Japanese particles

Japaneseparticles,joshi(Trợ từ)ortenioha(てにをは),are suffixes or short words inJapanese grammarthat immediately follow the modified noun, verb, adjective, or sentence. Theirgrammatical rangecan indicate various meanings and functions, such asspeaker affectand assertiveness.

Orthography and diction

Japanese particles are written inhiraganain modern Japanese, though some of them also havekanjiforms: (HộorThiênforteて;Nhĩforniに;HồorViễnforoを;andBaforwaは). Particles follow the same rules of phonetic transcription as all Japanese words, with the exception ofは(writtenha,pronouncedwaas a particle),へ(writtenhe,pronouncede) andを(written using a hiragana character with no other use in modern Japanese, originally assigned aswo,now usually pronouncedo,though some speakers render it aswo). These exceptions are a relic ofhistorical kana usage.

Types of particles

There are eight types of particles, depending on what function they serve.

Case markers(Cách trợ từ,kaku-joshi)

が,

ga,

の,

no,

を,

o,

に,

ni,

へ,

e,

と,

to,

で,

de,

から,

kara,

より

yori

が, の, を, に, へ, と, で, から, より

ga, no, o,ni, e,to, de, kara, yori

Parallel markers(Tịnh lập trợ từ,heiritsu-joshi)

か,

ka,

の,

no,

や,

ya,

に,

ni,

と,

to,

やら,

yara,

なり,

nari,

だの

dano

か, の, や, に, と, やら, なり, だの

ka, no, ya, ni, to, yara, nari, dano

Sentence ending particles(Chung trợ từ,shū-joshi)

か,

ka,

の,

no,

や,

ya,

な,

na,

わ,

wa,

とも,

tomo,

かしら

kashira

か, の, や, な, わ, とも, かしら

ka, no, ya, na, wa, tomo, kashira

Interjectory particles(Gian đầu trợ từ,kantō-joshi)

さ,

sa,

よ,

yo,

ね

ne

さ, よ, ね

sa, yo, ne

Adverbial particles(Phó trợ từ,fuku-joshi)

ばかり,

bakari,

まで,

made,

だけ,

dake,

ほど,

hodo,

くらい,

kurai,

など,

nado,

なり,

nari,

やら

yara

ばかり, まで, だけ, ほど, くらい, など, なり, やら

bakari, made, dake, hodo, kurai, nado, nari, yara

Binding particles(Hệ trợ từ,kakari-joshi)

は,

wa,

も,

mo,

こそ,

koso,

でも,

demo,

しか,

shika,

さえ,

sae,

だに

dani

は, も, こそ, でも, しか, さえ, だに

wa,mo, koso, demo, shika, sae, dani

Conjunctive particles(Tiếp 続 trợ từ,setsuzoku-joshi)

ば,

ba,

や,

ya,

が,

ga,

て,

te,

のに,

noni,

ので,

node,

から,

kara,

ところが,

tokoroga,

けれども,

keredomo,

くせに

kuseni

ば, や, が, て, のに, ので, から, ところが, けれども, くせに

ba, ya, ga, te, noni, node, kara, tokoroga, keredomo, kuseni

Phrasal particles(Chuẩn thể trợ từ,juntai-joshi)

の,

no,

から

kara

の, から

no, kara

Note that some particles appear in two types. For example,karais called a "case marker" where it describes where something is from or what happens after something; when it describes a cause it is called a "conjunctive particle".

List of particles

Index

• bakari
• bakari ka
• bakashi
• dake
• da no
• de
• de mo
• dokoro ka
• e
• ga
• hodo
• ka
• kai
• ka na
• kara
• ka shira
• kedo
• kiri
• kke
• koro/goro
• koso
• kurai/gurai
• made
• made ni
• me
• mo
• mono/mon
• mono de
• mono ka/mon-ka
• mono nara
• mono o
• na and naa
• nado
• nanka/nante
• nara
• ne
• ni
• ni te
• ni wa
• no
• no de
• nomi
• no ni
• o
• sa/saa
• sae
• de sae
• sae...ba/ra
• shi
• shika
• sura
• to
• to ka
• to mo
• tte
• tteba
• wa
• ya
• yara
• yo
• yori
• ze
• zo
• zutsu

