana character for “wo” but commonly pronounced as just “o”) and に are used with verbs to “mark” the “direct object” and “indirect object/subject” in sentences.
The “direct object” marker を marks an object that is “acted upon” by the verb or action of the sentence (the “recipient” object of the action of the verb). There is no equivalent for this in English, so it must be thought of in the context or situation of the sentence rather than as translated from an English word.
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The particles に、へ andで are used to mark a “location” in specific contexts in different types of sentences. It is important to learn when to use and when NOT to use each one.
One use of the particles に and へ (written with the character “he’ but pronounced “e”) is with “verbs of motion” (going, coming, or returning) that indicate a “direction” of the movement action. These have roughly the meaning of “TO” (or “TOWARD”) in English. Note the verb “to return” is generally only used when someone is “going to” or “returning” home (their house, their home city, their home country, etc) from somewhere other than home. In English, it’s usually expressed as “GOING home” but in Japanese the verb for “return” is used in this context.
Examples:
私は月曜日に学校に行きます。 I go TO SCHOOL every Monday.
私は明日あなたの家に来ます。 I will come TO YOUR HOUSE tomorrow.
私は昨日七時半に家に帰りました。 I returned (went)(TO) HOME yesterday.
私はコンサートに行きました。 I went TO A CONCERT.(EVENT not a PLACE)
NOTE: In ALL of these examples except the last one the particle へ can replace the particleに. However, if the direction of movement is toward an EVENT instead of a PLACE then the particle に should be used (see the last example).に is considered the more formal of the two particles.
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Connective particles are used to “connect” words, phrases, or entire sentences in different ways. The の particle is used to connect nouns either through possessive relationships (replacing the ‘ apostrophe in English) or simply by connecting related nouns (there is not equivalent in English for this).
The と and や particles are used to connect nouns in a list or series with the English meaning of “and” but ONLY for connecting nouns. The particles そして (“and”) and それから (“and then”) are used to transition from one sentence to another in a “series” with the meanings provided above.
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The particles が andでもcan be used to “contrast” two sentence clauses or separate sentences, and the particles から and のに can be used to connect a “reason” with a “result” in a compound sentence.
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There are a wide variety of particles used at the end of sentences to provide “punctuation” or to provide subtle meanings and emotions that apply to the information provided before them. Many of the more subtle sentence-ending particles have not been and will not be covered at this level, and many tend to be gender-specific (and they have no real translational meaning in English), but there are some standard ones that should be used at this point in Japanese studies, and these do indicate a “meaning” that can be indicated in English with words and/or punctuation marks (? And !).
The sentence-ending particles that should be used at this point include the following: か (for questions), ね (for confirmation/agreement), ねえ (for emphasis), and よ (for extra emphasis).
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Two additional particles covered and/or used at this point in the Japanese courses, although they are unrelated, are も andで. Both of these particles have multiple uses, and one of these （で）has already been discussed earlier in this particle review for use with describing “places” where action occurs. The other (も) also has several uses and is described here (this may be NEW information for some of you).
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Graded Assignment(s)
Please return to the Section 4 Tasks & Assignment(s) folder to complete the graded assignment for Section 4.
This completes this section.