Japanese particles 1 Japanese particles

Japanese particles, joshi (助詞) or teniwoha (てにをは), are suffixes or short words in that immediately follow the modified noun, verb, adjective, or sentence. Their grammatical range is varied, and can sometimes indicate speaker , assertiveness etc.

Orthography and diction Japanese particles are written in in modern Japanese, even though some of them have forms. They follow the same rules of phonetical transcription as all Japanese words, with the exception of the phonetical , e and o, written は (), へ (he) and を (o) respectively; note that some speakers pronounce the last particle as . These exceptions are a relic of historical kana usage.

Types of particles There are eight types of particles, depending on what function they serve. • Case markers (格助詞 kaku-joshi) • Parallel markers (並立助詞 heiritsu-joshi) • Sentence ending particles (終助詞 shū-joshi) • Interjectory particles (間投助詞 kantō-joshi) • Adverbial particles (副助詞 fuku-joshi) • Binding particles (係助詞 kakari-joshi) • Conjunctive particles (接続助詞 setsuzoku-joshi) • Phrasal particles (準体助詞 juntai-joshi) Note that some particles appear in two types. For example, "kara" is a case marker where it describes where something is from or what happens after something. When it describes a cause it is a conjunctive particle.

List of particles

• bakari • kara • na and nā • shi • bakari ka • ka shira • nado • shika • bakashi • kedo • nanka/nante • sura • dake • kiri • nara • to • da • koro/goro • ne • to ka • darake • koso • ni • to mo • de • kurai/gurai • ni wa • tte • de mo • made • no • tteba • ni te • made ni • no de • wa • dokoro ka • me • nomi • • e • mo • no ni • yara • • mono/mon • o • yo • hodo • mono-de • sa/sā • yori • ka • mono-ka/mon-ka • sae • ze • kai • mononara • de sae • zo • ka na • mono-o • sae...ba/ra • zutsu Japanese particles 2

Preceding syntactic Example sentence Translation element

bakari Translates to: "just, only, full of" Colloquially: ばっかり bakkari, ばっか bakka ばかり

Noun Tōkyō wa hito bakari da. Tokyo is just full of people. 東京は人ばかりだ。

Verbs (ta form) Tabeta bakari da. I just ate. 食べたばかりだ。

Verb (te form) Kare wa tabete bakari iru He's always eating 彼は食べてばかりいる。

bakari ka Translates to: "not only". Accompanied by さえ sae ("but also") indicates something unusual or unexpected. ばかりか Etymology: bakari + ka

Nouns Sofu bakari ka, sōsofu sae ikite iru. Not only is my grandfather 祖父ばかりか、曽祖父さえ生きている。 living, but so is my great-grandfather.

bakashi bakashi is another form of bakari.

ばかし

dake Translates to: "only"; limit. Dake functions as a noun. だけ

Nouns rōmaji dake no jisho a rōmaji-only dictionary ローマ字だけの辞書。

Verbs (volitional) Netai dake nete mo ii. You can sleep as much as you 寝たいだけ寝てもいい。 want [to sleep].

da no Translates to: "and, things like". Etymology: da () + no. だの This particle is used far less frequently than to ka. Often has negative connotations.

Nouns, adjectives, verbs Nattō da no, shīfūdo da no, wasabi da no — nihonshoku ga nigate da. Natto, seafood, wasabi — 納豆だの、シーフードだの、わさびだの — 日本食が苦手だ。 Japanese food isn't my thing.

darake Translates to: "covered with". Often has negative connotations.

だらけ

Nouns Watashi no fuku wa doro darake! My clothes are covered with 私の服は泥だらけ！ mud.

de Etymology: Originally an alteration of ni te, later treated as a conjugation of the copula da. de can be used as "by means of" で

Nouns: instrument Jitensha de ikimashō. Let's go by bicycle. 自転車で行きましょう。

Nouns: location Koko de yasumitai. I want to rest here. ここで休みたい。

Nouns: Nihongo de tegami wo kaita. I wrote the letter in Japanese. 日本語で手紙を書いた。 Japanese particles 3

de mo Translates to: "even; or; but, however; also in" Etymology: de + mo でも

Nouns, particles: "even" Uchū kara de mo Banri-no-Chōjō ga mieru. Even from you can see 宇宙からでも万里の長城がみえる。 the Great Wall of China.

