Particles
Japanese forms involved:
All form
This post is a continuation of my previous post on tenses, you may check out if you missed it. I strongly recommend understanding Japanese verbs and adjectives first before continuing this section.
All form
This post is a continuation of my previous post on tenses, you may check out if you missed it. I strongly recommend understanding Japanese verbs and adjectives first before continuing this section.
Introduction
In the 1st post, I mentioned a bit regarding particles. It's not the Physics's kind of science particles. In Japanese it is called 助詞 (joshi), or "helper", "conneector", that kind of meaning. They are used to connect the sentences, much like "and", "of", "however", "because", "by the way"...of English, you get what I mean. They also have particles that cannot be literally translated into English.
I think that Wikipedia summarized the Japanese particles pretty well, you may refer it for complete guidelines.
In the 1st post, I mentioned a bit regarding particles. It's not the Physics's kind of science particles. In Japanese it is called 助詞 (joshi), or "helper", "conneector", that kind of meaning. They are used to connect the sentences, much like "and", "of", "however", "because", "by the way"...of English, you get what I mean. They also have particles that cannot be literally translated into English.
I think that Wikipedia summarized the Japanese particles pretty well, you may refer it for complete guidelines.
You may see that a lot of other grammars are mixed to form a sentence. This is how the Japanese language works. For now, I will explain the grammar from the particle's perspective. We will look in depth on the grammar in the next post from the perspective of verb's forms.
If you are a beginner, that's ok, I'll try to cover the basic one, the one-word particles.
Starting with the most popular の.
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"の"
1.) の is commonly used as possession particle, such as
車の速さ(speed of a car),
犬の店(shop of dogs),
日本の文化(Japanese culture),
私の財布(my wallet).
何の話？(What you sayin'?)
Sometimes in English, the words included the context of possession such as "his", "our", "country+ese", in Japanese you just need to add の.
2.) Other than possession, it can be used as question marker in casual speaking ending with の,
どこにいるの？(Where are you?)
そうなの？(Is that so?)
It performs the same as か, but with an intention of seeking explanations for their question.
Sometimes they speak too fast, they simply replace の with ん before ending with other suffixes to save the tongue movement, much like "going to" becomes "gonna" in English, for example
どこにいるんですか？(Where are you? (polite), ended with か)
そうなんだ。(I see / I mean it) (it is a statement, not a question, will explain below)
3.) As you can see, in the last example, actually the sentence got 2 particles in playing, "な" and "の". "な" in this case it treats the whole previous sentence as an object, much like a na-adjectives, following by "の" to act as sentence marker. So when you see （。。。なのです／。。。なんだ）, it means they are making a statement to emphasize or explain their position or idea.
4.) It can also act as nominalization, converting literally anything into a noun, for example:
食べるのは好きです。I like (the act of) eating (verb to noun)
良いのはこれです。This is the good one. (i-adjective to noun)
綺麗なのはあれです。That is the pretty one. (na-adjective to noun)
(食べるのは好きです。) is equivalent to (食べることが好きです）、こと also also act as nominalization particle. Also, ”が” particle has been used here so I will discuss "が“ particles right away.
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"は”、”が”
In case of the particle, "は” is read as "wa", not "ha".
は and が behave similarly in many cases but their purposes are fundamentally different.
は is a topic marker. Whenever you want to talk about something, use は to make something as a topic of a sentence. For example:
富士山は高いです。The Fuji Mountain is high
この宿題はとても難しいです。This homework is very difficult
が is a pointer. Whenever you want to pinpoint on something and describe something on it, use が , for example:
あなたが好き。I like you.
この本が重い。This book is heavy.
* この本は重い also correct, but in the sense of Japanese, the book becomes a general topic of the sentence.
が can be used as "but", for example:
この本が好きですが、値段は高いです。I like this book, but the price is expensive.
the 1st が is a pointer, 2nd が is "but", 3rd は is topic marker. Hence the price of the book is the main topic of the sentence. Now can you see the difference between は and が? Here is the simplest example that I can think of:
ここは何があったの？What happened here?
