1

Introduction

2. Introduce what the particle does (if it does multiple

things).

Japanese particles can be a frustration point for a lot of

3. Explain the particle.

Japanese learners. But, they are everywhere. They are

4. Show you example sentences. Lots and lots of

like the glue that holds together Japanese sentences.

example sentences. Sometimes there will even be an

Not only that, but one particle can be used in several 2

explanation between them!

dierent ways.

5. Tell you some things about the particle you ought to

know.

This book is meant to serve as both a reference book

6. Probably more example sentences.

and learning book. If you are studying something and

dont understand a particle, you might learn about it

The idea is that you should get a working knowledge of

here. Or, if you learned about a particle in some other

the particle and how it works. Then after that, you get

textbook, you should read about it here too. It will make

to see it in context. Use the example sentences as your

you understand the particle a little bit better. Then when

guide.

you go back to class youll impress your teacher and

your classmates and everyone will love you, or think

2015 Tofugu, LLC

youre a sesame grinder.

This is version 1.0.1
That being said, this isnt a textbook! Sure, you could
read through it, and itll probably be helpful, but its
mainly to be used as a supplement to your current
studies or as a reference when you dont understand
something fully.
Each section of the book goes something like this:
1. Introduce the particle.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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30
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41
45
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... 52
... 55
... 57
... 59
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... 63

... 65

... 104

... 67

. 106

... 69

... 108

. 71
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... 82
... 84
. 86
91
93
. 95
97
. 100
. 102

the very similar particle ), but lets look at some simple

examples.
1.

Probably the rst particle you ever learn, or close to it.

Today is hot.

This is pronounced like wa when used as a particle, not

ha. This confuses people early on, but it pops up so
much that you get used to it very quickly. A really long

2.

time ago people used to pronounce it as ha, but dont

That over there is a rabbit.

do that now. Those people are all dead and youll sound
weird.

3.

As a particle, there are two ways in which can be

The bacon is tasty.

used.

The above English translations dont actually do the

a. Marking a topic

particle very much justice, but thats how most people

would translate it. If we do a very direct and literal

What does this mean? This is a fancy grammar way to

translation, they would become:

say that shows in a sentence what it is were talking

about. This could be a person, a thing, or anything else.

1. As for today, it is hot.

Were relaying information about something. Another

2. As for that over there, it is a rabbit.

way well describe it a lot is that it shows the context

3. As for the bacon, it is tasty.

of the sentence.

Remember how marks in a sentence what it is were

This might be confusing right now (it will either become

talking about? The part that it is marking is the part it

more confusing or make more sense when you get to

comes after. In the case of these rst three example

sentences, were talking about today. Were talking

about that thing over there. Were talking about the

Lets take a look at an example sentence to try this

bacon. Thats the context of the sentence. Everything

question out.

else has to do with that context in some way.

6a.

Some more example sentences:

I ate the sushi.

4.

6b.

Baseball is fun / As for baseball, it is fun.

I ate the sushi.

(1)Yes, the sentence still makes sense without the

5.

__!

She is a nurse / As for her, is a nurse.

Lets say the sentence still makes sense, even without

itself isnt too hard, I think. Its manageable, at least.

the portion. You now just have .

Only when the particle gets introduced does get

This on its own would be ate sushi. But in context, it

really confusing. In many cases, they seem

could make sense. For example, what if someone asks

interchangeable, though theyre kind of not, sometimes.

what did you eat? Now we know that the topic is me,

Well dive more deeply into this relationship in the

because theyre asking me what I ate. I can just say

section, but for now Ill just ask you a simple question.

. Or, I can say . In both cases,

You should ask this question every time youre not sure

based on the context, they make sense. So, the correct

which particle ( or ) to use.

particle to use here is .

Q. If you remove the topic (the ___ part), will the

(1) No, this sentence doesnt make sense without

sentence still make sense?

the ___ part.

Lets look at another example. What if someone is asking

But, we should be focusing on for now. With all that

Who is the person who ate the sushi? Now you need

in mind, lets look at some more example sentences.

the topic (the ). Because, were identifying the the

person who ate the sushi. We already know the sushi

7. )

was eaten. In this case, without the the sentence

The airport is here / as for the airport, it is here.

wont make sense. If that happens, well, its probably

better to use the particle instead of . Youll learn
more why this is the case in the chapter, but please

8.

do keep these two questions in mind as they will help.

This is tofu / as for this, it is tofu

One more way to tell the two apart. places

The important part of these sentences is what comes

importance and emphasis on what comes after it.

after the particle . The fact that the airport is here is

places that emphasis and importance on what comes

whats important. The fact that this is tofu is important.

before it. In the above example, we needed to know

Its like asking what is this? and then someone telling

who the person was that ate the sushi. In that situation,

the other person that this is tofu. Oh, so thats what this

your reply would probably be . Emphasis

is.

on the part before the particle. That is the important

part of this sentence, after all.

9.

Its not a fail-safe way of thinking about these two

He is a nuisance. / As for him, is a nuisance.

particles, but ti does help quite a bit in most situations.

Just ask, what part of this sentence is necessary? What

Heres another example. Maybe you have someone in

isnt necessary, based on the context? From there, you

front of you, and someone asks you to describe that

can gure out whether you should use or in most

person. So, you say oh, he is . We already know

situations.

about him, so the important part (where the emphasis

is), goes to the . You dont even need the part,
necessarily (passes the is it necessary check). If

someone asked you is that person over there a

Did you do it? Okay, lets contrast.

nuisance? you could simply respond with

(yeah, [he is] a nuisance).

Using for contrasting elements is a lot like doing

algebra. Don't worry, Im really bad at math so Ill keep

Alright, after writing all that about the particle , heres

it simple.

an appropriate example sentence to leave you with.

[ X A ] * [ Z A ]
10. (
Im exhausted. / As for me, am exhausted.

1.

Misaki is tall, but Noriko is short.

Go through all the steps of thinking about the particle

and apply it to this sentence. Do the is it necessary
check. Also think about where the emphasis goes. If

X =

youre having trouble, be sure to read the chapter about

A =

as well. Its basically the other half of this picture and

* =

will either make you feel more sad about particles or

Z =

provide you with some insight into the inner workings of

A =

the universe.
[ () () ] [ () () ]
b. Contrasting elements
MATH!
This particular use of is a little more complicated. It
usually involves the use of several dierent particles. So,
it might be a good idea to come back to this one after
youve read up on everything else.

When you put emphasis on the part of that

2.

sentence, you are contrasting with an assumed element.

Maybe you know it via context, maybe youre just

I like dogs, but I dont like cats.

guessing. For example, might be translated

to mean Im not sure about other people, but I am a

If you look at it, this isnt all that dierent from the

student. That Im not sure about other people part? It

particle when it is marking a topic. Youre just

was made up based on some context you didnt know

marking two topics, saying something about those

about.

topics, and then contrasting them.

That little emphasis suddenly turned a simple sentence

into a contrasting one, though you need to know the

3.

context in order to gure out what were trying to

contrast.

(My) father can drive, but (my) mother cant.

This is a really good particle ebook (but maybe

Sadly, its not this simple all the time. Using to

others arent as good? Thats what the emphasis

contrast elements can happen with much shorter

suggests.)

sentences (which ironically makes things more

complicated).
4. (
I am a student.
Whats up with this bolding? Thats how Im telling you
that emphasis has been put on that part of the
sentence. Its hard to get this context in writing, but in
speech you can hear it.

1.
(I) want to drink coee.

If theres anything worse than the particle , its when

2.

you have to decide whether or not you should be using

(My) butt is itchy.

or . Its probably the single most confusing particle

conundrum youll ever have to gure out. Id denitely
recommend reading about before reading about .

3.
The automatic door opened.

Well try to demystify some of this / confusion right

here and now, though. Put on your science jacket,

The subject is the part before the . What happens to

friend. Were going to break these particles apart in the

the subject, or what the subject is, is the part after the

Large Haldron Collider that is your brain. Ha! Science

jokes!

1. The coee is the subject. What about the subject?

a. Indicating the subject.

Oh, (I) want to drink it.

2. (My) butt is the subject. What about it? Its itchy.

Youll remember that marks a topic. Well,

3. The automatic door is the subject. What about it? It

indicates a subject.

opened.

Ugh, grammar terms. What do they even mean??

Thats simple enough, but youll notice that its kind of

similar to in a lot of ways. There are two ways that

Are you lost? Great, now the linguists have won. Well

could mess with these sentences.

still retaliate, but lets start simple.

First, could get in there and provide context (but only

if necessary). For example sentence 1, it could just as

easily be:

As for Tom, (he) wants to drink coee.

You have to specify. From this perspective, you can see

that indicates what were talking about. The topic, or

I want to drink coee / As for me, want to drink coee.

the context. on the other hand just indicates a

subject, then tells us something about it / tells us whats

So when would you include the and when would you

happening to or with it.

omit it? That depends on context. Or how you feel that

day. Most likely, the listener can gure out that its you

Now, youll remember that there was another way that

(the topic) who wants the coee, so you dont need to

can rear its ugly head in these examples. You may

include it. Say youre standing in front of the barista

remember how also contrasts elements? Maybe you

slack jawed, drool going down your face and youre

didnt read that because I told you to come back to it

about to make your order. You dont need to say

later. If so, dont worry about this section and skim

because the context (the topic) is already established.

ahead a little bit.

Youre there in line, you order coee at a coee place.

Its obvious. You can just say

4. (

Jump straight to the subject, which is coee, and what

you want to do with it, which is drink it. Its already

The sunower bloomed.

known that you are the topic who wants to drink coee.

What if we change the to ?