Noun: "or something" Ocha de mo, ikaga? Would you like tea or お茶でも、いかが？ something?

Noun: "also in" Nihon de mo eigo o benkyō suru In Japan also, we study 日本でも英語を勉強する。 English.

Beginning of phrase: De mo, watashi wa sō omowanai But I don't think so. "but, however, even so" でも、私はそう思わない。

ni te Formal version of de, functions in exactly the same way. Etymology: Case particle ni + conjunctive particle te (c.f. te form of Japanese verbs) にて

dokoro ka Translates to: "anything but, far from" Etymology: dokoro (tokoro: place) + ka どころか (所か)

Nouns Kare wa keisatsukan dokoro ka, hanzaisha da. He's anything but a 彼は警察官どころか、犯罪者だ。 policeman; he's a criminal.

e Translates to: "to, in"; direction E is written with へ rather than え, reflecting old kana usage. へ

Nouns: direction Nihon e yōkoso! Welcome to Japan! 日本へようこそ！

ga Functions as: identifier (identifies something unspecified), ("but") Ga (が or ヶ): Historical possessive used to connect nouns, most often seen in place names as ヶ が

Nouns: identifier Neko ga esa o tabeta. The cat ate the catfood. (answers a silent or asked 猫が餌を食べた。 [Answers: "What ate the question) catfood?"]

Inu ga suki. I like dogs. [Answers: What 犬が好き。 do you like?]

Noun: noun connector wa ga kuni my/our [collective] country 我が国

Fujimi ga Oka Fuji View Hill 富士見が丘

Seki ga hara Gateway Plains (site of the 関が原 Battle of Sekigahara)

Phrases: conjunction Inu wa suki da ga, neko wa kirai da. I like dogs but I hate cats. 犬は好きだが、猫は嫌いだ。

hodo Translates to: "as much as"; upper limit

ほど (程)

Nouns Kare hodo nihongo ga umakunai. My Japanese isn't as good as 彼ほど日本語がうまくない。 his

* Hayai hodo ii. Adjectives The sooner, the better. 早いほどいい。

Verb Aitsu o koroshitai hodo kirai da I hate him enough (to want) あいつを殺したいほど嫌いだ。 to kill him Japanese particles 4

ka Functions as: question denominator, alternative item conjunction, quotation expressing doubt; "whether," especially when used with dō ka ("or not"). か

Nouns, verbs: listing Kore ka, sore ka, dotchika erande yo. This or that, choose one of alternatives これか、それか、どっちか選んでよ。 them.

Noun, verbs: "whether (or Iku ka [dō ka] wakaranai. I don't know [whether or not not)" 行くか（どうか）分からない。 / if] he'll go.

Phrases: question Wakaru ka? Do you understand? 分かるか？

Phrase: quotation Iku ka to omoimasu ga... I think he'll go (but I'm not expressing doubt 行くかと思いますが。。。 sure)...

kai kai is a gentler and masculine variant of the question marker ka.

かい

ka na Translates to: "I wonder" (Note: 'Ka na' implies having mostly made up one's mind. Drawing out the 'na' [ka naa] implies less certainty.) Etymology: ka + na かな

Phrases Kare wa ayashii hito ka na. I wonder if he's a suspicious 彼は怪しい人かな。 person.

kara Translates to: "from, after, because" Kara may be followed by no to link two nouns. から

Nouns: "from, out of" Tōkyō kara kaetta. He returned from Tokyo. 東京から帰った。

zutto mae kara no hanashi a conversation from way back ずっと前からの話

Verb (te form): "after" Owatte kara, kite kudasai. Please come by after 終わってから、きてください。 finishing (after you've finished).

Adjectives, Verbs: Niku o tabenai kara, rāmen wa dame da Because he doesn't eat meat, "because" 肉を食べないから、ラーメンはだめだ。 ramen is bad (a bad idea).

ka shira Ka shira is like ka na, but is used more by women. See also Gender differences in spoken Japanese. Etymology: ka + shira, the irrealis form (i.e. negative form minus the -nai) of shiru "to know" かしら

Phrases Kare wa ayashii hito ka shira. I wonder if he's a suspicious 彼は怪しい人かしら。 person.

kedo Translates to: "although, but" Etymology: kedo is a shortened version of formal keredomo. It also appears semi-abbreviated and semi-formally as けど keredo or kedomo.