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”に”, ”へ”
In case of the particle, “へ” is read as "e", not "he".
に and へ both mean "to", they behave similarly in many cases but their usage is fundamentally different.
へ is used to point to a physical destination, for example:
日本へようこそ。Welcome to Japan.
どこへ行くの？Where are you going?
In case of に，どこに行くの？ also make sense. However, に can be pointed to non-physical and abstract context as well, such as time, an action, a statement, etc. For example:
友達を迎えに行く。I will go to pick up my friend. (verb stem grammar)
寝る前に、歯を磨いてください。Please brush your teeth before going to bed.
誤解に巻き込まれた。I was caught in a misunderstanding.
に also being used as adverb converter, For example:
そうしないと遅刻になる。Will become late if not do so.
楽しい一日が終わりになる。The fun day is over. (verb stem grammar)
真実が明らかになる。The truth becomes clear.
*Did you see how が is being used just now? Good.
To be honest, に is more complicated than you think, it can be used in many ways. For example:
友達に送る。Send to friend.
馬に乗る。ride "onto" horse.
電車に乗る。take "into" a train
店に入る。enter "into" store
彼に触られた。touched "by" him (passive verb grammar)
So it didn't make sense to think in English sense. Learning Japanese essentially means think in the Japanese way. に in Japanese only means "to", something to be pointed to by verbs. If you treat the verbs as an object, from that object's perspective (I mean verbs), に perfectly make sense.
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”を”
を particle is served as one and one purpose only as a directive particle.
English sentence is like SVO (subject verb object), but Japanses is SOV( subject object verb). In order to clarify the relationship between the object and verb, を particle is necessary, or maybe not casually. For example:
日本語を学ぶ。learn (on) Japanese
日本語を話す。speak (on) Japanese
水を飲む。drink water
電車を出る。leave "from" the train
橋を渡る。crosss "over" the bridge
So you may confuse when to use を or に in correspond to verbs. Remember, treat the verbs as objects, then from the verb's perspective, を perfectly make sense too. Don't try to crack the code in English, you will never succeed.
Just be careful about the uses of particles, Changes of particles can completely change the meaning of a sentence. For example:
ケーキを食べる。I eat (directly on the) cake. The action is directed to the cake.
ケーキが食べる。The cake eats (the cake becomes alive?)
ケーキに食べられる。I ate by the cake (the cake becomes a monster?)
Or, to avoid misunderstanding and all the complexities, just omit を or に, just be like:
ケーキ食べる。I eat the cake.
電車出る。leave the train
電車乗る。take the train
Casually it is fine, but you won't get marks in the essay, I think.
###########################################
”ね”、”よ”、”な”
ね、よ、and な are widely used for ending. They are used to make assertions, For example:
可愛いね。It's cute (, isn't it?)
可愛いよ。It's cute (, you know.)
可愛いな。It's cute (soo cute!)
They look the same, but the inherent intentions are different.
可愛いね。is that the speaker is seeking for agreement. If you hear this, you have to reply "yes", "no", or say something.
可愛いよ。is literally telling you the idea, the fact. If you hear this, you can act as you get it.
可愛いな。is literally assertion. If you hear this, you can do nothing.
In terms of na-adjectives, it will be like:
綺麗ね。It's pretty (, isn't it?)
綺麗よ。It's pretty (, you know.)
綺麗なあ。It's pretty (, huh)
よ can be replaced with ぞ or ぜ for more masculine sound.
But be careful on な. It only mixed well with adjectives for this function. If you mixed with verbs or other particles it completely becomes another grammar and totally different in meaning.
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"か" (not が）
Note, is "ka", not "ga".
か is generally used for question marks. For example:
食べましたか。Had you eat?
そうですか。Is that so?
そうか。I see...
Sometimes they used かい in casual speaking, or even omit particles and depends on the sound level of speaking, such as:
食べたかい？
食べたの？
食べた？(from low to high sound)
but beware, か can mix with other particles to form different meaning, such as:
Clear? So don't use か for granted.
###########################################
Last but not least,
”と”
と is serves as listing or linking, such as:
私と母と父。I, mother, and father.
