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Particles Print E-mail

Particles are kind of a grammatical glue in the Japanese language. They convey meanings such as direction, ownership and topics.

This section was kindly shared by Keith Smillie, from his Notes on Japanese Grammar. But afterwards some additions and modifications has been done by others too.

For more information about particles, please look at the books "All about particles" or any of the other grammar books in the Japanese Books section.

 

wa ［は］　 Topic

The particle 「は」 is used to mark the topic of a sentence. It may be easiest to think of it translated as "regarding ..." or ".. as for .."

この本は面白いです。
Kono hon wa omoshiroi desu.
This book is interesting.

陽子さんは大学院の学生です。
Youko san wa daigakuin no gakusei desu.
Youko is a graduate student. (Literally, "As for Youko, she is a graduate student.")

私はかぜを引いたけど、弟は元気です。
Watashi wa kaze wo hiita kedo, otouto wa genki desu.
I have caught a cold, but my kid brother is all right.

ga ［が］Subject

The particle ga 「が」 is a subject marker. It is used instead of wa 「は」 when you want to emphasize the subject. It can also sometimes be used for variation if the topic marker already has been used in a sentence. It feels stronger than the topic marker wa 「は」.

私はすしが好きです。
Watashi wa sushi ga suki desu.
I like sushi. (Literally, As for me, sushi is likable.")

o ［を］Direct object

The object marker o 「を」 is used to mark the object in the sentence. That is, the word that the verbs directly act on.

トラコは小鳥をみています。
Torako wa kotori o mite imasu.
Torako is looking at the bird

no [の] Possession, noun modification, apposition

The word no marks a possession, that something belongs to something else. It can be used both in a direct, physical case such as "My umbrella. - watashi no kasa.". Or it can also be used in a abstract manner, such as "Mr Yamada from Sony. - Sony no Yamada-san."

シモンは娘の猫です。
Simon wa musume no neko desu.
Simon is my daughter's cat.

日本の食べ物は美味しいです。
Nihon no tabemono wa oishii desu.
Japanese food is delicious.

友達の田中さんは先生です。
Tomodachi no Tanaka san wa sensei desu.
My friend Mr. Tanaka is a teacher.

ni [に]　 object, location, direction, specific time

The particle "ni" has several uses. Here are some of them.
  • Marking a location or direction of movement.
    I am going to Tokyo - Toukyou ni ikimasu.
  • Marking the direction of an action
    I received a candy from my brother - ototou ni ame o kuremashita.
    I gave a candy to my brother - ototou ni ame o agemashita.
  • Marking a point in time
    Let's meet at 9 o'clock - 9ji ni aimashou.

私は田中さんに本を貸しました。
Watashi wa Tanaka san ni hon o kashimashita.
I loaned Mr. Tanaka a book.

ひろみさんは東京にいます。
Hiromi san wa Toukyou ni imasu.
Hiromi is in Tokyo.

昨日私は早くうちに帰りました。
Kinou watashi wa hayaku uchi ni kaerimashita.
Yesterday I went home early.

午後十時に   ごごじゅうじに    gogo juuji ni   at 10 PM 
日曜日に   にちじょうびに  nichiyoubi ni on Sunday
七月に   しちがつに    shichigatsu ni  in july 
２００１年に  にせんいちねんに   nisen ichi nen ni  in the year 2001 

de [で] Place of action, means, total, material

Place of action:
私は本屋で本を三冊買いました。
Watashi wa honya de hon o sansatsu kaimashita.
I bought three books at the bookstore.
By, mean, using:
田中さんはバスで会社に行きます。
Tanaka san wa basu de kaisha ni ikimasu.
Mr. Tanaka goes to the office by bus.

ペンで書く
pen de kaku
to write with a pen 

黒いインクで書く
kuroi inku de kaku
to write in black ink  

Out of, made by, comes from:
テーブルは木でできています。
Teeburu wa ki de dekite imasu.
The table is made of wood.

 

By, amount of people:
明日映画に二人で行きます。
Ashita eiga ni futari de ikimasu.
Tomorrow the two of us are going to a movie.

e [へ]　(Direction)

The direction marking particle e 「へ」 is used after a place, to mark the direction something is moving. This particle can always be replaced with ni 「に」 and still be grammatically correct, although the reverse may not be valid. It does however look better to use e 「へ」 in some cases. Please note that the particle "e" is written with the hiragana character "he" 「へ」 although it is pronounced "e" when used as a particle.

日本へ行きますか。
Nihon e ikimasu ka.
Are you going to Japan?

kara [から]　(Origin, starting time)

あの人は日本から来ました。
Ano hito wa Nihon kara kimashita.
He is from Japan.