Adjectives, verbs Kanojo wa hen da kedo kirei da. She is strange but pretty 彼女は変だけどきれいだ。

kiri Translates to: "just, only" Kiri is more rarely used than dake, functions as a noun and may be followed by no. きり (切り)

Nouns futari kiri no o-mise a shop with just two people 二人きりのお店 [who work there]

koro/goro Translates to: "around, about, approximately" Koro functions as a noun and may be followed by no. ごろ (頃) Japanese particles 5

Nouns San-ji goro ni aimashō. Let's meet around 3 o'clock. 三時ごろに会いましょう。

koso Functions as: Emphasis marker. There is no direct translation, but roughly analogous to "precisely" or "exactly", as in examples below. こそ

Phrases Kyō koso, yaru zo! Today, I'm going to do it! 今日こそ、やるぞ！

Kimi ga suki da kara koso kore hodo ganbatte iru n da yo. It's precisely because I like 君が好きだからこそこれほどがんばっているんだよ。 you that I'm working this hard.

Kochira koso, yoroshiku onegai shimasu. Nice to meet you, too. こちらこそ、よろしくおねがいします。 (Emphasizes this side or me too)

kurai/gurai Translates to: "about, approximately" Kurai functions as a noun and may be followed by no. くらい・ぐらい (位)

Nouns Juppun kurai kakaru It takes about 10 minutes. 十分くらいかかる。

made Translates to: "up to, until, as far as" Indicates a time or place as a limit. まで (迄)

Nouns (specifically Kono densha wa, Shimonoseki made ikimasu. This train goes as far as places or times) この電車は、下関まで行きます。 Shimonoseki.

Verb Kaeru made matte iru. I'll wait until you come home. 帰るまで待っている。

made ni Translates to: "by (a certain time)" Etymology: made + ni

までに (迄に)

Nouns, verbs Ku-ji made ni kaeru. I'll come home by nine 九時までに帰る。 o'clock.

me me (目 only): ordinal particle me (め only): "Damn..."; abusive/pejorative め (目)

Classifier nouns: ordinal Amerika wa nikai me desu. This is my second time to アメリカは二回目です。 America.

Noun: abusive "damn..." Orokamono me! [You] damn fool! 愚か者め！

mo Translates to: "also" Mo always replaces wa and ga, but may follow other particles. も

Nouns, phrases Watashi ni mo kureta. She gave some to me, too. 私にもくれた。

mono/mon Verb + mono (物) : creates a noun from the verb (only applies to certain verbs) もの/もん at the end of a sentence: casual feminine sentence ender like の; もん is very feminine and a bit cheeky. もの・もん Japanese particles 6

With verbs Nomimono Drink 飲み物

Tabemono Food 食べ物

Ikimono Living thing 生き物

At the end of a sentence "Doushite konakatta no?" "Jugyou ga atta mono." "Why didn't you come?" "I 「どうしてこなかったの？」「授業があったもの。」 had class."

"Doushite konakatta no?" "Jugyou ga atta mon." "Why didn't you come?" "I 「どうしてこなかったの？」「授業があったもん。」 had class, hah."

mono-de Similar meaning as ので.

もので

mono-ka/mon-ka Put at the end of sentences,Use in Strongly Decline. (More Gentler : もの/もんですか)

ものか/もんか

At the end of sentences Makeru-monka! I will not surrender! 負けるもんか!

Dare ga anna tokoro-e nido to iku-mondesuka! Who dares to go to the place 誰があんな所へ二度と行くもんですか! like that at the second time!

mono-nara

ものなら

mono-o Used in phrases to show deplore feelings about not doing something they should do.

ものを

Phrases "Sukida" to hito koto it-te kure-sae shi-tara kekkon deki-ta mono'o... If I said "I like you" ,even now "好きだ"と一言言ってくれさえしたら結婚できたものを... we would get married...

na and nā Na (な only): used with a class of adjectives which behave grammatically like nouns (see na-adjectives) if used with verb,it is like a command "Don't... ". It is also used to modify general nouns before other particles which cannot directly な・なあ・なぁ follow nouns (e.g. no de). Etymology: The na used with nouns (including na-adjectives) is a form of the copula. Na or nā at the end of a sentence is a variant of ne, implying more reflection.