椅子と机。chair and table.
私と付き合う。Date "with" me.
と can also be used as conditional formattings, such as:
食べると健康になる。Will become healthy if eat it.
食べないと死になる。Will be dead if not eat it.
と is often used with "言う" to wrap a statement. For example:
彼と結婚したと言うことは本当？Is that true "that" you married "with" him?
一目ぼれて結婚すると言う話もある。There is also a story "that" gets married at a glance.
The first と is "with", the second と + 言う is "that". ということは or というのは is sometimes lengthy, they simply replaced with って in casual speaking, such as:
彼と結婚したって本当？Is that true "that" you married "with" him?
########################################### Yeah. there are more particles of course, but here I try to explain the basic one. Hopefully, you gained some insight about the mechanism of Japanese language. Next will be on grammar in the perspective of verb's form. I can assure you, you gonna "love" it.
Sometimes they speak too fast, they simply replace の with ん before ending with other suffixes to save the tongue movement, much like "going to" becomes "gonna" in English, for example
どこにいるんですか？(Where are you? (polite), ended with か)
そうなんだ。(I see / I mean it) (it is a statement, not a question, will explain below)
3.) As you can see, in the last example, actually the sentence got 2 particles in playing, "な" and "の". "な" in this case it treats the whole previous sentence as an object, much like a na-adjectives, following by "の" to act as sentence marker. So when you see （。。。なのです／。。。なんだ）, it means they are making a statement to emphasize or explain their position or idea.
4.) It can also act as nominalization, converting literally anything into a noun, for example:
食べるのは好きです。I like (the act of) eating (verb to noun)
良いのはこれです。This is the good one. (i-adjective to noun)
綺麗なのはあれです。That is the pretty one. (na-adjective to noun)
(食べるのは好きです。) is equivalent to (食べることが好きです）、こと also also act as nominalization particle. Also, ”が” particle has been used here so I will discuss "が“ particles right away.
###########################################
"は”、”が”
In case of the particle, "は” is read as "wa", not "ha".
は and が behave similarly in many cases but their purposes are fundamentally different.
は is a topic marker. Whenever you want to talk about something, use は to make something as a topic of a sentence. For example:
富士山は高いです。The Fuji Mountain is high
この宿題はとても難しいです。This homework is very difficult
が is a pointer. Whenever you want to pinpoint on something and describe something on it, use が , for example:
あなたが好き。I like you.
この本が重い。This book is heavy.
* この本は重い also correct, but in the sense of Japanese, the book becomes a general topic of the sentence.
が can be used as "but", for example:
この本が好きですが、値段は高いです。I like this book, but the price is expensive.
the 1st が is a pointer, 2nd が is "but", 3rd は is topic marker. Hence the price of the book is the main topic of the sentence. Now can you see the difference between は and が? Here is the simplest example that I can think of:
ここは何があったの？What happened here?
###########################################
”に”, ”へ”
In case of the particle, “へ” is read as "e", not "he".
に and へ both mean "to", they behave similarly in many cases but their usage is fundamentally different.
へ is used to point to a physical destination, for example:
日本へようこそ。Welcome to Japan.
どこへ行くの？Where are you going?
In case of に，どこに行くの？ also make sense. However, に can be pointed to non-physical and abstract context as well, such as time, an action, a statement, etc. For example:
友達を迎えに行く。I will go to pick up my friend. (verb stem grammar)
寝る前に、歯を磨いてください。Please brush your teeth before going to bed.
誤解に巻き込まれた。I was caught in a misunderstanding.
に also being used as adverb converter, For example:
そうしないと遅刻になる。Will become late if not do so.
楽しい一日が終わりになる。The fun day is over. (verb stem grammar)
真実が明らかになる。The truth becomes clear.
*Did you see how が is being used just now? Good.
To be honest, に is more complicated than you think, it can be used in many ways. For example:
友達に送る。Send to friend.
馬に乗る。ride "onto" horse.