Meaning and usage

Preceding syntactic element	Example sentence	Translation
bakari ばかり ( hứa り)	Translates to: "just, only, full of" Colloquially: ばっかりbakkari,ばっかbakka
Noun	Tōkyō wahito bakarida. Đông kinh はNhân ばかりだ.	Tokyo isjust full of people.
Verbs (taform)	Tabeta bakarida. Thực べたばかりだ.	Ijust ate.
Verb (teform)	Kare watabete bakariiru. Bỉ はThực べてばかりいる.	He'salways eating.
bakari ka ばかりか ( hứa りか)	Translates to: "not only". Accompanied by さえsae( "but also" ) indicates something unusual or unexpected. Etymology:bakari+ka
Nouns	Sofu bakari ka,sōsofu sae ikite iru. Tổ phụ ばかりか,Tằng tổ phụ さえ sinh きている.	Not onlyis mygrandfatherliving, but so is my great-grandfather.
bakashi ばかし ( hứa し)	bakashiis another form ofbakari.
dake だけ ( trượng )	Translates to: "only"; limit. Dakefunctions as a noun. Kanji form trượng is less commonly used.
Nouns	rōmaji dakeno jisho ローマ tự だけの từ thư	arōmaji-onlydictionary
Verbs (volitional)	Netai dakenereba ii. Tẩm たいだけTẩm ればいい.	You can sleepas much as you want [to sleep].
da no だの	Translates to: "and, things like". Etymology:da(copula) +no. This particle is used far less frequently thanto ka. Often has negative connotations.
Nouns, adjectives, verbs	Nattō da no,shīfūdo da no,wasabi da no—nihonshoku ga nigate da. Nạp đậu だの,シーフードだの,わさびだの— nhật bổn thực が khổ thủ だ.	Natto,seafood,wasabi—Japanese food isn't my thing.
de で	Etymology: Originally an alteration ofni te,later treated as a conjugation of the copulada.de can be used as "at" or "by means of". When serving as the continuative TE form of a subordinate clause, de substitutes for da/desu, carries the meaning "is, and so...", and takes on the tense of the final verb of the sentence.
Nouns:instrument	Jitensha deikimashō. Tự 転 xa でHành きましょう.	Let's goby bicycle.
Nouns:location	Koko deyasumitai. ここでHưu みたい.	I want to resthere.
Nouns:language	Nihongo detegami o kaita. Nhật bổn ngữ でThủ chỉ を thư いた.	I wrote the letterinJapanese.
TE form of copula: "is, and so..."	kimi gasuki deyokatta Quân がHảo き でよかった.	Youareloved (and so) I am glad. / I am gladthatIloveyou.
de mo でも	Translates to: "even; or; but, however; also in" Etymology:de+mo
Nouns, particles: "even"	Uchū kara de moBanri-no-Chōjō ga mieru. Vũ trụ からでもVạn lí の trường thành が kiến える.	Even from spaceyou can see the Great Wall of China.
Noun: "or something"	Ocha de mo,ikaga? お trà でも,いかが?	Would you liketea or something?
Noun: "also in"	Nihon de moeigo o benkyō suru Nhật bổn でもAnh ngữ を miễn cường する.	In Japan also,we study English.
Beginning of phrase: "but, however, even so"	De mo,watashi wa sō omowanai でも,Tư はそう tư わない.	ButI don't think so.
dokoro ka どころか ( sở か)	Translates to: "anything but, far from" Etymology:dokoro(tokoro:place) +ka
Nouns	Kare wakeisatsukan dokoro ka,hanzaisha da. Bỉ はCảnh sát quan どころか,Phạm tội giả だ.	He'sanything but a policeman;he's a criminal.
e へ	Translates to: "to, in"; direction Eis written with へ rather than え, reflecting old kana usage.
Nouns:direction	Nihon eyōkoso! Nhật bổn へようこそ!	Welcometo Japan!
ga が	Functions as: identifier (identifies something unspecified), conjunction ( "but" ). Not to be confused with the particleは. Ga(が orヶ): Historical possessive used to connect nouns, most often seen in place names asヶ
Nouns: Subject Marker (answers a silent or asked question)	Neko gaesa o tabeta. Miêu がNhị を thực べた.	The catate the catfood.[Answers: "What ate the catfood?" ]
