Japanese Particles, The Perfect Guide For Beginners

To make a long sentence in Japanese, you need to insert a variety of information between the subject and the predicate. This is made easier by the grammatical function of “particles. Learning Japanese particles can be confusing. But no worries, here is a detailed guide for beginners that clearly explains the rules and scenarios of each particle! 

A Quick Jump To…

• What Do Particles Do?
• The Natural Word Order
• Commonly Used Particles

What Do Particles Do?

It is a postposition and can freely lengthen sentences

Japanese particles function like English prepositions (“in,” “at,” etc.). As described below, English prepositions are placed before nouns, clauses, and phrases, whereas Japanese prepositions are placed after.

Make the word order loose

The word order is rather flexible – it is determined by the postpositions!

English does not have particles, but the word order in a sentence plays a role. Therefore, in English, if the word order changes within a sentence, it will have a different meaning (or non-sentence). On the other hand, in Japanese, however, the word order is not important; rather, it is the cluster of information, such as particles and the nouns, clauses, and phrases connected to them. In other words, changing the word order does not change the sentence’s meaning as long as a noun is paired with a particle. The Japanese language has multiple particles, each with a different function, as described below.

The Natural Word Order

いつ (when)、どこで(where)、　誰と(with whom)、何を(what)、どうした (how)

For Example:

• 昨日の夜　渋谷で　友達と　服とバッグを　買いました。
• Kinō no yoru, tomodachi to fuku to baggu o kai ni Shibuya e ikimashita.
• Last night at Shibuya, my friend and I bought some clothes and bags.

→　服とバッグを　渋谷で　友達と　昨日の夜　買いました。　(OK in conversation! )

But if the particle is changed, the meaning will be so different!

For Example:

• 昨日の夜　渋谷が　友達に　服とバッグを　買いました。
• Kinō no yoru Shibuya ga tomodachi ni fuku to baggu o kaimashita.
• Last night, Mr / Mr. Shibuya bought some clothes and a bag for a friend.

Commonly Used Particles

1. は

【Subject】

• 私はタイ人です。
• Watashi wa Tai hitodesu.
• I am Thai.

• これは500円です。
• Kore wa 500-endesu.
• This is 500 yen.

【Scenario】

• 昨日は居酒屋に行きました。
• Kinō wa izakaya ni ikimashita.
• Yesterday, I went to a tavern.

• 夏休みは何をしましたか。
• Natsuyasumi wa nani o shimashita ka.
• What did you do during your summer vacation?

【Comparison】

• 寿司は好きですが、刺身は嫌いです。
• Sushi wa sukidesuga, sashimi wa kiraidesu.
• I like sushi, but I don’t like sashimi.

2. を

【Object / Object of verb】

• 新聞を読みます。
• Shinbun o yomimasu.
• Read the newspaper.

• コーヒーを飲みます。
• Kōhī o nomimasu.
• Drink coffee.

3. に

【Object / The other party of the object’s action】

• 友達に会います。
• Tomodachi ni aimasu.
• Meet a friend.

• 父にネクタイをあげます。
• Chichi ni nekutai o agemasu.
• I give my tie to my father.

• バスに乗ります。
• Basu ni norimasu.
• Take the bus.

【Destination】

• 中国に行きます。
• Chūgoku ni ikimasu.
• I am going to China.

• 日本に来ます。
• Nihon ni kimasu.
• I will come to Japan.

• うちに帰ります。
• Uchi ni kaerimasu.
• I’m going home.

※The “へ” is also a particle for direction and destination and can be interchanged with “に”.

【Time of Action】

• 7時に起きます。
• 7-Ji ni okimasu.
• I get up at 7:00.

• 11時に寝ます。
• 11-Ji ni nemasu.
• I go to bed at 11:00.

• 3時に戻ります。
• 3-Ji ni modorimasu.
• Return at 3:00.

【Place of Existence】

• 弟の部屋にテレビがあります。
• Otōto no heya ni terebi ga arimasu.
• There is a TV in my brother’s room.

• うちに猫がいます。
• Uchi ni neko ga imasu.
• I have a cat in my house.

4. で

【Place of Action】

• レストランで晩ごはんを食べます。
• Resutoran de ban gohan o tabemasu.
• We will eat dinner at a restaurant.

【Method】

• バスで行きます。
• Basu de ikimasu.
• I will take a bus.

• はしで食べます。
• Hashi de tabemasu.
• Eat with a chopstick.

