Particles (助詞-じょし)
| Kana | Romaji | Explanation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| は | wa | Marks the topic of the sentence: what the sentence is about. Written は but pronounced wa as a particle. | 私は学生です。 わたしはがくせいです。 I am a student. |
| が | ga | Marks the grammatical subject, often identifying or emphasizing who or what does something. | 猫がいます。 ねこがいます。 There is a cat. |
| を | o (wo) | Marks the direct object of an action. Written を and traditionally romanized wo, but usually pronounced o. | 水を飲みます。 みずをのみます。 I drink water. |
| に | ni | Marks a destination, a specific time, a recipient, or the location where something exists. | 7時に起きます。 しちじにおきます。 I get up at seven. |
| で | de | Marks where an action takes place or the means or method used to do it. | 図書館で勉強します。 としょかんでべんきょうします。 I study at the library. |
| へ | e | Marks the direction of movement, meaning “toward.” Written へ but pronounced e as a particle. | 学校へ行きます。 がっこうへいきます。 I go toward school. |
| の | no | Connects nouns, often showing possession or describing one noun with another. | 私の本です。 わたしのほんです。 It is my book. |
| と | to | Means “and” when listing things, “with” when describing company, or marks a quotation. | 友達と行きます。 ともだちといきます。 I go with a friend. |
| も | mo | Means “also” or “too”; it can replace は or が to include another person or thing. | 私も行きます。 わたしもいきます。 I am going too. |
| から | kara | Marks a starting point in time or place; can also mean “because” in some sentence patterns. | 9時から働きます。 くじからはたらきます。 I work from nine o’clock. |
| まで | made | Marks an endpoint in time or place, meaning “until” or “as far as.” | 5時まで働きます。 ごじまではたらきます。 I work until five o’clock. |
| や | ya | Connects examples in a non-exhaustive list, meaning “and things like.” | りんごやバナナを買いました。 りんごやばななをかいました。 I bought apples, bananas, and things like that. |
| か | ka | Marks a question at the end of a sentence or means “or” between choices. | 学生ですか。 がくせいですか。 Are you a student? |
| ね | ne | Seeks agreement or shares a feeling, similar to “right?” or “isn’t it?” | いい天気ですね。 いいてんきですね。 The weather is nice, isn’t it? |
| よ | yo | Adds emphasis or tells the listener something they may not know. | これはおいしいですよ。 これはおいしいですよ。 This is delicious, you know. |
| だけ | dake | Means “only” or “just,” limiting what it refers to. | 水だけ飲みます。 みずだけのみます。 I drink only water. |
| しか | shika | Means “only” or “nothing but” and is used with a negative verb. | 100円しかありません。 ひゃくえんしかありません。 I have only 100 yen. |
| より | yori | Marks a comparison point, meaning “than”; it can also mean “from” in formal usage. | 犬より猫が好きです。 いぬよりねこがすきです。 I like cats more than dogs. |