	Inu gasuki. Khuyển がHảo き.	I likedogs.[Answers: What do you like?]
Noun: noun connector	wa gakuni Ngã がQuốc	my/our [collective]country
	Fujimi gaOka Phú sĩ kiến がKhâu	Fuji ViewHill
	Seki gahara Quan がNguyên	GatewayPlains (site of theBattle of Sekigahara)
Phrases:conjunction(but...)	Inu wa suki daga,neko wa kirai da. Khuyển は hảo きだが,Miêu は hiềm いだ.	I like dogsbutI hate cats.
hodo ほど ( trình )	Translates to: "as much as"; upper limit
Nouns	Kare hodonihongo ga umakunai. Bỉ ほどNhật bổn ngữ がうまくない.	My Japanese isn'tas good as his.
Adjectives*	Hayai hodoii. Tảo いほどいい.	The sooner,the better.
Verb	Aitsu okoroshitai hodokirai da. あいつをSát したいほどHiềm いだ.	I hate himenough to want to kill him.
ka か	Functions as: question denominator, alternative item conjunction, quotation expressing doubt; "whether", especially when used withdō ka( "or not" ).
Nouns, verbs: listing alternatives	Kore ka,sore ka,dotchika erande yo. これか,それか,どっちか tuyển んでよ.	This or that,choose one of them.
Noun, verbs: "whether (or not)"	Iku ka [dō ka]wakaranai. Hành くか ( どうか )Phân からない.	I don't know[whether or not / if] he'll go.
Adverbs (interrogative): uncertainty	Dokokade mita koto ga aru. どこかで kiến たことがある.	I think I've seen yousomewherebefore. (You look familiar)
Phrases: question (formal)	Wakarimasuka? Phân かりますか?	Do you understand?(formal)
Phrases: question, rhetorical	Eigo nante wakarimasuka! Anh ngữ なんて phân かりますか!	Why the heck wouldI understand English?(formal)
Phrases: question, invitation	Sate, dekake yōka? さて, xuất かけようか?	Right then,shallwe leave?
Phrase: quotation expressing doubt	Iku kato omoimasu ga... Hành くかと tư いますが...	I thinkhe'll go (but I'm not sure)...
kai かい	kaiis a gentler and masculine variant of the question markerka.
ka na かな	Translates to: "I wonder" (Note: "Ka na" implies having mostly made up one's mind. Drawing out the "na" [ka naa] implies less certainty.) Etymology:ka+na
Phrases	Kare wa ayashii hitoka na. Bỉ は quái しい nhânかな.	I wonderif he's a suspicious person.
kara から	Translates to: "from, after, because" Karamay be followed bynoto link two nouns.
Nouns: "from,out of"	Tōkyō karakaetta. Đông kinh からQuy った.	He returnedfrom Tokyo.
	zutto mae karano hanashi ずっと tiền からの thoại	a conversationfrom way back
Verb (te form): "after"	Owatte kara,kite kudasai. Chung わってから,Lai てください.	Please come byafter finishing (after you've finished).
Adjectives, Verbs: "because"	Niku otabenai kara,raamen wa dame da Nhục をThực べないから,ラーメンはだめだ.	Because he doesn't eatmeat, ramen is bad (a bad idea).
ka shira かしら	Ka shirais likeka na,but is used more by women. See alsoGender differences in spoken Japanese. Etymology:ka+shira,theirrealis form(i.e.negative formminus the-nai) ofshiru"to know"
Phrases	Kare wa ayashii hitoka shira. Bỉ は quái しい nhânかしら.	I wonderif he's a suspicious person.
kedo けど	Translates to: "although, but" Etymology:kedois a shortened version of formalkeredomo.It also appears semi-abbreviated and semi-formally askeredoorkedomo.
Adjectives, verbs	Kanojo wahen da kedokirei da. Bỉ nữ は変だけどきれいだ.	She isstrange butpretty
kiri きり ( thiết り)	Translates to: "just, only" Kiriis more rarely used thandake,functions as a noun and may be followed byno.
Nouns	futari kirino o-mise Nhị nhân きりのお điếm	a shop withjust two people[who work there]
kke っけ	Translates to: "Similar tokabut in an attempt to recall forgotten information. " Etymology:kkeoriginates from the auxiliary verb of Old Japanese "keri".