【Decision Making】

• ウェイター：パンとライス、どちらにしますか。
• U~eitā: Pan to raisu, dochira ni shimasu ka.
• Waiter: Would you like bread or rice?
• あなた：パンでお願いします。
• Anata: Pan de onegaishimasu.
• You: Bread, please.

5. の

【Ownership】

• 私の車
• Watashi no kuruma
• My car

• 友達の本
• Tomodachi no hon
• Friend’s book

【Belong To】

• A社の社員
• A-sha no shain
• Company A’s employee

• A大学の学生
• A daigaku no gakusei
• University A’s student

【Attributes (Type/Characteristics)】

• 日本語の先生
• Nihongo no sensei
• Japanese teacher

• いちごのシャーベット
• Ichigo no shābetto
• Strawberry sorbet

【Company】

• 友達のようこさん
• Tomodachi no Yōko-san
• My friend, Yoko

• 夫のトム
• Otto no Tomu
• My husband, Tom

【Pronoun】

• 赤いの
• Akai no
• The red one.

• 熱いの
• Atsui no
• The hot one.

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6. と

【Those That Share an Act】

• 友達と映画を見ました。
• Tomodachi to eiga o mimashita.
• I saw the movie with friends.

• えりさんと結婚しました。
• Eri-san to kekkon shimashita.
• I married Eri.

• 社長と話します。
• Shachō to hanashimasu.
• I will talk to the president.

【Parallel】

• パンと卵
• Pan to tamago
• Bread and eggs

7. も

【Concurrence / Agreement】

• これもお願いします。
• Kore mo onegaishimasu.
• Please do this too.

• 私も映画が好きです。
• Watashi mo eiga ga sukidesu.
• I like movies too.

【Emphasize】

• ワインを５本も飲みました。
• Wain o 5-pon mo nomimashita.
• We drank five bottles of wine.

8. から

【Duration or Starting Point of the Action】

• うちから学校まで３０分かかります。
• Uchi kara gakkō made 30-bu kakarimasu.
• It takes 30 minutes from our house to the school.

• 明日は8時から仕事します。
• Ashita wa 8-ji kara shigoto shimasu.
• Tomorrow I will work from 8:00 am.

9. まで

【Period or End Point of an Action】

• ９時から１１時まで勉強します。
• ku-Ji kara　Jū ichi-ji made benkyō shimasu.
• We will study from 9:00 to 11:00.

• 合格するまで勉強をがんばります。
• Gōkaku suru made benkyō o ganbarimasu.
• I will study hard until I pass.

10. が

It serves primarily as the subject of a sentence, but it has other functions as well. Hence, many people get confused. Remember the following five functions.

【Object of Like, Possible Expression, and Want】

• さかなが好きです。
• Sakana ga sukidesu.
• I like fish.

• トランペットがふけます。
• Toranpetto ga fukemasu.
• The trumpet blows.

• 水がほしいです。
• Mizu ga hoshīdesu.
• I need water.

【Subject of an Interrogative Question】

• だれが来ますか。
• Dare ga kimasu ka.
• Who is coming?

• いつがいいですか。
• Itsu ga īdesu ka.
• When is a good time?

【It Is The Subject of a Sentence with the Meaning of Possession or Existence】

• うちに自転車があります。
• Uchi ni jitensha ga arimasu.
• We have a bicycle in our house.

• トイレに猫がいます。
• Toire ni neko ga imasu.
• There is a cat in the bathroom.

【It Is the Subject Within a Noun-Modifying Clause】

• これはベートーベンがつくった曲です。
• Kore wa bētōben ga tsukutta kyokudesu.
• This is a piece of music created by Beethoven.

【The Following Objects】

① 好き、嫌い、上手、下手 Like it, dislike it, do it well, do it poorly

• サッカーが好きです。
• Sakkā ga sukidesu.
• I like soccer.

② わかる、できる、見える、聞こえる I know, I can do, I can see, I can hear.

• ここから富士山を見ることができます。
• Koko kara fujisan o miru koto ga dekimasu.
• Fuji can be seen from here.

③ ほしい、したい I want it, I want to do it.

• 新しいテレビがほしいです。
• Atarashī terebi ga hoshīdesu.
• I want a new TV.

• 日本語が勉強したいです。
• Nihongo ga benkyō shitaidesu.
• I want to study Japanese.

【It Becomes Part of the Characteristics that the Subject Has】

• 妹は髪が長い。
• Imōto wa kamiganagai.
• My sister has long hair.

• 日本は犯罪が少ない。
• Nihon wa hanzai ga sukunai.
• Crime is low in Japan.