But, lets think of another situation where you would

want to provide some context to the subject of coee
and drinking it. Maybe you know that Tom, in particular,
wants to drink coee. Then you might say:

10

My favorite way to explain it involves aliens making a

5.

clone of your good friend. Lets name him Tom. One Tom

says I am Tom! The other says No, I am Tom! But,

The sunower bloomed, but as for the (other owers)

which particle do you use to say this in Japanese, or

Im not sure.

? (Think about it for a moment)

It is comparing the act of the sunowers blooming with

the act of other owers blooming. We are contrasting

I am Tom.

with something else.

Youll also want to remember how with , its the part

I am Tom.

that comes after the particle that has the emphasis /

importance. The important part of the sentence is that

The same translation? BLRALRHGG!

the sunower bloomed. Not the fact that its a sunower

thats blooming.

()

But, with example number 4 we have a dierent feeling.

Dont be mad. Put that table back.

The part before the is whats important. Its the fact

that its a sunower that bloomed. What bloomed? Oh, it

( -)

was the sunower that bloomed.

Ill explain the dierence.

We should take a closer look at this interchangeability

of and though. Actually, theyre not really

interchangeable, though it feels like it. Lets gure out

the dierence.

Emphasis is placed on what comes after the . Thats

the important part. We know that were talking about I
(). But, who am I? I am Tom.

11

6.

Emphasis is placed on what comes before the . Thats

He needs this map / As for him, he needs this map.

the important part. The fact that you are the one who is
Tom. Someone is asking which one of you is Tom?

The topic is him. Were talking about him. What are

we saying about him? That the map is necessary (in

Ah, I am the Tom (and none of these other people are

relation to him). So, we end up with he needs this

the Tom, I am the Tom youre looking for).

map.

So back to aliens and clones. You have your gun out,

and you have to shoot one of them, because one of

7.

them is denitely not Tom. You ask Hey, which one of

The clip came o.

you is Tom?

The subject is the clip. What happens to it? It

How should Tom respond? (you have to gure this out

, or it came o. Maybe someone asked What

on your own, think about it!)

happened to the clip? Context was already known that

something happened to the clip, though we dont know

Or, what if you ask Who are you? Then how would one

what.

of the Toms respond? You should be able to gure it out

from the info in the previous paragraphs.

8.

Now that you understand the basic dierence, we can

Who wrote this?

look at more example sentences.

One interesting factoid: You can never follow a word like

(), (), or with . Why? Because these
WH-words are not concrete. They can be a subject, but

12

not the topic. So you wouldnt ever say

based on the known context? Why does it need to be

. It would be like saying as for who, wrote this?

here?

Doesnt make much sense.

4. The part that comes after the . It is important or

emphasized. Why is it important in this sentence
based on the known context?

9.

5. Could the be contrasting something else that I

dont know about? What is the context from before?

(I) want to buy a Playstation 4.

6. Should I just move on? Im way too confused and Ill

never gure this out. Maybe my time is better spent
coming back to this later.

10.

Whether youre making your own sentences, or reading

Kaori cant read Japanese / As for Kaori, (she) cant read

Japanese sentences that already exist, if you go through

Japanese.

these questions ~100 times, by the end it will all be

automatic. Most people try to skim over asking questions

and are fairly confusing. Sometimes its confusing

like these, and it really hurts them in the long run.

for native speakers too. But, each time you see a or a

Spend the time now to gure it out and youll thank

and youre confused, make sure to think through

yourself later.

these things:

Side Note:

1. What is the topic / context? Does it need to be

expressed? If so, why?

I bet that some of you who have been around the

2. What is the subject? What is happening with the

Japanese language block a few times are asking where

subject or how is it being described?

is to mean butt but?

3. The part that comes before the . It is important

or emphasized. Why is it important in this sentence

Actually, thats not a particle! Though it does seem like it

should be one. Its, like, a grammar thing or a word or a

13

mystery or something (actually, its a disjunctive

coordinate conjunction that combines two sentences,
but nobody knows what that means. Well just call it an
ancient Jomon secret, lost forever).
And, this book focuses only on particles. Sorry pal!

14

But, it doesnt have to be things that people have.

Inanimate objects can have things too, though maybe

not in the way youre thinking.

Many of you will know part (a) of this particle, which has

3.

to do with possession. The second use of the particle

A trees owers / Flower of the tree(s)

isnt something you learn for a while, but its quite

simple and easy to understand.

4.

a. Possession

An English teacher / A teacher of English

This shows who/what owns who/what. Some very

In these examples, we see that a tree can have owers.

simple examples:

Even the concept of English can have a teacher,

making it A teacher of English. English doesnt own the

1.

teacher or anything, but the teacher is of English,

My dog / Dog of I

making them an English teacher.

You can even extend this by adding more s.

Whatever is before the is the thing/person that

possesses the thing thats after it.

5.
The book of the teacher of English The English

2.
Toms beer

teachers book

Tom owns / possesses the beer! Lucky Tom.

If we break this apart, it gets easier to understand:

[]

15

The rst part, is a teacher of English. What

my boyfriend]. Usually phrases that use can be

does the teacher of English possess? A book. That

broken up in this way, where the portion is its own

makes this The teacher of Englishs book or An English

section and you can apply other grammar rules to the

teachers book.

whole thing.

Alright, now I think we can look at some longer, more

8.

complicated sentences. The above examples were really

just parts of sentences to help get your feet wet.

This is a letter from my grandfather to my grandmother.

6.

Lets break this one up:

Its lying under the table.

= this is
[] = the letter written by

7.

my grandfather to my grandmother.

This ring is a present from my boyfriend.

(lets break this part of the sentence up even more)

This sentence is a little tricky, but we can break it up into

= Written by (my) grandfather to my

the [ part] and everything else.

grandmother

+ []

= the letter of

The portion can be translated to

This is the letter of the thing that was written by the

the present from (my) boyfriend. The topic is this

grandfather to the grandmother.

ring. So youre saying that this ring is [a present from

16

That sentence had a lot of parts to it, but even

11.

something like this can be broken down into littler parts.

If this went over your head dont worry about it too

That is not my writing. / That is not the writing of me.

much. Try doing this with shorter sentences, and your

ability to break phrases up like this will get stronger and
stronger with experience.

12.

I am looking for a job in China. / I am looking for a job

9.

of in China.

I am Ootake of Toyota.

As you can see, its possible to add after other

particles (like , though its not limited to ). The

This is an interesting one. People can be of a company,

translation becomes of in China instead of of China.

or a group. In this example, Ootake is an employee of

Toyota, so he can say that he is Ootake of Toyota or

b. A sentence-ender that shows assumed common

Toyotas Ootake. Since Japanese people tend to like to

interest or gives an explanatory feeling

be part of a group, and/or like associating themselves

with groups, this is something youll see a lot.

This use of the particle is a little more specic. If

youre a beginner of Japanese, you can probably not

10.

worry too much about this right now. Just knowing it

exists is pretty good. You have other grammar sh to

That is school equipment. / That is the equipment of the

fry.

school

This is a sentence-ender (meaning it goes on the end

of a sentence, like the particles or ) that has a
couple of purposes:

17

Perhaps someone is asking a question about why they

- When used in a statement, it can be because you are

are crying. This is your explanation as to why youre

explaining something. Why are you eating? Because

crying. But how would they do that? How would they

Im hungry.

request an explanation??

asking for explanation. Why are you eating? (can I

Requesting Explanation :

- On the other hand, when used as a question, youre

get an explanation on this?)

- When used in a statement, it can also be because you

2.

think the other person has an assumed common

Why are you crying?

interest in what youre saying. Was it big? Yeah, it

was bigggg.

Ah, there it is. Using to request an explanation. If you

add sentence 1 to the end of this, it all makes sense.

One important thing to keep in mind though is that this

use of the particle tends to be reserved for women

and children. While a man using the sentence ending

particle in this way wont be grammatically incorrect,

it does sound a little weird or out of place.

Assumed Common Interest:

Lets break this up into the three parts:

3.

Explanation :

Tom is really terrible, you know?

1.
My knee hurts!

Its like youre getting someone involved with what

youre saying, or youre pushing your viewpoints on

18

them. They have to agree, or you assume theyre going

to agree. At least, thats the feeling.

6.
Did you brush your teeth?

Weve gone through all three ways the sentence ending

particle can be used. Some of you may have realized
that theres another bit of grammar that does the same

7.

thing, that being . In fact, its exactly the same,

What happened to kindergarten? / Why arent you at

though some things like formality and gendered

kindergarten?

language change a bit. The sentence ender particle

originally came from . The was dropped, probably
to make it easier to say. Unfortunately, isnt a

8.

particle anymore, though, so it wont be covered in this

particular book.

Why dont you take a shower?

(;yy`)
In the end, at least with as a sentence ender particle,
most (though not all) of the use will come from
questions. People requesting explanation. Thats where
the rest of our examples will lie.
4.
Did (he/she) break up with you?

5.
Can you play the guitar?

19

Where is a book being read? At the library!

3.

The particle can be confusing for some learners. I

This is popular in Japan.

think its because there are a lot of ways to use . But,

the rst two explanations for are going to be the two

Where is this getting popular? In Japan!

most important ones to focus on. If youre a beginner, it

might be best to just do that. If not, learning those other

You get the picture.

two and/or making them more solid in your mind will

improve your Japanese.

As you can see, the basic patterns are:

a. Indicating location

[Location] + [something about that location or

something that happened at that location]

The most common way to use the particle is to show

where something is happening. A location!

1.

or

[Something is] + [location] + [the thing that is

I played tennis at the park.

happening].

Where is tennis being played happening? At the park!

4.
Dad is waiting at home.

2.
I read a book at a library.

20

Were using the hammer ( = by way of the

5.

hammer) to do an action. In this case its hitting the nail

Where did you buy it?

with it.