Verb Suru-na Don't do (something). するな

Na-adjectives hen na hito a strange person 変な人

Phrases Hen da na! How strange! 変だな！

nado Translates to: "for example, things like, such as, etc., and so on" Functions as a noun and may be followed by no. など (等)

Nouns Nattō ya kabuki nado wa Nihon dake ni aru. Things like natto and kabuki 納豆や歌舞伎などは日本だけにある。 are only in Japan.

nanka/nante Functions to: emphasize disgust, contempt, or otherwise negative feelings of the speaker. Nante is slightly more formal than nanka. なんか・なんて

Nouns Jogen nanka iranai. I don't need any (damn) 助言なんかいらない。 advice. Japanese particles 7

[1] Verb Oyogu nante dekinai. I can't swim. 泳ぐなんてできない。

[2] Adjectives Ōkiku nante nai kedo, kirei da. It's not big [or anything], but 大きくなんてないけど、きれいだ。 it's clean.

nara Translates to: "if"; conditional Hypothetical (仮定形) or conditional form of the copula da. Related to the more formal naraba. なら

Nouns, adjectives, verbs, Atsui nara, eakon o tsukete If you're hot, turn on the air phrases 暑いなら、エアコンを付けて。 conditioner.

ne Translates to: "eh"; interjection, tag question Similar to English "hey", "eh?", French "non?" and Spanish "no?" Asks or shows agreement and reflection at ね phrase-end, also used before sentences to catch listener's attention (informal).

Phrases Kimi wa kashikoi yo ne. You're pretty smart, aren't 君は賢いよね。 you.

Kakkō ii desu ne. That's pretty neat, eh? 格好いいですね。

Ne, ima nanji? Hey, what time is it? ね、いま何時？

ni Translates to: "to, in, at, by"; indirect object, direction

に

Noun: location Gakkō ni iru. I'm at/in school. 学校にいる。

Noun: direction Gakkō ni iku. I'm going to school. 学校にいく。

Noun: indirect object Ore ni kaese. Give it back to me. 俺に返せ。

Noun: passive agent Ka ni sasareta. I was bitten by a mosquito. 蚊にさされた。

Noun, verbs (stem only): Eiga o mi ni iku. I'm going to see a movie. purpose, intent 映画を見に行く。

ni wa Translates to: "for; in, to"; Etymology: ni + wa (always written は) には The wa part is the topic particle. Serves as emphasis for a negative ending.

Nouns: "for" Shichimi wa, watashi ni wa kara-sugiru. Shichimi is too spicy for me. 七味は、私には辛すぎる。 (i.e., "you might like it, but I'm not touching it.")

Noun: "in, to" Kyōto ni wa hana ga aru. There are flowers in Kyōto. 京都には花がある。 (Lit.: As for in Kyōto, there are flowers.)

no Functions as: possession indicator, noun link, (subordinate clauses), When nominalizing whole phrases, the no may function either as emphasis or as a question, depending on tone of voice. の Similar to English, a falling tone denotes a statement, and a rising tone a question. Its use to mark statements tends to be more typical of feminine speech. See also Gender differences in spoken Japanese.

Nouns: possession ex. a sensei no kuruma the teacher's car 先生の車

Noun: possession ex. b watashi no konpyuuta My computer 私のコンピュータ Japanese particles 8

Noun: possession ex. c anata no shukudai your homework あなたの宿題

Noun: linking kuruma no Toyota Toyota the car [company] 車のトヨタ

Noun: subject marker in Kare no tsukutta kēki wa oishikatta. The cake that he made was subordinate clauses (see 彼の作ったケーキはおいしかった。 tasty. also: ga)

i-adjectives: Yasui no wa, kore. This is the cheap[er] one. nominalization 安いのは、これ。

Verb: nominalization Taberu no ga daisuki. I love eating. 食べるのが大好き。

Phrases: nominalization Mō, tabeta no? Have you eaten yet? もう、食べたの？

Kuruma na no? Is it a car? 車なの？

Kare ni mō ageta no yo! I already gave it to him! 彼にもうあげたのよ！

no de Translates to: "because" Etymology: no + de ので Colloquially, no de is often shortened to n de.