Nouns	Nani wo iou to shitetanda kke Hà を ngôn おうとしてたんだっけ	What were you trying to say,again?
koro/goro ごろ ( khoảnh )	Translates to: "around, about, approximately" Korofunctions as a noun and may be followed byno.
Nouns	San-ji goroni aimashō. Tam thời ごろに hội いましょう.	Let's meetaround 3 o'clock.
koso こそ	Functions as: Emphasis marker. There is no direct translation, but roughly analogous to "precisely" or "exactly", as in examples below.
Phrases	Kyō koso,yaru zo! Kim nhật こそ,やるぞ!	Today,I'm going to do it!
	Kimi ga suki da kara kosokore dake ganbatte iru n da yo. Quân が hảo きだからこそこれだけがんばっているんだよ.	It's precisely because I like youthat I'm working this hard.
	Kochira koso,yoroshiku onegai shimasu. こっちこそ,よろしくお nguyện いします.	Nice to meet you,too.(Emphasizesthis sideorme too)
kurai/gurai くらい・ぐらい ( vị )	Translates to: "about, approximately" Kuraifunctions as a noun and may be followed byno.
Nouns	Juppun kuraikakaru Thập phân くらいかかる.	It takesabout 10 minutes.
made まで ( hất )	Translates to: "up to, until, as far as" Indicates a time or place as a limit.
Nouns (specifically places or times)	Kono densha wa,Shimonoseki madeikimasu. この điện xa は,Hạ quan までHành きます.	This train goesas far as Shimonoseki.
Verb	Kaeru madematte ru. Quy るまでĐãi ってる.	I'll waituntil you come home.
made ni までに ( hất に)	Translates to: "by (a certain time)" Etymology:made+ni
Nouns, verbs	Ku-ji made nikaeru. Cửu thời までにQuy る.	I'll come backby nine o'clock.
me め ( mục )	me( mục only): ordinal particle me(め only): "Damn..."; abusive/pejorative
Classifiernouns: ordinal	Amerika wanikai medesu. アメリカはNhị hồi mụcです.	This is mysecond timeto America.
Noun: abusive "damn..."	Orokamono me! Ngu か giả め!	[You]damnfool!
mo も ( diệc )	Translates to: "also" Moalways replaceswaandga,but may follow other particles.
Nouns, phrases	Watashi ni mokureta. Tư にもくれた.	Iwas given (something),too.
mono/mon もの・もん	Verb + mono ( vật ): creates a noun from the verb (only applies to certain verbs) もの/もんat the end of a sentence: casual feminine sentence ender likeの;もんis very feminine and a bit cheeky.
With verbs	Nomimono Ẩm みVật	Drink
	Tabemono Thực べVật	Food
	Ikimono Sinh きVật	Living thing
At the end of a sentence	"Doushite konakatta no?" "Jugyō ga attanda mono." “どうしてこなかったの?” “Thụ nghiệp があったんだもの.”	"Why didn't you come?" "I had class."
	"Doushite konakatta no?" "Jugyō ga attanda mon." “どうしてこなかったの?” “Thụ nghiệp があったんだもん.”	"Why didn't you come?" "I had class,hah."
mono de もので	Similar meaning as ので.
mono ka/mon-ka ものか/もんか	Put at the end of sentences to strongly decline. (More gently: もの/もんですか)
At the end of sentences	Makeru-monka! Phụ けるもんか!	I will not surrender!
	Dare ga anna tokoro-ni nido to iku-mondesuka! Thùy があんなところに nhị độ と hành くもんですか!	Who would dare to go to a place like that for a second time!?
mono nara ものなら ( vật なら)	if (I/we/etc.) could
mono o ものを	Used in phrases to show deplore feelings about not doing something they should do.
Phrases	"Sukida" to hito koto itte kure-sae shi-tara kekkon deki-tamono o... "Hảo きだ" と nhất ngôn ngôn ってくれさえしたら, kết hôn できたものを...	If you had said "I like you", we would have gotten married...