Note: Although this particle indicates the location, it

2.

does not indicate the location where something /

someone exists. So you cant say (you

(Im) working with my computer.

would want to use instead). Though, there are some

exceptions to this. If youre using (not ), and its
being used to show the location of an event, then you

Another way to say it is: by way of computer (

can use it. Events are things like s or s.

), I am working ().

For example, (we had the

drinking party at the bar).

3.

b. Using X to do Y

(I) clean (my) ears with cotton swabs.

isnt just for locations, though. You can use it to show

aka by way of cotton swabs (), I do ear

how something is used to do something else. Its almost

cleaning.

like saying by way of X, I do Y though well come up

with nicer sounding translations for the English in the

Are you getting the picture? Try to change the rest of

examples.

the sentences to by way of ____ translations.

1.

4.

(I) will go by car.

Drive the nail in with a hammer.

21

or by way of the snow, and you wouldnt say by way

5.

of the snow I was late for school. You can see the

similarity between this particle usage and b though,

Which textbook are you studying from?

right? More examples.

6.

2.

(I) fry steak using a frying pan.

Because Michiko was dumped she doesnt have an

appetite.

c. Because of
3.

This is really similar to b, I think. But, its considered its

own thing so well separate it.

Because of the noise I cant hear you well.

Instead of being by way of ___, can be used to say

because of ___. Its showing a causal relationship (not

4.

a casual relationship, thats something dierent. Causal

means that something causes something else).

Because the copy machine is out of order I/we cant use

it.

1.
Because of the snow, I was late for school.

5.

In this case, means because of the snow and not

Because of karaoke my voice got hoarse.

by way of the snow. Youll have to gure out when to

use which by context, though usually its pretty obvious.
You arent usually going to get to school via the snow
22

The shows how long until something stops. the

6.

thing that is stopping is you being able to nish it,

whatever it is.

Because of the typhoon the train was stopped.

3.

d. The time when something stops or the time an

activity has taken.

This movie will end in one hour.

The last particle sounds complicated but its actually

quite simple. Its also used in very nite ways, so it

is the topic or the context. The important part

wont take too many examples to get across.

for this particle is the , which means in one

hour and the verb that follows, which is (to
end). So, in one hour [topic] will end.

1.

Tomorrow I will turn 60.

4.

My daughter started talking at the age of two.

In this example, we are seeing the time it takes for me

to become 60 years old and when you stop not being 60
years old.

This example shows how can be used to show the

time an activity has taken. In this case, it took until the
daughter was 2 years old to be able to speak.

2.

I think I will nish it in 3 hours.

23

5.

2.

Next year will be the 5th anniversary of the founding of

This lesson is 18000 yen for three months.

this company.
You have the rst amount () and the cost for that
(the time an activity has taken) +

amount ().

(from the founding, ve years). A little bit of and

action all in one sentence.

3.

e. A quantity for a quantity

This car runs 10km per 1L.

What I mean by this, is that for one amount (lets say 1

With the rst amount (1 liter) you can drive it for

hour) it requires another amount (lets say $50). For one

another amount (10 kilometers).

hour, it will be fty dollars. A quantity for a quantity. You

separate the quantities using .

4. 10

1.

In this country, you can buy three oranges for 10 yen.

It will be 10,000 yen per 10kg.

With the rst amount (10yen) you can buy the second
amount (3 mikan).

You have 10kg + + how much it will cost (in this case
its 10,000 yen).

Are you starting to get the picture? Try to gure out

what quantity you get for the other quantity in the rest
of the example sentences.

24

5. 398

This apple is four for 398 yen.

6. 498

This soy sauce is 498 yen per a bottle.

7.

Up to 5 people can ride in this type of car.

8.

The accommodation of this hotel is 5,000 yen for two
people.

9.

This turkey is 7,000 yen per one turkey.

25

1.
Dogs and monkeys are not good friends.

Theres a surprising number of dierent ways to use the

particle. Id list them out, but I dont know how. I

2.

guess Ill have to learn right now. Ohhh snap! *high

ves*

This and this and this is mine.

a. An exhaustive list
3.

By exhaustive, I dont mean exhausting, as in wow,

learning particles is exhausting, although that is true.

You and I are riding/taking this train.

An exhaustive list means that everything is listed.

Theres nothing else on the list, to the speakers
knowledge.

4.

Exhaustive (): Eggs, bacon, and ham.

(My) dad and older brother dont like natto.

Not Exhaustive (): Eggs, bacon, ham, and maybe

some other things Im not listing.

You can see the most basic pattern in these sentences.

It goes something like:

The list that could have other things in it uses instead

of , but that lesson is for another chapter (the one that

[the list] + [something about the list].

covers , of course).

Go through each sentence and identify this pattern.

Lets take a look at some of those examples.

That being said, it could just as easily be:

26

have your parents () and what youre doing together

[the topic were listing about] + [the list] + [something

with them ().

about the list].

One thing to note about this particle use is that the
As in:

relationship is reciprocal. You are both living together,

which means you can use . Take these examples:

5.

2.

This child is my and your daughter.

I talked with my parents.

b. Doing something together with someone or

Because were using , you are talking with your

something

parents. Its reciprocal. However, take this example:

This is sort of like a list. Lists put things together. Its not

3.

a huge leap to imagine this particle putting things

I talked to my parents.

together that are doing things together.

Its no longer reciprocal because were using the particle

1.

. See the dierence? You both have to be equal parties

in the action to use .

I live with my parents.

4.

Were assuming that were talking about you here (this

sentence could also be , if the

On Sunday, do you want to go to the sea with me?

context that were talking about you wasnt known). You

27

You have the thing thats being quoted inside the

5.

marks. Then, you have and the verb that is used to

quote them. They could say something, they could

I was watching a movie with my friend.

yell something. Really thats up to you, though is

going to be very common.

6.

2.

Keisuke really resembles his father.

When you go to bed, you say good night.

7.
Come together with me.

You can also use this particle to sort of quote a sound.

c. A quotation, sound.

3.

The particle can be used to mark a quotation or

This kanji is read as ai.

sound, Koichi said.

So far youve seen to say and to read. Theres a
handful of verbs that tend to use in this way. A

1.

Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar lists out ,

Kana said, Ill be there by 3:30.

, , , and as examples.

You can even omit the part to make the

4.

sentence simpler and easier to understand.

I think Masaru is handsome.

28

5.

Please dont read this, I wrote.
Side Note: There is also a that is used like if __
happens then___, but that is not a particle, even
though it kind of seems like it should be. So, not covered
here. Sorry!

29

2.

In the morning I will go to the hospital.

When it comes to the particle , it always seems to

come back to movement. Either its movement in time,

3.

space, or something in between. That being said, there

In the spring the owers bloomed.

are many distinct ways to use the particle , making

kind of the ultimate particle, at least when it comes to
use quantity.

4.

a. The time at which something takes place

My family, on the morning of the New Year, eats mochi.

What time does something take place? What date does it

There are time related words that cannot use ,

take place? What month does it take place? What year

though. The rule basically goes like this: If the time is

does it take place? These are all things that will use this

a uniquely identiable time, then it can have . If not,

version of the particle.

then it will not use , though there is some grey area.

For example, is an identiable time. You can point

1.

to it and say in October, this is gonna happen.

However, there are many time-words that dont accept

At 6 oclock I will go to the bacon festival.

. Some examples: , , , , ,
etc. These are not specic dates (like ), specic
times (), or specic days (). Think of

We have the time () and then the right after. That

it this way. Usually, if you can say on [time], in [time]

makes it at 6 oclock _____. You can do this with other

or at [time] in English, then chances are you can say

time-related words as well.

___ in Japanese, too.

30

In October. Guess what, is okay!

1. )
(I) will go to Japan.

On January 1. is okay!

There is the location () and the movement action (

At 3:30pm. Great! totally works.

). You are going to () Japan.

On Christmas. Thats a thing! is no

problem.

2.
)

On today. Uhh That doesnt work. is not

When will (you) go back to America?

okay.

America is the location. The movement is . Think of

In morning. is not okay.

it like to america plus the movement action of . To

America, return!

In the morning. is okay, however, because

the species things!

3.

On tomorrow. doesnt work.

Last month, we went to the hot spring as a family

b. Where something or someone moves to

We have the location () and the movement (

First we looked at time, now lets look at movement.

).

Specically, the location to which someone or something

moves. As in, I go to the store (the go part is the

4.

movement, and the store is the location where Im

going).

Why did you come here?

31

there are sentences that are still too dicult for you to
The location () and the movement ([])

understand 100%.

Do you see the pattern?

c. An action that transfers

Think of verbs that involve transferring something from

5.

one person to another. With these verbs, youll usually

want to use the particle . Remember, has to do with

Where is this car heading to?

movement, whether thats time (a), or going someplace

(b). In this case, its the movement of transferring
something between people or things.

6.

Please carry this to that room over there.

1.

I teach English to Japanese people.

7.
)

The key word here is to. The act of teaching English is

I saw that guy over there entering McDonalds.

transferring to the Japanese people.

8.

2.

He was late getting to the meeting place.

Mr. Kimura gave me kimchee.

Although some of the later sentences get more

Once again, something is being transferred. This time its

complicated, you can still see the pattern: Location

more tangible, in that its some delicious kimchee.

movement-action. Try to nd just this pattern even if

32

6.
3.

I split up my candies with my younger sister.

A large dog barked at me.

7.

A little less obvious, but the dog is transferring its bark

to you / at you.

I sent a letter to the president of America.

4.

8.

(I) will show this photo to Matsumoto-san.

I will email you later.

The act of showing the photo is being transferred to

Make sure you can identify whats being transferred in

Matsumoto-san.

the nal three examples.

5.

d. The surface upon which something takes place

My mom lectured my younger brother.

This is a really specic use case, but does come up quite

a bit. When one thing is happening on the surface of

The lecture is being transferred to your younger brother.

another thing, you use to indicate that.