[3] Phrases Tesuto ga aru no de, ikenai. Because I have a test, I can't テストがあるので、行けない。 go.

Gakkō na no de, kin'en da. Because this is a school it's 学校なので、禁煙だ。 no smoking.

nomi Translates to: "only, just" Nomi is more formal and far less common than dake. Unlike dake, its only meaning is that of small quantity or のみ singleness of frequency.

Nouns Tō-ten de wa, Nihon en nomi go-riyō itadakemasu. This store accepts Japanese 当店では、日本円のみご利用頂けます。 Yen only.

no ni Translates to: "despite, although, even though; would have; in order to" Etymology: no + ni のに Nouns and na-adjectives must be followed by na before using this particle. No ni has a stronger meaning than kedo when used to mean "although," and conveys regret when used to mean "would have."

Adjectives, verbs: Benkyō shiteiru no ni, eigo ga hanasenai. Although I am studying, I "although" 勉強しているのに、英語が話せない。 can't speak English.

Adjectives (conditional), Kaette kitara, yokatta no ni. It would have been nice if verbs (conditional): 帰ってきたら、よかったのに。 you had come home. "would have"

Verb (plain form): "in Hikkosu no ni torakku ga hitsuyō da. (In order) to move, you need order to" 引っ越すのにトラックが必要だ。 a truck.

o Functions as: direct object Translates to: "through, from, past (motion verbs only)" を This is unrelated to the honorific prefix o, written お or 御.

Nouns: direct object Neko ga esa o tabeta. The cat ate the food. 猫が餌を食べた。

Noun: through, etc. Sora o tobu fly through the sky (motion) 空を飛ぶ Japanese particles 9

sa/sā Functions as: Masculine sentence/phrase final particle, indicating explanation of obvious facts. It is softer than yo. Sā: Feminine sentence/phrase final particle, used like ne, but often more frequently as extremely colloquial filler. さ・さあ・さぁ

Phrases: masculine sa Kanojo wa inai kara, dansu ni ikanai sa. I don't have a girlfriend, so I'm 彼女はいないから、ダンスに行かないさ。 not going to the dance.

Phrases: sā Kinō sā, gakkō de sā, sensei ni sā, chūi sarete sā, chō mukatsuita. Like yesterday, in like school, 昨日さあ、学校でさあ、先生にさあ、注意されてさあ、超むかついた。 I like got fussed at by like some teacher, and it totally made me sick.

sae Sae: "even" Note the meaning overlaps with mo. Sae implies (usually) positive emphasis that the evident extent of something is さえ greater than initially expected. Can be followed by mo for additional emphasis. Contrast this with sura.

Nouns Kanji sae kakeru. He can even write kanji. 漢字さえ書ける。

de sae Translates to: "even" Etymology: de + sae でさえ De sae replaces wa and ga, like de mo above.

Nouns Sonna koto wa saru de sae dekiru. Even a monkey can do that. そんなことは猿でさえできる。

sae...ba/ra Function: sae followed by a verb in the conditional means "if only."

さえ…ば・ら

Nouns 'Kore sae nomeba, futsukayoi ga naoru yo. If you would just drink this, これさえ飲めば、二日酔いが直るよ。 your hangover would get better.

shi Translates to: "and what's more" (conjunction)

し

Adjectives, verbs Kirei da shi, hiroi shi, ii ne, kono apāto! It's clean, it's spacious; this きれいだし、広いし、いいね、このアパート。 apartment is nice, isn't it!

shika Translates to: "only, just" Shika must be followed by a negative verb. しか Shika may be compounded as dakeshika, kirishika, and nomishika (plus the negative verb) to stress an extremely limited quantity or frequency.

Nouns Ichi en dama shika nai. I have just a one-yen coin. 一円玉しかない。

Verb Yūbin-kyoku ni iku shika nai. The only thing [to do] is to go 郵便局に行くしかない。 to the post office.

sura Translates to: "even" Note the meaning overlaps with mo. Sura implies (usually) negative emphasis that the evident extent of something is すら less than initially expected. Contrast this with sae.

Nouns Kanji sura kakenai. He can't even write kanji. 漢字すら書けない。

to Translates to: "and" (conjunction); "with" (preposition) "if"; quotation

と

Nouns: conjunction sore to kore that and this それとこれ Japanese particles 10

Noun: preposition Boku to ikitai? Do you want to go with me? 僕と行きたい？

Verb, adjectives: "if" Benkyō suru to wakaru. If you study, you'll 勉強すると分かる。 understand.

