In Lesson 4, we have had our first grammar lesson. We have learned about formal verbs and their importance. In one section, I explained that in order to use the verb “tabemasu” we had to use the particle “wo(を)”. In this lesson, we will focus on the importance and use of Japanese particles in sentences.
Particles
Japanese has no articles … In Japanese, they use particles instead. There are different particles for different purposes. You can look at them as connectors. We will focus on the three main particles for now which are “wa(は)”, “ga(が)” and “wo(を)”.
Particle WA
The particle wa(は) is used right after the subject of the sentence. Its equivalent in english would be “is/as for”. We have seen this particle earlier in our Kanji & Vocabulary lesson. The vocabulary konban-wa and konichi-wa use this particle. In that lesson, I explained that these vocabularies mean “as for this day/evening”. Usually you could use these vocabularies to say: “As for this day/evening it is …”. You start to understand how this particle works. We will make ourselves more familiar with this particle with a few examples.
Examples:
たべもの = tabemono
(food)
あつい = atsui
(hot/warm)
りんごは たべもの です = Ringo wa tabemono desu
(Apple is food)
こんばんは あつい です = Konban wa atsui desu
(This evening is hot/warm)
The use of this particle is fairly simple as you have noticed. You put it just right after the subject of your sentence and you are done.
※ If you like, you can a "neね" at the end of the sentence. When you add a "neね" at the end of a sentence you are looking for agreement with your statement/sentence.
Example:
こんばんは あつい ですね = Konban wa atsui desu ne
(This evening is hot/warm, isn't it ?)
Simple right ? and it adds a nice familiar feel to your sentences.
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Particle GA
The particle “gaが” has a similar use to “wa(は)”. The only difference is that you use “ga(が)” to emphasis a sentence. Usually you use it for questions that ask for who or what. You use this particles in these questions because you want the subject of your question to stand out. You tag it right behind the subject because it has to mark the subject of your sentence just as you did with “wa(は)”. We have seen this particle in the previous lesson.
example:
だれ = dare
(who ?)
だれが りんごを たべましたか= dare ga ringo wo tabemashita
(who at an apple ?)
せんじさん が たべました = Senji-san ga tabemashita
(Senji ate/did)
You should keep in mind that the purpose of “ga(が)” is not to connect words and make the sentence smooth but to attract the attention of the reader/listener to the subject.
Using “ga(が)” in sentence were you should use “wa(は)” is not grammatically wrong. If your subject is the main point of your sentence, use “ga(が)”. If not, use “wa”.
Summary:
- Use “ga(が)” to emphasis the subject of the sentence.
- Use “ga(が)” for questions with who or what
- Use “ga(が)” to answer questions with who or what
Particle WO
I have mentioned in our first lesson that the hiragana character “wo(を)” is exclusively used for grammatical purposes. In fact, it is a particle. To make it simple:
- The particle “wo(を)" marks the object that is being affected by the verb.
The object that is being affected by the verb is simple to recognize. It is also called the Direct Object (DO). To illustrate how simple it is to find the Direct Object of the sentence we will look at some examples:
- I read a book => Direct Object = book
- Jim ate a sandwich => Direct Object = sandwich
As you can see in the example, the book/sandwich is affected by the action of the verb in this case read/ate. In Japanese you have to make this clear by tagging the particle “wo(を)” to your direct object.
Example:
ほん = Hon
(book)
せんじさんは たべました = Senji-san tabemashita
(Senji ate)
せんじさんは りんごを たべました = Senji-san wa ringo wo tabemashita
(Senji ate an apple)
せんじさんは ほんを よみましたか = Senji-san wa hon wo yomimashita ka
(Did Senji read a book ?)
As you can see, it is quite simple. It may take some time to adapt this habit but once you do, it becomes a peace of cake.
Vocabulary
The vocabulary for person, hot / warm and cold are simple an self explanatory. You can use these to make your own sentences with the particle “wa(は)” and “ga(が)”.
The vocabulary for month and day are small intro to time in Japanese. In the coming lesson we will learn more about Japanese time and another particle that will help us tell the time.
I provided the vocabulary "nan" so you can build your own sentences with it and the particle “ga(が)”.
I would like to point out that the vocabulary I provide is very simple. It is up to you to do more research. I recommend downloading a Japanese book from Aozora Bunko for free and then pick some words randomly.
In order to learn these particles, you have to build your own sentences with them. They don't have to be fancy.
Remember that learning a language requires a lot of vocabulary.