33

1.

5.

Please stamp your seal here.

My older brother is lying down on the couch.

Upon the surface of (were assuming this is

One thing you may have noticed is that in all of these

referring to paper or something similar) you are

examples, something is doing something directly to

stamping (or pushing) your seal.

something else. These are all direct actions. You are

doing something to the surface. Dont get this confused
with the particle in this regard. is by way of the

2.

surface, is on the surface.

Please write this down in your notebook.

This use of the particle also doesnt have anything to

Once again, we are doing something on the surface of

do with existence. Although you can and will say

something else. In this case, that surface is the

(youll learn that next), its a dierent category of

notebook, and what youre doing to it is writing on it.

the particle, though super similar.

e. Showing where something exists

3.

In (d) you learned how is used to show whats

The cat climbed up on the roof.

happening on a surface. I also mentioned at the end that

you cant use it to show existence on a surface or
otherwise (thats usually and ), because

4.

its a dierent use of this particle. Were going to learn

that now.

I placed a book on the desk.

34

This isnt all that dierent from particle version (d),

1. )

but I think its good to separate them out. When

(Im) in the room.

combined, you have an increased overall knowledge of

the particle .

We have the location () and the person/thing exists

().

f. Showing why someone moves from one place to

another.

2.

This feels a little more like a grammar pattern to learn,

but its a particle nonetheless. It goes something like

is the teacher in the classroom?

this.

This sentence is a little longer, but you can see the

[thing you are doing in stem form] + + [movement

pattern there right? The location is the and the

verb]

existence is . Something exists in the classroom,

and that is the teacher (because it is the topic).

You are going/coming/etc to do something to something

else.

3.

1. )

The soy sauce is on top of that shelf.

I came (here) to meet you.

changes to stem form () and then you add

4.

plus the movement verb (, in this case). You come

to meet the person.

Im always here on my days o.

35

2. )

6.

Do you want to go see a movie?

Didnt you come here to drink alcohol?

You are going () to see () a movie ().

7. )
3.

What are you here for?

Im going to the gym to swim.

8.
)

Youre going () to do swimming () at

I came to this town to sell umbrellas.

the gym ()

g. The source in passive, causative, receiving

4.

Passive and causative forms are just about the last thing

I'm going to Japan to teach English.

that Japanese learners are able to learn. So dont get too

worked up if you dont understand this. Youll need to

Youre always moving somewhere to do something with

understand passive and causative forms rst, after all.

this pattern and particle.

1.
5.

I will make Mr. Tachibana write a novel.

I will go to the park to read books.

(that was a causative example).

36

2.

5.

Koichi praised Viet.

My friend betrayed me.

(that was a passive example).

6.

Besides causative and passive, you can also use this

I was stung by a bee.

particle with receiving related words.

7.

3.

A stranger gave me a lottery ticket.

I will make (my) husband do the cleaning.

This one is pretty straight forward, because is

8.

pretty much as receive-related as it gets.

That person over there told me so.

4.

9.

Professor Yoshida teaches me Japanese.

Im being pursued by the police.

In this case, youre receiving Japanese from Professor

This is one of the most dicult to acquire grammar rules

Yoshida.

in Japanese (at least the passive and causative parts), so

dont feel bad if it was confusing. Come back when you

Lets move on with examples from all three possible

understand and this section will be useful.

situations:
37

h. A sentence ender that expresses regret or

sympathy

3.

When placed onto the end of a sentence, with

You must have been so nervous because it was your rst

or before it, this particle indicates that the

time.

speaker regrets or has sympathy for something.

In this sentence, we are experiencing empathy. Aw, you

1.

must have been nervous! I feel yah, bro.

If there wasn't that accident, Tatsuo could have

4.

graduated.

You must have felt so tough when you lost your mother.

There is a sense of regret about the accident. If only

Tatsuo didnt have that accident, then maybe he would

Some more empathy going on here.

have graduated. Sad.

Try to gure out whether each sentence is empathy or

2.

regret, or a little of both!

5.

If your work was done earlier, you could have attended

at the birthday party.

If you studied a little more, you could have passed the

exam.

There is some regret about not having done your work,

which leads to another regret, not being able to attend
the birthday party.

38

that ____ happened, _____ happened. This is dierent

6.

from that.

If he was on the usual train, he could have lived.

7.

If I didn't forget my camera, I could have taken good
pictures.

8.

If we lived near the station, it would be convenient.

9.

Kids would be happier if you give them snacks.

10.

If this is a little cheaper, I would be able to buy it.
Dont confuse this for , which is a conjunction that
means something like even though or despite the fact
39

3.

The main escaped the country.

This particle is a lot like , but the use is much more

specic. It just does one thing, and thats to show the

4.

direction in which something or some action is going.

Im going back to England in April.

a. The direction toward which something or some

action goes.

5.

1.

I sent a letter to my friend in the Philippines.

We ran to the hospital.

6.

In this case, we did the action of running towards the

hospital. Simple, right? Just like particle b.

Im planning to not go to university.

The only time that b and are not interchangeable is

2.

when you need to follow up the particle with . In that

case, you have to use the particle , not .

You should get out of the house sometime.

7.

This is the door that goes to hell.

40

doing something directly to the object, in this case

youre eating it.

You are doing something to it. The object itself isnt
doing something.

Kind of like the particle , the particle has a slightly

weird pronunciation. Instead of a wo sound, it is an o
sound. Basically 99% the same as hiragana , though

2.

occasionally you hear a little w sound depending on

The sushi will eat.

the speaker. I wouldnt worry too much about that,

though. Just think of it as an o sound and youll be
more than okay.

Take this nonsense of a sentence. When you use , it is

a. Marking a direct object

about the sushi and what its doing. So, the sushi will

Stupid grammar terms! What does marking a direct

mistake to make.

indicating the subject, which makes it so were talking

eat. Whoops. Thats an embarrassing (but easy)

object mean?
3.

Essentially, it means you are taking an object and youre

I will play tennis.

doing something directly to it. For example:

In this case, the direct object is . What are you

1.

directly doing to tennis? You are doing it, i.e. you are

I will eat sushi.

playing it. So, you end up with I am playing tennis.

You are marking the object, which is sushi. The direct

4. )

part of direct object is referring to the fact that you are

I will take my contacts out.

41

Just think of this as an exceptionthat happens a

lot.

5.

I bought new lipstick.

form: (I want to eat sushi)

Potential form: (I can eat sushi)

Whats even more confusing is that you could use for

6.

these two as well.

Who did you invite?

Also, . For example: I talked to

Tom). This is because youre transmitting one thing to

7.

another thing.

Im looking for my glasses.

For the most part, though, if youre doing something

8.

directly to something else, you can use .

My father is wearing sunglasses.

Note: You cant have more than one in a clause! A

good thing to know when youre self correcting.

Some things to know about when it is marking a

b. Someone or something moving on/through/

direct object:

along something

Sometimes other particles can also mark the direct

object. Its confusing!

Youd think this job would be given to the particle

- for example: (I dont understand

to be weird like that. The use of this particle in this way

because theres movement, but nooooooo, Japanese has

is pretty specic, though.

Japanese).

42

You are passing through in this example. You are

doing the action of passing through Nara. Thats why its

1.

Are (we) going to cross that bridge?

c. Where a movement begins

In the case of this bridge, you are moving on it / moving

through it. Or, at least talking about it. You are doing the

If you want to show where a movement begins from,

action of crossing it. If you used in this situation, it

look no further than the particle .

would be like youre crossing to the bridge, instead of

crossing the bridge itself. Thats the dierence.

1.

2.

Im going to leave my parents home and start living by

I walked the riverbank.

myself.

In this case, you are walking along the riverbank. If you

The important part of the sentence is . The

used , you would be saying you are walking to the

movement begins from , and the movement is the

riverbank. By using you are saying you are doing the

person leaving.

action on the object, which is the riverbank.

2.

3.

Please get o the train at Tokyo Station.

I left Nagoya and passed through Nara before arriving at

Osaka.

The important part here is (please

get o the train). The movement begins from the train,
and the movement is someone getting o it.

43

3.

I escaped the classroom without being seen by the
teacher.
You are escaping (), which is the movement.
And, the location from which this movement begins from
is from is the classroom.

44

2.

Masao will be a junior high school student (starting)
from April.

This particle shows where something is from. Words like

from and since come to mind.

Now we see an example of with time being applied

a. A starting point or source.

to something bigger. A whole month! You can say

A starting point or source can mean several things. It

imagine, years will also work. , etc.

, , and 12 as well. As you can probably

can relate to time. It can relate to a physical location. It

can even relate to what something was made out of (its

3.

source). Well cover all of these things and more.

From the morning, I have felt sick.

Lets start with time.

Heres something a little more general. Since this

1.

morning or from this morning. You could also say

The drinking party starts from 6 oclock.

(from lunch) or any time related thing you

desire.

The important part of this sentence is the bit.

But it doesnt just have to be time. You can use to

This means From 6 oclock. What about other kinds of

describe a source, too.

time?

4.

Chocolate is made from cacao beans.

45

want. Heck, you can replace America with your mom

The source of chocolate is cacao.

too, if you want to get really specic for some reason.

is made from cacao beans.

8.
5.

Youre not allowed beyond (from) this point.

As for my mother, from her cold she got pneumonia.

The is from here You could say to
The source of the pneumonia was the cold. .

mean from there or to say from over

there. Anyways, you get the picture. From ____

Similar to source, locations are a good way to use

location _____.

as well.
6.