Any phrase: quotation Umi made! to sakenda. "To the sea!" he cried. 海までと叫んだ。

to ka Functions as: A listing particle used like nado. Often used with the question word nani (what) in the form nantoka ("something or other"). とか Etymology: to + ka

Nouns Kani to ka, hotate to ka, zenbu tabeta yo. We had crab, scallops, [other 蟹とか、帆立とか、全部食べたよ。 stuff,] we ate them all.

to mo To mo (共): "both, all of the" To mo (no kanji): "even if, even though; at the ...-est; whether; [emphasis]" とも (共) If following a noun and used with a negative verb, meaning changes to "none". Etymology: to + mo

Counted nouns Watashi wa, aitsura ga futari to mo kirai da. I hate the both of those guys. 私は、あいつらが、二人とも嫌いだ。

Zannen nagara, sono kuruma wa san dai to mo irimasen. Unfortunately, we need none 残念ながら、その車は三台とも要りません。 of those three cars.

Volitional verbs Dō shiyō to mo amari susumanai. No matter how we try [to do どうしようともあまり進まない。 something], we don't make much progress.

Adverbial (continuative) Sukunaku to mo go-jū mairu aruite kita. We walked at least fifty miles form of i-adjectives 少なくとも五十マイル歩いてきた。 [to get here].

Osoku to mo itte miyō yo. Even if it's late, let's go and 遅くともいってみようよ。 check it out.

Verb (paired with same Kau to mo kawanai to mo hakkiri shite imasen. It isn't clear whether they're verb in negative) 買うとも買わないともはっきりしていません。 going to buy or not.

Verb, adjectives Waratte ii to mo. It's okay to laugh. [4] This use is similar 笑っていいとも。 to the English expression, "as if [something] Ikimasen to mo. As if I would go. wouldn't 行きませんとも。 [phrase]."

tte Written as って in hiragana, this is another form of to. It is a shortened version of itte (言って), the present progressive form of the verb iu (言う), "to say"; it functions as a type of verbal quotation mark. It is sometimes used for a direct って quote, sometimes for an indirect quote, and sometimes simply to emphasize a word or concept. tte is casual, and (because it can be a direct quote) the politeness level of the quoted material does not necessarily reflect on the speaker. If you wish to be assuredly formal, use to iimasu instead of tte.

Any phrase Sugu kimasu tte Could be, "He said he'll come すぐ来ますって。 soon" (more politely) or, "He said, 'I'll come soon.'" (less so).

Arabiago tte, muzukashikunai? "Arabic, huh, isn't that アラビア語って難しくない。 difficult?" (emphasizing a word or concept thoughtfully)

tteba Functions as:'strong emphasis marker, especially when the speaker has grown impatient. Etymology: te + ba ってば Japanese particles 11

Any phrase: quotation kōhī datteba ! I said "coffee"! コーヒーだってば！

wa はwa is a topic marker. It is written with the hiragana は ha, rather than the hiragana わ, wa. Not to be confused with the particle が. は

wa わ wa is often used by females at the end of the sentence to establish an emotional connection. This also conveys a certain deference to the speaker's wishes and emotions. わ

ya Ya is used to make incomplete lists of things. To make an exhaustive list, the particle to is used instead.

や

Watashi no suki na tabemono wa okashi ya pan ya mikan nado desu "I like snacks, bread and 私の好きな食べ物はお菓子やパンやミカンなどです。 tangerines."

yara Denotes either uncertainty or listing.

やら

yo Yo comes at the end of the sentence, and is used to make assertions. Compare zo and ze below. Yo is also sometimes used after nouns, and functions as a vocative marker. This is especially used in older speech, poetry, and songs. よ

Kaeru yo! "I'm going home!" 帰るよ！

Saraba, tomo yo "Farewell, oh friend!" 然らば友よ。

yori Yori can mean "from", and is also used to make comparisons. Yori is usually written より in hiragana.

より

Kono densha-wa, Kashiwa-yori saki, kaku eki-ni tomarimasu "This train will stop at every この電車は柏よりさき各駅に止まります。 station after Kashiwa".