na and naa な(and なる)・なあ・なぁ	Na(な only): used with a class of adjectives which behave grammatically like nouns (seena-adjectives). A more archaic form of thisnaisnaru(なる), which is used in the same way. Ifnafollows a dictionary form verb, it is a negative command ( "Don't..." ). However, if used with a verb stem, it implies the opposite: "Do..." as a short form ofnasai(なさい). It is also used to modify general nouns before other particles which cannot directly follow nouns (e.g.no de). Etymology: Thenaused with nouns (including na-adjectives) is a form of thecopula.Naornaaat the end of a sentence is a variant ofne,implying more reflection.
Verb (plain non-future)	Suru-na するな	Don'tdo (something).
Verb (stem)	Tabe-na Thực べな(short form of thực べなさい)	Doeat /Pleaseeat.
Na-adjectives	hen nahito 変なNhân	astrangeperson
Phrases	Hen dana! 変だな!	Howstrange!
nado など ( đẳng )	Translates to: "for example, things like, such as, etc., and so on" Functions as a noun and may be followed byno.
Nouns	Nattō yakabuki nadowa Nihon dake ni aru. Nạp đậu やCa vũ kĩ などは nhật bổn だけにある.	Things likenatto andkabukiare only in Japan.
nanka/nante なんか・なんて ( hà か・ hà て)	Functions to: emphasize disgust, contempt, or otherwise negative feelings of the speaker. Nanteis slightly more formal thannanka.
Nouns	Jogen nankairanai. Trợ ngôn なんかいらない.	I don't need any(damn) advice.
Verb	Oyogu nantedekinai. Vịnh ぐなんてできない.	I can'tswim.
Adjectives	Ōkiku nankanai kedo, kirei da. Đại きくなんかないけど, きれいだ.	It's notbig [or anything],but it's clean.
nara なら	Translates to: "if"; conditional Hypothetical (仮 định hình )orconditionalform of the copulada.Related to the more formalnaraba.
Nouns, adjectives, verbs, phrases	Atsui nara,eakon o tsukete Thử いなら,エアコンを phó けて.	If you're hot,turn on the air conditioner.
ne ね	Translates to: "eh"; interjection,tag question Similar to English "hey", "eh?", French "non?" and Spanish "no?" Asks or shows agreement and reflection at phrase-end, also used before sentences to catch listener's attention (informal).
Phrases	Kimi wa kashikoi yo ne. Quân は hiền いよね.	You're pretty smart, aren't you.
	Kakkō ii desu ne. Cách hảo いいですね.	That's pretty neat, eh?
	Ne,ima nanji? ね,いま hà thời?	Hey,what time is it?
ni に	Translates to: "to, in, at, by";indirect object,direction; following a na-adjective, it creates an adverb
Noun: location	Gakkō niiru. Học giáo にいる.	I'mat/in school.
Noun: direction	Gakkō niiku. Học giáo にHành く.	I'm goingto school.
Noun: indirect object	Ore nikaese. Yêm にPhản せ.	Give it backto me.
Noun:passiveagent	Ka nisasareta. Văn にさされた.	I was bittenby a mosquito.
Noun, verbs (stem only): purpose, intent	Eiga omi niiku. Ánh họa をKiến にHành く.	I'm goingto seea movie.
Adjective: forms adverb	teinei,teinei ni Đinh ninh,Đinh ninh に	polite,politely
ni te にて	Formal version ofde,functions in exactly the same way. Etymology: Case particleni+ conjunctive particlete(cf.teform of Japanese verbs)
ni wa には	Translates to: "for; in, to; in order to"; Etymology:ni+wa(always written は) Thewapart is the topic particle. Serves as emphasis for a negative ending.
Nouns: "for"	Shichimi wa,watashi ni wakara-sugiru. Thất vị は,Tư にはTân すぎる.	Shichimiis too spicyfor me.(i.e., "youmight like it, butI'mnot touching it. ")
Noun: "in, to"	Kyōto ni wahana ga aru. Kinh đô にはHoa がある.	There are flowersin Kyōto. (Lit.:As for in Kyōto,there are flowers.)
Verb: "in order to"	Mizu omitsukeru ni wa みずをみつけるには	In order to findwater
no の	Functions as: possession indicator, noun link, topic marker (subordinate clauses),nominalization When nominalizing whole phrases, thenomay function either as emphasis or as a question, depending on tone of voice. Similar to English, a falling tone denotes a statement, and a rising tone a question. Its use to mark statements tends to be more typical of feminine speech. See alsoGender differences in spoken Japanese.