From the chimney, smoke is exiting (rising).
From the chimney.
7.
(I) came from America.
From America. You can replace this
with your own country, or town, or city, or building if you

46

Do you smoke (tobacco)?
Look at that, its the same exact thing! Japanese

Most of you will know this particle as the question

sentences dont need question marks, though they do

marker particle. But, it also does some other neat things

too.

often help to make sentences more clear. For example,

a. A sentence-ender that indicates the sentence is a

you dont use a . Its all in the tone of your voice. But

when you ask a question with casual speech, sometimes

question.

with writing, there is no tone of voice, so without a

If a sentence ends with , that sentence is probably a

ambiguous.

question mark questions without the are very

question. Simple as that. is almost like a question

mark, in that sense, though sometimes in Japanese you

have both (a question mark and a ), though you dont

vs.

have to.

1.
Do you smoke (tobacco)?

Without the question mark, thered be no way to know if

the rst sentence is a question or not. I mean, it

What if this sentence didnt have the on the end, and

probably isnt, because anybody with half a mind would

no question mark?

use a question mark there to avoid confusion, but you

never know, right? Japanese writing existed before
question marks made their way into Japanese, after all.

47

Theres not much to do here other than examples. This

9.

use of the particle is very straightforward.

Did you just call my name?

3. (
Do you drink alcohol?

Can you gure out what all these sentences would be if

the wasnt included at the end?

4.

b. When there is an alternative

Did you turn o the heater?

If isnt the end of a sentence, then perhaps it is

marking an alternative. Essentially, this is the word or

5.

in English.

1.

6.

Which do you prefer, Coke or Pepsi?

Is that true?

2.

7.

Did you take the medicine.

Yoko or Kaori probably did it.

Something or something. You see the pattern there.

8.

When used in this way, it can mark an alternative

Will you go to the hospital?

between two nouns or even two sentences. Youve seen

the two nouns example already, so lets look at some
sentences.

48

6.
3.

I will reply to you either tomorrow or the day after

Drink your juice or eat your kale.

tomorrow.

With nouns, can mark alternatives between more

7. SL

than two nouns too. When this happens, the very last

There are only small and large sizes.

is omitted.

8.

4.

I will go by train or bus.

Please buy bacon or steak or chicken.

9.

See how theres no after the nal noun, ?

Do you have scissors or a knife?

Lets nish up with more examples.

10.

5.

Between cats and dogs, Im a dog person.

Please show your drivers license or health card.

c. Uncertainty of the topic
When you are uncertain about something, you can use
to show that. This is a little more advanced compared

49

to the other two uses of this particle, but I think those of

you at an intermediate+ level should be able to gure

The (or not) part is whats being omitted in the

this one out.

sentence, though its denitely there whether or not you

write it out. Its like saying buy a bikini or what? I am

First you start with the thing youre unsure about, then

confused. What a terrible sounding translation, though

you put in , then you add the verb that shows in what

its probably more accurate in some ways than the good

way you are unsure. It makes a lot more sense if we just

sounding version.

do it.
3.
1.

I dont know which story is true (or not).

I dont know when the disease will be cured.

Once again, we have the rst part which story is true.
The part before the shows what you have uncertainty

The is suggesting that what youre really saying is

about (when the disease will cure). After the is the

which story is true (or not), where or not is the

verb that shows what kind of uncertainty. In this case,

alternative that is being alluded to. Then, you add

you simply dont understand or know (when the disease

, which means you dont know which story is true

will cure).

(or not).

This version of the particle is actually a lot like (b),

4.

marking when theres an alternative. The alternative is

just omitted. See this example:

I havent decided which book to buy yet.

2.

I wonder if I should buy a bikini (or not).

50

5.

10.

I dont know whether or not I can nish by tomorrow.

I dont know if I will go to Japan or not.

Its pretty much the same as if you just did there

6.

instead of , but suggests there is a clear

yes or no answer. Either I will go to Japan or I will not.

Its dicult to judge where to make a compromise.

Just on its own marks uncertainty. Sure, some of

those will have yes or no answers, but if you specically
want to mark a question with a yes or no answer, use

7.

. Plus, its fun to say.

Its uncertain if my reservation was placed.

8.

I dont know when Ill go to Japan yet.

9.
Im nervous about it not going well.
You may also nd this use of the particle somewhat
familiar. The pattern ____ is another particle
that is pretty common. marks a question with a
yes or no answer. For example:

51

Lets look at some other nouns + .

3.

Also is probably the best word to describe the particle

, at least when it comes to section (a). Section (b) is

We watched this movie last week too.

a little more advanced, but simple enough.

a. When two subjects are the same

The key part of this sentence is . So you already

When two subjects are the same is a terrible title. So

last week also ____. The subject of last week and

know that whatever follows has something to do with

lets start really simple. Like, one-word simple.

whatever follows it are one in the same.

1. )

4.

I, too / I also / I as well

The weather is nice today also, isnt it?

Now lets add something to it.

means today also or today too, so if today

also is good weather then the weather is nice today
too.

2.
I am also John. / Im John, too.

can get a little more complicated, though. You can put

other particles before the . For example:

Do you see whats happening here? is I also or I,

too. What are you also? You are also John. I also am
John is just a funny way to say Im John, too. Both I
and John are one in the same. I am John. John am I.

52

5.

8.

I will also give Koichi bacon.

We also got orders from America.

means to Koichi. With , it is also [to
Now you have to look at as a separate

Koichi]. In this case you are also giving bacon to Koichi.

thing. That alone is from America, so when you add

to it you have Also [from America].

b. Emphasizes something measurable

By measurable things I mean quantity, distance, or

6.

frequency.

Its famous in Japan too.

1.

Once again were looking at the part before the ,

A thousand people came!

which is . You know that is In Japan, so if

you add to that you get Also [in Japan]. In this case,
something is famous also in Japan.

2.

7.

I gained ve kilos over winter break.

You should be friendly with Masaaki-kun as well.

3.

means with Masaaki. So when you add to it

Mariko cant even swim ten meters.

you get also [with Masaaki].

53

Its hard to see emphasis in text, but thats what is

doing here, and in the examples above you see it
happening to quantity and distance.
4.

I ate ten pieces of cake!
Yeah, that sounds like something Id want to emphasize.

54

2.
I ate bacon, you know.
With negative sentences, it isnt as cut and dry as

If youve studied Japanese for a little while, chances are

adding you know or even the feeling of you know to

youve come across this particle. It goes onto the end of

sentences, yo.

the sentence.

a. A sentence ender particle that turns the sentence

Otherwise, the sentence just becomes an exclamation.

into an exclamation.

Youre exclaiming something! Its not quite the same,

By exclamation, I mean that the speaker is making a

mark to a sentence in English. Just like as a question

but it sort of has the feeling of adding an exclamation

mark, similar but not 100% the same. Id also say that

strong assertion about something. The speaker is

is about 50% as exciting as an exclamation mark, but

assuming that they are saying something only known to

them.

maybe thats just me. The Japanese language uses

Really, though, its easier to simplify this down even

something exciting just use that.

exclamation marks too, so if you want to really make

further. Just translate it to you know, at least with non-

negative sentences.

3.
Hurry up and say it!

1.
I will go to Tokyo, you know.

4.

This is your bedroom.

55

5.
I will never buy it.

6.
Sure / Thats ne.

7.
I borrowed your pen, you know.

8.

Why did you throw away the necktie?

56

2.

Youre Koichi from Tofugu, arent you?

This often gets paired with , just because its also an

extremely common sentence ending particle. The

Its assumed that both people know that this person is

meaning and feelings between them are totally dierent,

Koichi from Tofugu. And, they are shing for agreement.

though.

Youre him, right?

a. A sentence-ender particle that is looking for some

agreement.

3.

Theres a couple important parts to this particle. First,

Its tough that snow days keep on coming, isnt it?

its shing for agreement. Thats why its often translated

as isnt it?

4.

1.

I heard you got a perfect score, didnt you?

Tom is cute, isnt he?

5.

The second important thing is that the thing the speaker

This part is broken, isnt it.

is saying is assumed to be shared knowledge. Its

almost as if the speaker is assuming that the person
agrees and thinks the same way. Or, they expect the
other person to agree and think the same way, even if
they dont actually.

57

6.

You had breakfast, didnt you?

You can also combine this particle with , creating .
Youre not going to see though, so make sure you
remember that order. Now the sentence is a shing-for-
agreement-on-shared-knowledge-exclamation!
7.

Didnt I tell you to wash the dishes?

8.

This is your rst time, right?

9.

You bought cheese, didnt you?

58

3.
People with the numbers 1-12 please come in.

This particle tells you the limit on something. You get to

4.

know until which point something happens.

The age limit is until 30 years old.

a. Until

You can have limits on location. Until you get to school.

By until we mean a spatial or temporal limit.

Until you reach America. Etcetera.

You can have time related limits. Until 5:00pm. Until

March. Until tonight.

5.

I walk from my house to the station every day.

1.
I will work until 9pm.

6.

2.

I wonder where this road leads to.

Summer break is from July 20 to August 31.

And nally, you can have limits on actions as well.

You can also have limits on quantity of something. An
amount of money, food, or haunted dolls that you keep
in your home are all examples.

59

Also, please be sure to read the chapter. Its so

7.

similar yet so dierent.

Until you nish your homework, you cant play games.

8.

Until you eat your cake, you cant eat kale.

As you can see from the examples, one very common
pattern is ________. This is saying from ___
until ____ in English. For example,
means from 10 to 12 years old. And,
means from kids to adults. With , youll see this
pattern surface all the time. So become familiar with it
and look out for it. Good thing you know all about the
particle by this point in the ebook.
One tricky note. When used with time, is a little
dierent from English. For example, if you say Ill sleep
until February in English, that means the month of
February is when you stop sleeping. But in Japanese, if
you say , that means youre going sleep
through February, and stop sleeping when March starts
and February ends. Something like this can become an
terrible misunderstanding, so make sure youre careful1

60

2.

I wanted to come here once before I die.