Dare-yori-mo kanemochi-ni naritai "I want to become richer than 誰よりも金持ちになりたい。 anyone (else)".

ze ze indicates assertion. Used mostly by men, it is never considered polite. Compare yo and zo.

ぜ

zo zo indicates assertion. Used mainly by men, it is considered somewhat less forceful and more positive than ze. Compare yo and ze above. ぞ

zutsu Zutsu means "each" and usually follows counted nouns: Zutsu is written with hiragana as ずつ.

ずつ

Noun: counted Chokorēto-o ni-ko-zutsu tabemashita I ate two pieces of each (kind チョコレートを二個ずつ食べました。 of) chocolate. Japanese particles 12

Contrast

ni and de Ni and de can both be used to show location, corresponding to the prepositions "in" or "at" in English. Their uses are mutually exclusive. Ni, when used to show location, is used only with stative verbs such as iru, "to be, exist;" aru, "to be, exist, have;" and sumu, "to live, inhabit." Nihon-ni sundeiru. "I live in Japan." Gakkō-ni iru. "I am in school." De is used with action verbs to convey the place of action, as opposed to location of being. Gakkō-de neru. "I sleep in school." *Gakkō-ni neru. *"I sleep to school," is not usually used.

ni and e Ni and e can both indicate direction of motion, meaning "to" or "at" in English. In this sense, e is perhaps closer to English "towards" in terms of use (see example below). As long as ni is used directionally, it is possible to substitute e in its place. Ni used in other senses cannot be replaced by e: Gakkō ni iku. "I'm going to school," where gakkō, "school," is the destination of iku, "go." Gakkō e iku. "I'm going to school," where gakkō, "school," is the destination of iku, "go." Gakkō ni iru. "I'm at school," where gakkō, "school," is the location of iru, "be;" not a destination. *Gakkō e iru. *"I'm to school," is not a possible construction since "be" is not a verb of motion. Tomodachi ni au "I'll meet my friends," where tomodachi, "friends," is the indirect object of au, "meet;" not a destination. *Tomodachi e au *"I'll meet to my friends," which is impossible because "meet" is not a verb of motion. Hon o kai ni itta "I went to buy a book," where kai ni, "to buy," shows purpose or intent, and is a verbal adverb; not destination. *Hon o kai e itta *"I went towards buying a book," is not possible because kai, "buying," cannot be a destination. Indicating direction, using e instead of ni is preferred when ni is used non-directionally in proximity: Tomodachi ni ai ni Kyōto e itta. "I went to Kyoto to meet my friends."

ga and o In some cases, ga and o are interchangeable. For example, with the tai form, meaning "want to", it is possible to say either of the following: Gohan-ga tabetai. "I want to eat rice." Gohan-o tabetai. "I want to eat rice." Similarly, suki, a na adjective meaning "liked", can take either ga or o: Kimi-ga suki da "I like you" Kimi-o suki de yokatta "I'm glad I like you" (words from a popular song) Japanese particles 13

ni and to Ni and to are sometimes interchangeable in forms like ni naru and to naru. The to naru form suggests a natural change, whereas ni naru suggests some indirect agent.

ya and to Ya is used for incomplete lists, whereas to is used for complete ones.

Differences from English prepositions Many Japanese particles fill the role of prepositions in English, but they are unlike prepositions in many ways. Japanese does not have equivalents of prepositions like "on", and often uses particles along with verbs and nouns to modify another word where English might use prepositions. For example, ue is a noun meaning "top/up"; and ni tsuite is a fixed verbal expression meaning "concerning", and when used as postpositions: Tēburu-no -ue-ni aru.

Table-OF top/up-AT exists. "It's on the table." Ano hito-wa, gitā-ni tsuite nandemo wakaru.

That person-TOPIC guitar-TO concerning anything knows. "That person knows everything about guitars."

Post-positional idioms

Noun-derived

Preceding syntactic element Example sentence Translation

jō Translates to: "from the standpoint of"

上

Nouns Rekishi jō wa, tadashii to omoimasu. From a historical point of view, I think you're 歴史上は、正しいと思います。 right.

chū Translates to: "in progress, in the midst of, now doing"

中

Nouns Tadaima, denwa chū desu. He's on the phone right now. ただいま、電話中です。

jū Translates to: "throughout, all across"; often followed by de

中

Nouns: time Ichi nichi jū shigoto shimasu. I'll work all day long. 一日中仕事します。

Nouns: place Amerika jū de hayatte iru. It's getting popular all over America. アメリカ中で流行っている。

kata/gata Functions as: Plural marker for some pronouns, most polite among plural markers such as ra and tachi.