Nouns:possessionex. a	sensei nokuruma Tiên sinh のXa	the teacher'scar
Noun:possessionex. b	watashi nokonpyuuta Tư のコンピューター	Mycomputer
Noun:possessionex. c	anata noshukudai あなたのTúc đề	yourhomework
Noun: linking	kuruma noToyota Xa のトヨタ	Toyota the car [company]
Noun: subject marker in subordinate clauses (see also:ga)	Kare notsukutta kēki wa oishikatta. Bỉ のTác ったケーキはおいしかった.	The cake thathemade was tasty.
i-adjectives:nominalization	Yasui nowa, kore. An いのは, これ.	This isthe cheap[er] one.
Verb: nominalization	Taberu noga daisuki. Thực べるのが đại hảo き.	I loveeating.
Phrases: nominalization, question	Mō,tabeta no? もう,Thực べたの?	Have you eaten yet?
	Kurumana no? Xaなの?	Is it a car?
	Kare ni mō ageta noyo! Bỉ にもうあげたのよ!	I already gave it to him!
no de ので	Translates to: "because" Etymology:no+de Colloquially,no deis often shortened ton de.
Phrases	Tesuto gaaru no de,ikenai. テストがあるので,Hành けない.	Because I havea test, I can't go.
	Gakkō na no de,kin'en da. Học giáo なので,Cấm yên だ.	Because this is a schoolit's no smoking.
nomi のみ	Translates to: "only, just" Nomiis more formal and far less common thandake.Unlikedake,its only meaning is that of small quantity or singleness of frequency.
Nouns	Tō-ten de wa,Nihon en nomigo-riyō itadakemasu. Đương điếm では,Nhật bổn viên のみご lợi dụng đỉnh けます.	This store acceptsJapanese Yen only.
no ni のに	Translates to: "despite, although, even though; would have; in order to" Etymology:no+ni Nouns andna-adjectivesmust be followed bynabefore using this particle. No nihas a stronger meaning thankedowhen used to mean "although", and conveys regret when used to mean "would have".
Adjectives, verbs: "although"	Benkyō shiten no ni,eigo ga hanasenai. Miễn cường してんのに,Anh ngữ が thoại せない.	Although I'm studying,I can't speak English.
Adjectives (conditional), verbs (conditional): "would have"	Kaette kitara,yokatta no ni. Quy ってきたら,よかったのに.	Itwould have been niceif you had come home.
Verb (plain form): "in order to"	Hikkosu no nitorakku ga hitsuyō da. Dẫn っ việt すのにトラックが tất yếu だ.	(In order) to move,you need a truck.
o を	Functions as:direct object Translates to: "through, from, past (motion verbs only)" This is unrelated to thehonorificprefixo,written お or ngự.
Nouns: direct object	Neko gaesa otabeta. Miêu がNhị をThực べた.	The cat atethe food.
Noun: through, etc. (motion)	Sora otobu Không をPhi ぶ	flythrough the sky
sa/saa さ・さあ・さぁ	Functions as: Masculine sentence/phrase final particle, indicating explanation of obvious facts. It is softer thanyo. Saa:Feminine sentence/phrase final particle, used likene,but often more frequently as extremely colloquialfiller.
Phrases: masculinesa	Kanojo ga inai kara, dansu niwa ikanaisa. Bỉ nữ がいないから, ダンスには hành かないさ.	I don't have a girlfriend, so I'm not going to the dance.
Phrases:saa	Kinōsaa,gakkō desaa,sensei nisaa,chūi saretesaa,chō mukatsuita. Tạc nhậtさあ,Học giáo でさあ,Tiên sinh にさあ,Chú ý されてさあ,Siêu むかついた.	Like,yesterday, in,like,school, I,like,got fussed at by,like,some teacher, and it totally made me sick.
sae さえ	Sae:"even" Note the meaning overlaps withmo.Saeimplies (usually) positive emphasis that the evident extent of something is greater than initially expected. Can be followed bymofor additional emphasis. Contrast this withsura.
