Japanese Grammar Bank // Japanese Particles

Welcome to this lesson on basic Japanese particles!

Particles are an essential part of the Japanese language. The subject, the object and places are all indicated by specific particles.

There are 188 Japanese particles in total and many have more than one usage, but we will start with the most important ones.

Today we are going to introduce you to some basic and more advanced Japanese particles and their usage in a sentence.

To help you remember, we will provide you with examples of some basic formations used to create a sentence.

Basic Japanese Particles | The Topic Marker は

The particle は is used as a topic marker and is attached after a noun. 

While learning Hiragana, we have learned that, ‘は’ is normally pronounced ‘ha’. However, when used as a particle, は should be pronounced as ‘wa’.

は is the MOST used particle in Japanese language.

For example:

As you study further you will notice that in a conversation if the topic has not changed, ‘は’ is omitted as both the speaker and the listener understands the context and the topic of the conversation. 

NOTE || Learn more about the Topic Marker は here.

Basic Japanese Particles | The Question Particle か

When studying and practicing a new language, there will obviously be many instances where you’ll want to ask questions.

At that time, all you have to do is to use the particle か (ka) at the end of the sentence.

か (ka) is used just like a question mark at the end of a sentence to make a question.

Any sentence can be turned in to a question if か is added at the end.

It is as simple as that!

For example:

The question mark as we know it, “?”, is never used in the Japanese Language: わかりましたか。(Did you understand?)

NOTE || Learn more about Japanese Questions here.

Basic Japanese Particles | The Possessive Particle の

の (no) is the particle used to indicate ownership or association.

It is also used to indicate category of a thing or to state relationship between two things. 

For example:

Even though the first translated sentence sounds a bit weird, that would be literal translation of the sentence in Japanese.

If we compare to the English language, の particle has the same meaning as ‘of’ or as ‘s.

NOTE || Learn more about the Possessive Particle の here.

Basic Japanese Particles | The Addition Marker も

も (mo) is used has the same meaning as ‘also’, ‘as well as’ or ‘too’ in English.

It indicates that something which was previously stated is also true for the current topic discussed.

For example:

Basic Japanese Particles | The Direct Object Marker を

If you’re performing an action on some object, the particle を (wo) is used.

It is also known as the object marker of the sentence and is used after a noun in the sentence.

For example:

NOTE || Learn more about the Object Marker を here.

Basic Japanese Particles | The Connecting Particle と

The と (to) particle is used as ‘and’ in English.

It is used to speak about more than one object. 

For example:

Remember, when we use particle と, we have to mention all the items present. The particle が is attached to the last thing mentioned.

Basic Japanese Particles | The Connecting Particle や

The や (ya) particle is also used to connect different nouns when more than one noun needs to be mentioned.

The difference between と and や is we can use や when we don’t want to mention all the objects present.

For example:

We can also add など (nado) which means etc / other such things.

Keep in mind that など can NEVER be used with と.

You’ve just learned 7 basic Japanese particles, congratulations!

Let’s learn some more tricky ones now. Stay focused, because some particles have more than one usage!

Advanced Japanese Particles | The Subject Particle が

The が (ga) particle is used to talk about the existence of an object or a person.

It is attached to the noun indicating an object or person whose existence is to be highlighted.

The particle が is also used to indicate new information or to give special emphasis on the object. 

• Note that for indicating the existence of a non-living thing, we use the verb ‘ある’ i.e., ‘aru’.
• Whereas, for indicating the existence of a living thing, we use the verb ‘いる’ i.e., ‘iru’.

For example:

Question words are unknown entities so they cannot be topics.

Hence, while starting a sentence with question words, instead of は, particle が is used. The answers to questions with particle が, are also given with particle が.

For example:

が is also used as ‘but’ while joining two sentences, i.e., as a conjunction particle.

NOTE || Learn more about the Subject Particle が here.

Advanced Japanese Particles | The Target Particle に

に (ni) is known as the target, or location marker in Japanese.

It indicates the place where someone or something exists.

For example:

Another use of particle に is as a specific time marker. When we have to indicate a specific time at which a certain action is performed, we use this particle.

We know how famous Japan is for punctuality. You might want to arrive at your given destination 15 minutes earlier!

For example:

Note that particle に is only used with a specific time and never with relative times like tomorrow or next week.

Advanced Japanese Particles | The Starting Point Particle から

You will probably travel a lot when exploring the beauty of Japan. You might need this particle to ask about location as well as time. 

This particle is pronounced ‘kara’ and is similar to ‘from’ in English.

Just like English, it can be used both for location as well as time.

For example:

Advanced Japanese Particles | The End Point Marker まで

The marker まで (made) is used similarly to ‘to’ or ‘until’ in English. Just like in English, it can be used both for location as well as time.

When used together, から and まで indicate a timespan of an event or distance between two locations.

For example:

Advanced Japanese Particles | The Direction Marker へ

We’ve seen in our previous Hiragana lesson that へ is pronounced ‘he’. However, when used as a particle, it is pronounced ‘ae’.

This particle indicates the direction of a movement. It is attached after the noun indicating a place.

For example:

The marker へ is only used with motion verbs, which are:

• 行く : いく (To go)
• 来る : くる (To come)
• 帰る : かえる (To return)

Advanced Japanese Particles | The Location Particle で

The particle で (de) is another location related particle. So many location particles, right?

But, rather than just a location, this particle indicates the place of action.

For example:

Advanced Japanese Particles | The Confirmation Particle ね

The particle ね (ne) is used to indicate the confirmation on the information that is being spoken.

Sometimes, this particle is used just to add a little flavour to speech and the listener is not expected to give any answer.

For example:

TOP TIP | A common example of this in practice is when Speaker A makes a statement and Speaker B agrees. Speaker B would reply with そうですね (sou desune). This essentially means “Yes, I agree”.

Advanced Japanese Particles | The Emphasis Marker よ

Just like ね, よ (yo) is used at the end of the sentence.

It can be compared to the English expression ‘you know?‘.

This particle can add emphasis to a sentence or suggest that the speaker is sharing new information.

For example:

Learning to use ね and よ properly in a conversation can make you sound a little more natural like a native Japanese speaker.

Are you a Flexi Classes student already?

Learn more about Basic Particles in Japanese in the following Flexi lessons:

My Father Is A Teacher (Intro)
What Is Your Job? (A1, Chapter 1)
This Is The Key (A1, Chapter 1)

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If you got this far, congratulations! This was no easy lesson, and there’s a lot to learn here.

Particles and markers are an essential aspect of the Japanese language, so you should definitely start to learn them early.

Start with the basic Japanese particles and work your way up to the more advanced ones.

Here’s a reminder of some of the other lessons we have in our Japanese Grammar Bank:

• Japanese counters
• Japanese numbers
• Step by step guide to Hiragana
• Step by step guide to Katakana

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