かた・がた (方)

Personal pronouns: plural marker Anata gata no okage de, yoi seiseki o ageraremashita. Thanks to you (folks), we have achieved success. あなた方のおかげで、よい成績を上げられました。 Japanese particles 14

Person nouns: plural marker Sensei gata ni tasukete moraimashita. The teachers helped me. 先生方に助けてもらいしました。

ra Functions as: Plural marker for some pronouns, least polite among plural markers such as kata/gata and tachi.

ら (等)

Personal pronouns: plural marker Boku ra wa ikanai. We won't go. 僕らは行かない。

Place pronouns: approximate area Koko ra hen ga itai. It hurts around here [hereabouts]. ここら辺が痛い。

tachi Functions as: Plural/group marker for nouns and some pronouns referring to people; neutral politeness.

たち (達)

Animate nouns: plural marker Sensei tachi ga kita. The teachers came. 先生達が来た。

Pronouns: plural marker Watashi tachi wa raishū kaeru. We will return next week. 私達は来週帰る。

Personal/family names: group Saiaku no ko wa, Okada tachi da. The worst kids are Okada and the others in that marker 最悪の子は、岡田達だ。 group.

Verb-derived

Preceding syntactic element Example sentence Translation

zoi Translates to: "along"; followed by ni.

沿い

Nouns Tōri zoi ni aruku. Walk along the street. 通り沿いに歩く。

See also • Adposition • Japanese counter words • Japanese grammar: particles • Japanese verb conjugations and adjective declensions

Notes [1] Nanka/nante is usually followed by a verb which conveys some kind of undervalue, lacking, or dislike, often in the negative. [2] Can immediately follow i-adjectives, using the adjective's ku form if followed by the negative, or if the adjective is followed by no. Na-adjectives require the copula da or no before nante or nanka. [3] Phrases ending in a noun or na-adjective require the na form of the copula before the nominalizing no. [4] Title of a Japanese TV programme hosted by Tamori. Japanese particles 15

References • Chino, Naoko. How to Tell the Difference Between Japanese Particles. Tokyo; New York: Kodansha International, 2005. ISBN 4-7700-2200-X. • Martin, Samuel E. A Reference Grammar of Japanese. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1975. ISBN 0-300-01813-4. • Makino, Seiichi, and Michio Tsutsui. A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. Tokyo: Japan Times, 1986. ISBN 4-7890-0454-6. • Makino, Seiichi, and Michio Tsutsui. A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar. Tokyo: Japan Times, 1997. ISBN 4-7890-0775-8. • McClain, Yoko Matsuoka. A Handbook of Modern Japanese Grammar: Including Lists of Words and Expressions with English Equivalents for Reading Aid. Tokyo: Hokuseido Press, 1981. ISBN 4-590-00570-0, ISBN 0-89346-149-0. Article Sources and Contributors 16 Article Sources and Contributors

Japanese particles Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=381736364 Contributors: 1ForTheMoney, AMHR285, Albuseer, Andycjp, Armyrifle9, BiT, Blacksaingrain, Bueller 007, Canterbury Tail, CapnPrep, Chortos-2, Cryptic star, DannyWilde, Dave-ros, Dinoguy1000, DocWatson42, Eirikr, Emmaskis, Furrykef, Goldenpelt, Hoshi.ni.Drifting, Ironsand, JFHJr, Kuru, Kwamikagami, Leucius, Luoboni, Metta Bubble, Mkill, Moonriddengirl, Nictius, Noveltyghost, Oda Mari, Quasirandom, Radagast83, Redevil89101, Regregex, Reigaaru, Rodasmith, Sherlockindo, Squids and Chips, Swift, Tgies, Thunderrabbit, Tohru, Tokeen, ToothingLummox, Trotter332, Winterkoninkje, Woohookitty, Yslop, 82 anonymous edits License

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

http:/ / creativecommons. org/ licenses/ by-sa/ 3. 0/