Nouns	Kanji saekakeru. Hán tự さえThư ける.	He canevenwritekanji.
de sae でさえ	Translates to: "even" Etymology:de+sae De saereplaceswaandga,likede moabove.
Nouns	Sonna koto wasaru de saedekiru. そんなことはViên でさえできる.	Even a monkeycan do that.
sae...ba/ra さえ…ば・ら	Function:saefollowed by a verb in the conditional means "if only".
Nouns	Kore sae nomeba,futsukayoi ga naoru yo. これさえ ẩm めば,Nhị nhật túy いが trực るよ.	If youwould just drink this,your hangover would get better.
shi し	Translates to: "and what's more" (conjunction)
Adjectives, verbs	Kirei da shi,hiroi shi,ii ne, kono apaato! きれいだし,Quảng いし,いいね, このアパート.	It's clean, it's spacious; this apartment is nice, isn't it!
shika しか	Translates to: "only, just" Shikamust be followed by a negative verb. Shikamay be compounded asdakeshika,kirishika,andnomishika(plus the negative verb) to stress an extremely limited quantity or frequency.
Nouns	Ichi en dama shikanai. Nhất viên ngọc しかない.	I havejust a one-yen coin.
Verb	Yūbin-kyoku niiku shikanai. Bưu tiện cục にHành くしかない.	Theonly thing[to do] is to go to the post office.
sura すら	Translates to: "even" Note the meaning overlaps withmo.Suraimplies (usually) negative emphasis that the evident extent of something is less than initially expected. Contrast this withsae.
Nouns	Kanji surakakenai. Hán tự すらThư けない.	He can'tevenwritekanji.
to と	Translates to: "and" (conjunction); "with" or "as with" (preposition); "if"; quotation.
Nouns: conjunction	sore tokore それとこれ	that andthis
Nouns: conjunction	sore tokore to それ と これ と	that orthis
Verbs: transition/state change	taiyōkei dasshutsue tochikazuite itta Thái dương hệ thoát xuấtへ とCận づいて hành った｡	They were getting closeto the point ofleaving the Solar System.
Noun: preposition	Boku toikitai? Phó とHành きたい?	Do you want to gowith me?
Verb, adjectives: "if"	Benkyō suru towakaru. Miễn cường するとPhân かる.	If you study,you'll understand.
Any phrase: quotation	Umi made! tosakenda. “Hải まで!” とKhiếu んだ.	"To the sea!"he cried.
to ka とか	Functions as: A listing particle used likenado.Often used with the question wordnani(what) in the formnantoka( "something or other" ). Etymology:to+ka
Nouns	Kani to ka, hotate to ka,zenbu tabeta yo. Giải とか, phàm lập とか,Toàn bộ thực べたよ.	We hadcrab, scallops, [other stuff,]we ate them all.
to mo とも ( cộng )	Tomo( cộng ): "both, all of the" To mo(no kanji): "even if, even though; at the...-est; whether; [emphasis]" If following a noun and used with a negative verb, meaning changes to "none". Etymology:to+mo
Counted nouns	Watashi wa, aitsura gafutari tomokirai da. Tư は, あいつらが,Nhị nhân ともHiềm いだ.	I hate theboth ofthose guys.
	Zannen nagara, sono kuruma wasan dai tomoirimasen. Tàn niệm ながら, その xa はTam đài ともYếu りません.	Unfortunately, we neednone ofthosethreecars.
Volitional verbs	Dōshiyō to moamari susumanai. どうしようともあまり tiến まない.	No matterhowwe try [to do something],we don't make much progress.
Adverbial (continuative) form ofi-adjectives	Sukunaku to mogo-jū mairu aruite kita. Thiếu なくともNgũ thập マイル bộ いてきた.	We walkedat leastfifty miles [to get here].
	Osoku to moitte miyō yo. Trì くともいってみようよ.	Even if it's late,let's go and check it out.
Verb (paired with same verb in negative)	Kau to mo kawanai to mohakkiri shite imasen. Mãi うとも mãi わないともはっきりしていません.	It isn't clearwhether they're going to buy or not.
Verb, adjectives This use is similar to the English expression, "as if [something] wouldn't [phrase]."	Waratte ii to mo. Tiếu っていいとも.	It's okay to laugh.