This particle (or combination of particles) is similar to

This one is a little bit tougher. Instead of a straight up

, with one subtle but important change. is

about time limits on actions.

dose of time, you are saying by the time you die. But,

a. Indicates a limit on an action

the time you die.

Unlike , feels like its putting a hard limit on

Lets compare two similar sentences. One is and the

death is still a time limit, and youre doing something by

other is .

the until. Instead of until, its easier to think of

as the word by. As in by 6:00pm or by the time you
get to school.

3.

Until I die I want to smoke (tobacco).

1.

Finish your homework by 8 oclock.

4.

This one is simple - its a time limit. By 8 oclock you do

Before I die I want to smoke (tobacco).

something, in this case its nish your homework.

See the dierence? In (3) (), you keep smoking

tobacco until you die. In (4) () you want to smoke
before the time limit of your life coming to an end.

61

Compare these example sentences to if they only

5.

included and not . What would the dierences

be in translation?

I have to make a presentation document before the

meeting starts tomorrow.

6.

I will make myself able to do that come the next time.

7.

I will make my love confession by graduation.

8.

I want a child by the time I turn 30.

9.

I experienced something Ive never experienced before

now.

62

2.

Japanese is more dicult to learn than any other

language.

is all about comparisons. You are comparing

something or someone and then following the with
the criteria in which youre comparing those things with.

3.

a. Something / Someone is being compared with

You are better at sales than book keeping, dont you

Something / someone

think?

Theres two main ways to use , Id say. One involves

The other pattern switches things around, though the

comparing the two things up front. The other involves

meaning on the English side doesnt change much.

comparing after.

A B ________. More than A, B is _____.

A B ________. A is _____ more than B.

4.

1.

More than coee, tea tastes good / Tea tastes better

Coee tastes better than tea.

than coee.

5.

More than cold, hot is good. / Hot is better than cold.

63

Try to change these sentences around so that they

6.

follow the rst pattern or the second pattern (whichever

one the sentence is not).

I prefer a man who is funny to one that is handsome.
Lets look at more examples.
7. ()
It would be slightly better than now

8.

There is no other way than to go by airplane.

9.

Youve improved a lot compared to last time.

10.

There is no one in the world who is taller than you.

64

3.
Have you eaten super?

This is similar to , but tends to be masculine speech

4.

(typically used by dudes). Also, it is usually used

together with a yes-or-no question as if youre expecting

Do you think this stock is a buy?

a yes-or-no answer.
a. A masculine sentence-ender for yes-or-no

5.

questions

Are your fathers feet stinky too?

Theres not too much to say about this particle. If you

know how works (which you should at this point), and

6.

you remember that this is mainly used by guys for

typically yes-or-no questions, then you know what you

need to know.

Have you heard the news?

1.

7.

So, you kissed her/him?

Have you gone there already?

8.

2.

Do you have any money?

Dont you think its too cruel?

65

9.

Was the surgery successful?

10.
Do you enjoy school?
Youll notice that all these questions have possible yes-
or-no answers.
Another thing to note is that tends to be somewhat
casual. So dont use it with your boss or people youre
not familiar with, as itll come o as a bit juvenile or
rude.

66

2.
Theres beer and wine (and some other stu).

This is very similar to , in that you use it to list things

Most likely, there are some other alcoholic beverages as

out. It might be good to review (when used to list

things) before reading this one.

well. In general, the things that are not on the list share

a. A particle that lists two or more items, but there

category) with the things that are on the list.

a category (though sometimes a very, very broad

may be more things on that list that arent being

listed.

3.

With , everything you list is everything you list. Theres

Ill prepare some sandwiches and pizza (and some other

nothing more. With , there might be more that wasnt

stu).

listed. Its like saying: Go buy some salmon, chips, (and

some other things).

4.

1.

Do you have a smartphone or tablet (or something else)

Im writing screenplays and novels (and other things)

You can list o more than two things too, of course.

When you use , its suggesting that theres something
else, but maybe its not important enough to say, or the
listener can just guess it. If you replaced that with a
, then youd be saying that you only write screenplays
and novels, nothing else.

67

5.

The red, blue, and yellow (and some other colors too)
owers were in bloom.

6. JPOP
JPOP
I like enka and JPOP and rock (and some other music
types).

7. (

Bears, deer, and boars (and some others) show up

around here.

68

3.

I wonder if the surgery will be a success.

Another sentence ending particle that has to do with

gendered language.

As you can see, with all of them the speaker is

a. A sentence-ending particle that shows the

in fact.

wondering about X. There is a hint right in the particle,

speaker wonders about something.

The in is like the question marker . So, you

already know theres some question. The actually

tends to be used by females, and falls within the

comes from ), which means to not

category of gendered language, where you wouldnt be

know. If youre questioning something and you dont

grammatically incorrect to use this if you were a man,

know something, then you are wondering something.

but you would sound a bit girly. When placed at the end

Everything just fell into place. How nice!

of the sentence, it suggests that the speaker is

wondering about something.

4.
I wonder if Ill catch the train.

1.
I wonder if Mami-san will come.

5.
I wonder if (they) sell potato chips.

2.

I wonder if my son can pass the exam.

6.
I wonder what this is.

69

7.

I wonder how I should explain.

8.

I wonder which necktie would look better with his shirt.

The male version of ? Ask and you shall receive.
Its coming up next:

70

4.

I wonder if this is a ne place to put the tent up.

Like , but for guys. And girls. But mostly guys.

5.

a. A sentence ending particle that expresses some

doubt. Similar to I wonder..

I wonder where I should put this pot.

Like , is usually translated as I wonder, and

I think this ts well. Its supposed to be on the male side

6.

of the gendered language tables, but females will use it

I wonder if its time for bed.

too, in casual speech.

7.

1. (

I wonder if it will be snow again tomorrow.

I wonder what kind of story he will write.

8.
I wonder if I can do it by myself.

2.
I wonder if Japan will win.

9.

3.

I wonder when I should go back to America.

I wonder how long she will last.

71

10.
I wonder if war will break out.
As you can see, theyre all questions, generally directed
at yourself. Things you wonder about. That being said, it
can also be directed at people who are in your inner
circle, so friends, relatives, etc.

72

2.

Can you ll this glass about half way up please?

The rst version of this particle (a) is more on the

It doesnt have to be a hard number. It can be any

beginner level. The second one (b) is a little more

complicated and might be worth coming back to later.

amount. In this case, half became about half.

a. An approximation

3.

First youll want something that can be measured by an

(My) height is about 170cm.

amount. Usually something with numbers. Then you add

(or ) to it, and it suddenly becomes an
approximation. About ___ or approximately ___.

4.

(My) weight is about 50 kilograms.

1.

A boy who was about three years old got lost.

5.

(3 years old) becomes about three years old

I heard that approximately 10 cars were involved in the

because of the attached to it.

accident.

73

Itll be easier to show you.

6.

I ordered about 50 staplers.

1.

I was so happy that I almost cried.

You can also ask for a number as an approximation.

In this situation, you were so happy that you almost

7.

cried. The extent to which you were happy was such

that you almost cried.

About how many cigarettes do you smoke a day?

2.

8.

I hate him so much that I don't even want to see his

What would the total amount be, approximately?

face.

One thing to note, youll also see as . There

To the extent that you dont want to see (that mans)

isnt a good rule as to when youd use each (it doesnt

face, you hate him. Or, the degree to which you hate

follow the normal rendaku rules youd expect). So, just

him is such that you dont want to see his face. Is this

know that either could show up, but its all the same.

starting to make sense?

b. A degree of a state, showing its extent

Try to gure out what part of the sentence is the extent

or state, and what it is related to.

The rst shows an approximation for something

that can be measured. This shows to what extent
something is, well, something.

74

3.

7.

I'm so busy that I don't even have time to drink coee.

This package is so heavy that I will probably pull my

back out.

4.

8.

This car is so strong that even an elephant couldn't

crush it.

This quiz is so easy that I could even boil tea on my belly

button.

5.

(note that this last one is some weird Japanese saying,

when something is stupidly easy, you can say its so easy

that you could even boil tea in your belly button. Weird.)

I studied so hard that I got a callus on my nger.

9.

6.

This English book is so easy that even I can read it.

I'm so hungry that I could eat a mud manjuu.

When used in this fashion, its possible that youre

genuine in saying its so easy you could read it, and
youre happy about that. Or, you could be belittling the
fact that its so easy. Its going to come down to tone
and context.

75

 is every 10 minutes. What is every 10

minutes? this train. You might see this at a train station,

for example.

Dont confuse this with , its , and it's

Try to gure out what is taking place in regular

completely dierent.

succession with the rest of these sentences.

a. Something that takes place in regular succession

3.

Every is a good word to use to translate this particle.

February 29th comes every 4 years.

Every 5 minutes or every third building. Something is

happening in some kind of predened succession.

4.

1.

This phone call will cost 20 yen per minute.

I ate bacon every 5 hours.

5.

When you add to , it goes from 5 hours to

every ve hours. In regular succession, you are eating

bacon every 5 hours.

At the end, each group will make a presentation about

the results of their study.

2.

In this translation, you are saying each instead of

This train comes every 10 minutes.

every, though its really all the same. In regular

succession, each group is doing the presentation.

76

6.

10.

In Japan, each region has a dierent dialect.

I use dierent mailboxes for each mail address.

Same with this one - instead of every were translating

11.

it as each, though every would make sense too.

I breastfeed my baby every three hours.

7.

As you can see, there are a lot of good ways to use

Its possible to book a dierent hotel for each night.

. Lets take a look at the similar particle , and

gure out how it diers.

8.

In groups of three or more, every third meal is free of
charge.

9.

I want to change the image for each article.

77

The main dierence between and is that

has to do with something taking place. is the
distribution of something, broken up into equal divisions.