電車に乗る。take "into" a train
店に入る。enter "into" store
彼に触られた。touched "by" him (passive verb grammar)
So it didn't make sense to think in English sense. Learning Japanese essentially means think in the Japanese way. に in Japanese only means "to", something to be pointed to by verbs. If you treat the verbs as an object, from that object's perspective (I mean verbs), に perfectly make sense.
###########################################
”を”
を particle is served as one and one purpose only as a directive particle.
English sentence is like SVO (subject verb object), but Japanses is SOV( subject object verb). In order to clarify the relationship between the object and verb, を particle is necessary, or maybe not casually. For example:
日本語を学ぶ。learn (on) Japanese
日本語を話す。speak (on) Japanese
水を飲む。drink water
電車を出る。leave "from" the train
橋を渡る。crosss "over" the bridge
So you may confuse when to use を or に in correspond to verbs. Remember, treat the verbs as objects, then from the verb's perspective, を perfectly make sense too. Don't try to crack the code in English, you will never succeed.
Just be careful about the uses of particles, Changes of particles can completely change the meaning of a sentence. For example:
ケーキを食べる。I eat (directly on the) cake. The action is directed to the cake.
ケーキが食べる。The cake eats (the cake becomes alive?)
ケーキに食べられる。I ate by the cake (the cake becomes a monster?)
Or, to avoid misunderstanding and all the complexities, just omit を or に, just be like:
ケーキ食べる。I eat the cake.
電車出る。leave the train
電車乗る。take the train
Casually it is fine, but you won't get marks in the essay, I think.
###########################################
”ね”、”よ”、”な”
ね、よ、and な are widely used for ending. They are used to make assertions, For example:
可愛いね。It's cute (, isn't it?)
可愛いよ。It's cute (, you know.)
可愛いな。It's cute (soo cute!)
They look the same, but the inherent intentions are different.
可愛いね。is that the speaker is seeking for agreement. If you hear this, you have to reply "yes", "no", or say something.
可愛いよ。is literally telling you the idea, the fact. If you hear this, you can act as you get it.
可愛いな。is literally assertion. If you hear this, you can do nothing.
In terms of na-adjectives, it will be like:
綺麗ね。It's pretty (, isn't it?)
綺麗よ。It's pretty (, you know.)
綺麗なあ。It's pretty (, huh)
よ can be replaced with ぞ or ぜ for more masculine sound.
But be careful on な. It only mixed well with adjectives for this function. If you mixed with verbs or other particles it completely becomes another grammar and totally different in meaning.
###########################################
"か" (not が）
Note, is "ka", not "ga".
か is generally used for question marks. For example:
食べましたか。Had you eat?
そうですか。Is that so?
そうか。I see...
Sometimes they used かい in casual speaking, or even omit particles and depends on the sound level of speaking, such as:
食べたかい？
食べたの？
食べた？(from low to high sound)
but beware, か can mix with other particles to form different meaning, such as:
食べたかな。I guess I ate it.
食べたかしら。I wonder if I ate it
食べでしょうかな。I wonder if I eat it (verb stem grammar)
食べるものか。As if I will eat it! / I would never eat it. (A lot of online translation don't work well for this phrase.)
Clear? So don't use か for granted.
###########################################
Last but not least,
”と”
と is serves as listing or linking, such as:
私と母と父。I, mother, and father.
椅子と机。chair and table.
私と付き合う。Date "with" me.
と can also be used as conditional formattings, such as:
食べると健康になる。Will become healthy if eat it.
食べないと死になる。Will be dead if not eat it.
と is often used with "言う" to wrap a statement. For example:
彼と結婚したと言うことは本当？Is that true "that" you married "with" him?
一目ぼれて結婚すると言う話もある。There is also a story "that" gets married at a glance.
The first と is "with", the second と + 言う is "that". ということは or というのは is sometimes lengthy, they simply replaced with って in casual speaking, such as:
彼と結婚したって本当？Is that true "that" you married "with" him?
########################################### Yeah. there are more particles of course, but here I try to explain the basic one. Hopefully, you gained some insight about the mechanism of Japanese language. Next will be on grammar in the perspective of verb's form. I can assure you, you gonna "love" it.
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Lesson 5, Verb's form and its grammars
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