デパートは十時からです。
Depaato wa juuji kara desu.
The department store opens at 10:00 o'clock.

made [まで] Target time

Made 「まで」 marks the end of something. It is frequently used for time, marking the end of a period, such as store opening hours or a destination. But it can also be used to show how far something has gone.

デパートは六時までです。
Depaato wa rokuji made desu.
The department store closes at 6:00 o'clock.

デパートは10時から6時までです。
Depaato wa juuji kara rokuji made desu.
The department store is open from 10:00 o'clock until 6:00 o'clock.

東京から横浜まで歩きました。
Toukyou kara Yokohama made arukimashita.
(I) walked (all the way) from Tokyo to Yokohama.

私のご飯まで食べました。
Watashi no gohan made tabemashita.
(He) even ate my food.

mo [も] Also, both ... and, neither ... nor

The particle mo 「も」 is used to connect two or more things that have something in common.

私はお茶が好きです。コーヒーもすきです。
Watashi wa ocha ga suki desu. Koohii mo suki desu.
I like tea. I also like coffee.

お茶もコーヒーも飲みます。
Ocha mo koohii mo nomimasu.
I drink both tea and coffee.

お茶もコーヒーも飲みません。
Ocha mo koohii mo nomimasen.
I drink neither tea nor coffee.

to [と]　- And (in a complete listing), involvement

The particle to 「と」 is a marker with the same meaning as "and", but also conveys that the list of things said is complete. If there may be more things, the particle ya 「や」 is used. The particle to can also show involvement, for instance "I talked with him - Kare to hanashimashita".

その学生はペンと鉛筆をもっています。
Sono gakusei wa pen to enpitsu o motte imasu.
That student has a pen and a pencil.

私はよく友達と昼ご飯を食べます。
Watashi wa yoku tomodachi to hirugohan o tabemasu.
I often have lunch with my friends.

ya [や] And (partial listing)

The particle ya 「や」 works as the English word "and", but also indicates that the list of things listed may not be complete. Compare with the particle to 「と」.

私達は京都や大阪などへ行きました。
Watashitachi wa Kyouto ya Ousaka (nado) e ikimashita.
We went to Kyoto, Osaka, etc.

ga [が] but

Ga 「が」 is used in the end of a sentence. It often used for softening the sentence, or to show that something else is in contrast with what you first said. Much like "but..." can be used for in English.

田中さんは来ますが、わたなべさんは来ません。
Tanaka san wa kimasu ga, Watanabe san wa kimasen.
Mr. Tanaka is coming, but Mr. Watanabe isn't.

このテレビを書いたいんですが。
kono terebi wo kaitain desu ga.
(I think) I would like to buy this TV.

ka [か] or - enumeration

The particle ka 「か」 is used for showing options, much as "or" is used in English.

お茶かコーヒーいかがですか。
Ocha ka koohii ikaga desu ka.
How about tea or coffee?

kara [から、ので]　Reason

Kara conveys a reason. It sounds a bit casual, and in writing or formal language 'node' together with the masu form of the verb is to prefer.

忙しいから、映画に行かなかった。
Isogashii kara, eiga ni ikanakatta.
Because I was busy, I didn't go to the movie.

nagara [ながら]　Simultaneous action

Nagara shows that something is happening at the same time as something else.

歩きながら、問題について考えました。
Aruki nagara, mondai ni tsuite kangaemashita.
While walking, I thought about the problem.

食べながら、テレビを見ました。
tabenagara terebi wo mimashita.
While eating, I watched TV.

ka [か]　Question marker

The question marker ka 「か」 is put in the end of a sentence to mark it as a question.

学生ですか。
Gakusei desu ka.
Are you a student?

ka to [か　と]　

Ka to 「か　と」　is a construct that  can be used to mark a quotation of something that is uncertain.

おいしい　か　と　思いました。
Oishii ka to omoimashita
Maybe it's tasty, I thought.

行くか行かないかと考えました。
iku ka ikanai ka to kangaemashita.
I was thinking "Shall I go or not".

ne [ね/ねぇ] Confirmation

The sentence ending ne 「ね」 is very common in casual Japanese. It is a request for agreement or a confirmation, but often it is just used rhetorically. In most cases the answer to a "ne"-question would just be an agreeing ne 「ね」.

学生ですね。
Gakusei desu ne.
You are a student, aren't you?

「この寿司、おいしいね。」　「ねぇ」　　　(casual language)
"Kono sushi, oishii ne" "nee"
"Isn't this sushi tasty?"  "Yea."

yo [よ]　Emphasis

Yo is used to emphasize something. It is more commonly used in casual language.

学生ですよ。
Gakusei desu yo.
So you're a student!

だめだよ。            (casual language)
Dame da yo.
Stop it!

This page is a part of "Some Notes on Japanese Grammar" published for your personal use, with the kind permission of Keith Smillie (http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~smillie/)
 

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