This is somewhat similar to . Lets gure out how

has to do with the distribution of the time / place

they dier.

that something is happening, but is just the

distribution of the quantity.

a. Equal divisions
Try to gure out what is being distributed in equal
Used after some kind of quantity of something, this

divisions with each sentence before looking at the

shows the equal distribution of quantity. Often this is

translation.

translated as each (as in: you get two each) or at a

time (as in: I will eat one at a time).

4.

I feel I'm improving little by little.

1.

I counted the bills one by one.

5.

I gave my children 1,000,000 yen each.

2.

Please pay 300 yen each.

6.

We handed out water bottles one by one.

3.

I am memorizing 10 kanji every day.

78

7.

I watch one movie every day.

8.

I am reading 50 pages of a book every day.

79

2.

I have nothing but ice tea, is that okay?

This is a really useful particle, though its very dicult to

In this case, you only have ice tea, because you have

explain. Ill try anyways.

nothing but ice tea.

a. Negates everything except which precedes it

3.

When you place it after a noun, it means something like

I can only speak Japanese.

only ____. Its confusing though, because it is always

followed by a negative. Its like saying only ___ is not

Or, I can speak nothing but Japanese. Of course, you can

____.

switch out with any language. Try it with your

own native language to say I can speak nothing but

1.

____.

Now theres nothing to do but that.

4.

is to do (that). is plus the

I can only speak English.

negative (). You add the negative to the thing that

is attached to, and you have nothing to do (but

Thats a good one if you are visiting Japan and dont

that).

want to learn anything else.

5.

I have only lived in Nara.

80

10.

Or, I have not lived anywhere but Nara.

I have nothing but work.

6.

Now that thats over, lets next look at another particle

that is somewhat similar: .

I play with no one but Koichi-kun.

You have noticed from the last couple examples that
can follow another particle too. Thats A-okay!
7.

I read nothing but mystery novels.

8.

We only hire those who have graduated from university.

9.

I eat nothing but vegetables.

81

2.

Only I attended.

This is kind of similar to , but where is kind of

= only I, or only me. What was the thing that

like a double negative, is more straight forward.

only I did? It was attend the thing.

a. A limit on something that is growing.

3.

Usually translated as only or just or even merely.

Nobody but him was saved.

Theres an amount, and now it is limited with .

Although the two are somewhat dierent, most people

= only him. What happened to only him? He was

at a beginner or intermediate level will get more use out

saved.

of compared to .

As you can see, is very useful to place after all kinds

1.

of nouns.

)
The only anime I watch is Disney.

You can also place a particle before the too.

Of anime, its that you watch. Only

4.

Disney.

With you only I will conde my secret.
Now its to you only instead of just you only. When
you put the particle before the it has a higher sense
of exclusiveness. I know that both of the translations

82

would be only you but with it really feels like

its really is only with you. Youre special!
Here are some more examples. Try to gure out what is
____ only and what happens to ____ only.
5.

I thought only you would trust me.

6.

The only thing I understand is this.

7.

After pouring the hot water, the only thing left is to wait
for three minutes.

8.

Only she is my ally.

83

3.

Which one is the most handsome?

This particle is similar to or . Be sure to take a

The WH-question comes from which.

look at those before reading this one to complete the

particle question marking Triforce.

4.

a. A sentence ender which indicates a wh-question

Who the heck are you?

Kind of like , marks a question. But, its for wh-

The WH-question comes from who.

questions (what, who, where, etc). Its also a particle

that tends to be used by males in male speech.

As you can see we were a little liberal with the

translations (where the heck are you). This isnt

1.

literally what the sentence is saying, but it gives o the

What the heck is this?

same feeling and vibe. More casual, more abrasive,

more dude-full.

The WH-question comes from what.

Heres some more random examples.

2.

5.

Where the heck were you?

Where would be safe to go?

The WH-question comes from where.

6.
How about this?

84

Maybe you noticed this, but doesnt follow a verb,

just nouns and na-adjectives. That being said, it does
follow verbs sometimes, but the verb has added to it.
When you add to a verb, it becomes , which is
kind of like turning a verb into a noun. It has been
nominalized.
Check out these examples.
7.

If there's a point to this, please get to it.

8.

How do you study Japanese?

9.
Which one did you choose?

85

The topic youre introducing is the idea of marriage.

Youre wondering if its actually a good thing or not.

3.

There are two particles, and both come down to

casual speech (but are useful!).

You are such a good lier.

a. Introduces a topic

The topic being introduced is you and the thing youre

saying about you is that you are a good lier.

Its almost like saying speaking of _____ + the thing

you want to say about it. You are introducing ____ as a
topic that youre talking about.

4.
So basketball was this much fun?

1.

5.

Is a hometown tax really worth it?

Mathematics is really boring.

The topic is , and in this sentence you

are introducing it. Then, youre saying something about

Youve maybe noticed that this is kind of like the

it (in this case, is it really worth it?)

particle , which marks a topic. They are quite similar,

though is going to be more casual and emotive.

2.

Here are more examples:

Is marriage a good thing in the end?

86

(A cat! (he) said.). is more casual /

6.

colloquial, though, compared to the particle .

Do you have a boyfriend?

One important thing to know about this particle is that it

doesnt have to have the said verb in it. If there is no

7.

verb after the , the said part is assumed. If the

verb is something else you denitely need to include it

Children are innocent and cruel.

though.

8.

1.

Why doesn't the life go well?

Haruko said she will be late today.

9.

2.

Masami is a bit strange.

He said he will quit the club activity.

10.

3.

Is Shogo a doctor?

Misaki said she will got to America to study.

b. A casual quotation marker

This is a shortened version of the particle , when is
used to quote something. For example:

87

4.

I heard that that family ran away at night because of the

debt.

Tatsuo said he won't go to the kindergarten.

9.
5.

I heard that that company will go on banckrupt.

Ms. Higuchi said she started a part-time job.

10.

With the right context, can be used for hearsay too.

Its like saying Someone said that Youre not quoting

I heard that Endo became a comedian.

anyone specic, but youre quoting something you

heard.
6.

I heard Mr. Sugihara won the lottery.

7.

I heard Mr. Tada was transferred to Tokyo.

8.

88

4.

a. Even

Even you can make rice, can't you?

is the -form of () plus the particle .

Trying to break the particle down this way would get

5.

confusing, though. Just think of it as even. As in:

Even a child can do such a thing.

1.

6.

This shot is dicult even for a professional golfer.

I will protect you even in such a dangerous situation.

2.

7.

This kind of question wont be answered even by a

native speaker.

Even a calm pet dog sometimes bites.

3.

8.

There are divergent opinions even by a number of

Even a doctor becomes sick.

experts.

89

This particle is also often combined with WH-words.

When this happens, it changes that WH-word into the
any version of it.
Anything
Anyone
Anywhere
Etcetera.
So youll see things like:
9.
Anyone can do it!

10.
Anything is ne.

11.
Anywhere door!
That last one is the door that Doraemon makes that can
take them anywhere. Too imba if you ask me.

90

4.

Dont touch peoples things as you please.

a. Negative marker
5.

This essentially means dont do. Its a piece of

Don't worry about the past!

masculine speech thats put after a verb to negate it.

Youre also giving an order / asking someone not to do

It is fairly casual though. You wouldnt want to use this

that thing.

with someone fancy / equal to or above you in social

rank, so save it for when youre a little angry or wanting

Its all in the examples:

to look down on someone a little bit. Or with family or

friends.

1.
Don't drive if you drink!

6.
Don't sell yourself short.

2.

7.

Don't trust what he says!

Don't gamble!

3.

8.

Don't look down on me.

Don't fell asleep in the class!

91

9.
Don't let your guard down.

10.
Don't excuse!

92

2.

You are such a nice person, arent you!

Dont get this confused with (though sometimes

can be written as , or ). is like some kind of

3.

order (dont smoke!), is on the other side of the

spectrum.

Tofugu is super useful!

a. Exclamatory. Wonder.

These rst three lean towards searching for

agreement. Its really warm today, isnt it? I guess, if

This one is really hard to explain and translate. It gives a

you say so.

sentence an exclamatory tone. Sometimes it is searching

for agreement from the person youre talking to. Other

Number 3 could also have been an exclamation though.

times it is expressing a sense of wonder. Its a lot like

It just depends on the context.

in a lot of ways, but is a little too far on the

searching for agreement side of things. I think its best
to just look through a lot of sentences. Youll see what I

4.

mean. The translations are more like the feeling of the

sentence instead of a literal translation, because is

Hitomi is so pretty!

kind of untranslatable.

This one leans toward a sense of wonderment. Wow,

1.

that Hitomi, so pretty.

It's really warm today, isnt it!

5.
I'm bored every day!

93

These last six examples are more exclamatory. Youre

making an exclamation. That being said, they could lean

6.

this way or that depending on the context.

Aww, I want to go to the sea!

is supposedly masculine speech, though I think

more and more girls are using it nowadays. Soon I it
wont be masculine speech anymore. Just plain neutral.

7.

But, female speech does have a similar particle: . It

This game is so fun!

shares that feeling of wonderment, but it also has that

searching for agreement thing going for it.

8.

Japanese is very dicult!
Did you catch that? We used , that particle you just
learned.
9.
Cooking is very fun!

10.

Life is unfair!

94

You get your news from other sources as well, but these

are probably the main ones. These are the ones worth
mentioning. Everything else is just .

a. Etcetera and so on

3.

If you put this onto the end of a list (even a list of one

thing), its like youre saying etcetera or and so on or

In Italy, Ive been Rome and Firenze (among other

just plain saying that there are other things on that list

places).

but youre not going to list them. The listener will have
to guess what those things are via context.

You went to other cities besides Rome and Firenze, but

theyre not worth listing. You get the picture.

1.

4.

I like sports like soccer and rugby (among other things).

I like soccer, I like rugby but, I dont like only those

Her room was scattered with clothes and magazines

things, there are other things that I like too.

(among other things).

2.

5.

I check the news on newspapers and TV (among other

things).

In this curry, there are vegetables such as onions and

carrots (among other things).

95

6.

9. UML

UML

I'll buy pens and notes (among other things).

You can make owcharts and UML and various other
charts.

7.

In this aquariums, there are sharks and whales (among

10.

other things).

I use this laptop at home and work (among other
places).

You may have noticed, all of these lists use instead of

. Why is that? Because a list doesnt list everything
(there are other things not being listed). A list lists
everything. Because were using , all the sentences
have lists that are incomplete, so you have to use .
8.

On my days o, I read and watch movies (among other
things).

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2.

I only eat ramen every day.

a. The only thing or action that exists

= only ramen. Thats all you eat every

day. You should probably go get a colonoscopy.

Whatever comes after, it is suggesting that that's

the only thing or action that exists. But, its not as
simple as that, and actually somewhat exible in its

3.

variety. There are multiple ways to use . Lets

break them down.

I always think about you.

With nouns and adjectives, you know that thing is only

= only things about you

that thing. means only convenient (and

nothing else.

4.

1.

It's not good to complain all the time.

People here are all otakus.

= only complaints.

= only otaku. So that means there are only

otaku here.

Lets look at some adjectives too. Same sort of deal.

5.
(The only good thing about him) is that hes tall.

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When is used with a past tense verb, it means

9.

that that thing just happened, but there wasnt much

time that has passed between when that thing happened

The only thing she is doing is working.

and now (when youre saying the words).

10.

6.

All Reika does is look in the mirror.

I just turned 30 years old.

Note that there is something dierent about this pattern

7.

compared to the others. You have to follow with

or to make it work.

I just cut my facial hair.

11. Facebook
Facebook

8.

Looking at Facebook all the time is a waste of time.

That paint was just applied.

Finally, if you add to a present tense verb, you

could be saying that thats all there is to something:

Then, when you add to -form, youre saying

thats all thats happening. means only
eating.

12.

Obtaining a good job is not the only thing in life.

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Or, youre saying that something is in a ready state. The

16.

only action that exists is to do what is described in that

verb. (ready to eat).

Could you give me around two hours?

13.

As you can see, theres a lot of ways to use . So,

make sure you get familiar with them all. In general,

All thats left is to eat dessert.

though, its going to be mostly the denition that

involves only one action or thing existing, with a couple

When is placed after an amount, it becomes

exceptions.

about _____. If this seems weird then good, Im not

the only one thinking that.
14.

Could you please make arrangements for around three
cars?

15.

Were short by about two people for the part time job.

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To the extent of bacon _______. There is nothing that

tastes good to the extent that bacon tastes good.
Try to break up the next few sentences. One part is the

a. to the extent of / as much as

extent, and the other part is the information about that

extent.

This particle shows the extent to which something

happens or exists. For example I ate so much that I
threw up or I ran so much that I fell over. You have

3.

the extent of something, and you have what happens

because youve reached that state.

That model is not as cute as people say.

As much as people say, that model is not (that) cute.

I've never seen such an interesting movie.

4.
I was so happy that I could die.

= as much as this. Or to this extent. When

you add to it, you are saying

To the extent that I would die, I was happy. Not literally,

that you haven't seen this interesting of a movie.

of course. This is just something people might say when

Another way to say it: To this extent (), you

theyre really happy. Actually, I hear it quite a bit, so it

havent seen a movie this interesting.

might be worth depositing into your little memory bank.

2.

There is nothing that tastes better than bacon.

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5.

9.

The curry of this restaurant is so wonderful it could get

My younger brother isn't as bald as our dad yet.

an award.
10.

= to the extent that it could get an award

= it is wonderful.

Writing is not as easy as I thought it would be.

6.

The pattern is really quite simple. If these sentences are

too complicated you can shorten it up for practice.

Nobody is cooler than Brad Pitt.

______
7.

Seems so tasty I could eat it.

This computer is astonishingly cheap.

So hungry I could eat a

horse.

8.

Faster is good / faster is better

I'm not as skinny as my younger sister.

Im so thirsty I could drink

mud.
Play around with ________ and see what you can
come up with on your own.

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4.

I think this song will be popular.

a. A sentence ender particle that softens a

statement

5.

Usually used by female speakers, this sentence ender

asserts something but not very assertively. In fact, the

I think this interview went well.

serves to soften any assertiveness to make it feel

kinder and nicer. So, think of it as a very weak assertion.

6.
I disagree.

1.
I'll break up with him.

7.

Youre making the assertion that you will break up with

him. With that there it sounds a little less scary,

It's about time to do the dishes.

though still assertive.

8.

2.

I'll move to Osaka.

I think that the suspect is still around here.

3.

9.

This must be done by an alien.

I don't want to eat something oily.

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10.

I can't believe the things you say.
All of these are assertions of some kind. Its hard to tell
because its text and we dont have the context or tone
of voice, but you can assume that they are weak-to-
medium level assertions. In person the feeling of these
sentences becomes more clear. For now, just imagine it.

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 = especially on cold days. Or, on cold days

in particular. The emphasis is on that part that the

is attached to.

a. Emphasizes a word or phrase

3.

Thats not much of a description, huh? Youll see what I

Because he was with us, we were able to come this far.

mean in the examples, but its kind of like saying ___ in

particular, as in this book, in particular (), is good.

The important part was him being here. If he wasnt, the

The thing that comes after is being emphasized as

second part of the sentence wouldnt be possible. Thats

being almost special or unique in some way.

why the emphasis is placed on that rst part.

1.

4.

It is time when you should read this book.

I'll denitely succeed next time.

= this time in particular. It emphasizes this

Next time. Especially next time. I am going to succeed.

phrase. Really if you add in particular to whatever

is attached to it usually works out pretty well, though
sometimes gets a little awkward.

5.

Since it's dicult, I get motivated.

2.

Especially on a cold day, hot pot tastes good.

Because its dicult. That part in particular is why I get

motivated.

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6.

Instead of me, you should apologize me.
The emphasis is being put back on you. You in particular
should be the one apologizing.
7.

I am the one who should be thanking you.
This is a good set phrase (). Its like saying
no, its me (who should ___). It comes up a lot, but
mostly comes up with saying you should be the one
doing the thanking.
is one of those Japanese words that is dicult to
translate in a way that doesnt come out sounding weird.
But, as long as you understand the feeling behind ,
thats whats important.

105

And this one.

4.

a. A sentence ender that turns a phrase into an

He'll do well.

assertion.

Okay, Im going to stop writing things between the

This is typically used in male speech. It makes the

examples. You get the picture, these are assertions. Its

phrase into an assertion, though how much assertion

just something you use at the end of a sentence, and it

depends on context and how you say it. The amount of

sounds good because you sound more assertive.

assertion really ranges from very not assertive to quite

assertive, which cant be shown very well in text format.

5.

1.
You'll be just ne.

This project will surely succeed.

Not much to explain here. Its just an assertion.

6.

I'm pretty sure I can't do such a thing.

2.
No problem.

7.

Same with this one.

Why did you tell mom such a thing?

3.
Don't worry about it.

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exibility in assertiveness is what makes this particle

8.

dicult to put your nger on. For now just know that

this range exists.

That kiddo became an adult too.

9.

I couldn't see it because it hiding in the cars shadow.

10.

I couldn't answer the phone because I was taking a
bath.
Note that is going to be used in informal speech, so
dont use it around anyone you dont really know /
around people who are higher on the pecking order than
you are.
The range on the amount of assertion being asserted is
hard to calculate as well. But, if someones being really
angry voiced and loud, you can probably guess they are
trying to be extra assertive. That being said, if they have
a really soft voice and are looking o into the distance,
maybe theyre not being that assertive at all. The

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4.
Were going on a trip!
Hope, joy, excitement!

a. A sentence ender particle that emphasizes the

emotion in the phrase.

5.

Typically used by males, the emotion that is being

The taxi came over!

emphasized depends on the emotion thats being placed

into the phrase.

Excitement! Relief! (Depends on the context!)

1.

6.

He ran away to over there!

The sushi of this restaurant is delicious!

Perhaps this is the emotion of lets get that fool!

So good! So tasty! So happy!

2.

7.

Everything is your responsibility!

It would be troublesome if a teacher saw us!

3.

Worry.

That's why I told you to stop!

Last couple emphasize the anger in the phrase.

108

8.

This package is quite heavy!
Distress.
9.
Someone is coming!
Uh oh.
10.

This is denitely the last time!
Hrmm.
Its going to be used in informal speech, so be careful
not to use it in the wrong places and with the wrong
people.
If youre a dude, and you want to emphasize the
emotion youre trying to project, throw a onto the end
of your sentence. Everyone will think youre super cool.

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Thanks for reading!

Learning Japanese?
I hope this was helpful. If you can go through all the
example sentences, break them down, and understand

Check out our other resources:

them, youll denitely come out with a lot more

knowledge of Japanese particles. The rst step is

WaniKani: Learn ~1700 kanji and ~5,000 vocabulary

understanding how they work. From there you can get

words in about a year.

to a point where you can actually use them.

TextFugu: An online Japanese textbook for self-learners.

Recommended Japanese Resources: A list of our

More Resources:

favorite Japanese resources, all in one place.

4500 Japanese Sentences: Translate these sentences,

If you are interested in grammar and particles, and want

level up your Japanese.

some more, there are some neat books and resources

out there. Heres a few that I used as a reference for this
ebook.

- (in Japanese)
- A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
- Making Sense Of Japanese
- Japanese Sentence Patterns for Eective
Communication

-
-
-
-
-

A Dictionary of Japanese Particles

(in Japanese)
(in Japanese)
(in Japanese)
Wikipedia: Japanese Particles

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