	Ikimasen to mo. Hành きませんとも.	As if I would go.
tte って	Written as って in hiragana, this is another form ofto.It is a shortened version oftoiu(という), the present progressive form of the verbiu( ngôn う), "to say"; it functions as a type of verbalquotation mark.It is sometimes used for a direct quote, sometimes for an indirect quote, and sometimes simply to emphasize a word or concept. tteis casual, and (because it can be a direct quote) the politeness level of the quoted material does not necessarily reflect on the speaker. If you wish to be assuredly formal, useto iimasuinstead oftte.
Any phrase	Sugu kimasu tte すぐ lai ますって.	Could be, "He said he'll come soon" (more politely) or, "He said, 'I'll come soon.'" (less so).
	Arabiago tte, muzukashikunai? アラビア ngữ って nan しくない?	"Arabic─isn't it difficult?" (Emphasizing a word; used instead of というものは orは)
tteba ってば	Functions as:'strong emphasis marker, especially when the speaker has grown impatient. Etymology:te+ba
Any phrase: quotation	kōhī datteba! コーヒーだってば!	I said "coffee"!
wa は	はwais atopic marker.It is written with the hiraganaはha,rather than the hiraganaわ,wa.Not to be confused with the particleが.
wa わ	わwais used at the end of the sentence to establish an emotional connection. It is used by both genders when it is pronounced with a falling intonation especially in dialects of Kansai, Nagoya and elsewhere, but with a rising intonation, it is generally used by females. This also conveys a certain deference to the speaker's wishes and emotions.
ya や	Yais used to make incomplete lists of things (usually nouns). To make an exhaustive list, the particletois used instead.
	Watashi no suki na tabemono wa okashi ya pan ya mikan nado desu Tư の hảo きな thực べ vật はお quả tử やパンやミカンなどです.	"I like snacks, bread and tangerines."
yara やら	Denotes either uncertainty or listing.
yo よ	Yocomes at the end of the sentence, and is used to make assertions. Comparezoandzebelow. Yois also sometimes used after nouns, and functions as avocativemarker. This is especially used in older speech, poetry, and songs.
	Kaeru yo! Quy るよ!	"I'm going home!"
	Saraba, tomo yo さらば hữu よ.	"Farewell, o friend!"
yori より	Yorican mean "from", and is also used to make comparisons.Yoriis usually written より in hiragana.
	Kono densha-wa, Kashiwa-yori saki wa kaku eki-ni tomarimasu この điện xa は bách より tiên は các dịch に chỉ まります.	"This train will stop at every station after Kashiwa".
	Dare-yori-mo kanemochi-ni naritai Thùy よりも kim trì ちになりたい.	"I want to become richer than anyone (else)".
ze ぜ	zeindicates assertion. Used mostly by men, it is never considered polite. Compareyoandzo.
zo ぞ	zoindicates assertion. Used mainly by men, it is considered somewhat less forceful and more positive thanze.Compareyoandzeabove.
zutsu ずつ	Zutsudenotes an equal or gradual distribution of quantity like "at a time" in "one at a time", "by" in "one by one", or "each" in "one each". It usually follows counted nouns, and is written with hiragana as ずつ.
Noun: counted	Chokorēto-o ni-ko-zutsu tabemashita チョコレートを nhị cá ずつ thực べました.	Either "I ate two pieces of chocolate on each (countable) times." or "Each one ate (=shared) two pieces of chocolate (from larger amount)."

Contrast

はwaand がga

Main article:Japanese grammar § Topic, theme, and subject: は wa and が ga

See also:Topic marker § Japanese: は

にniand でde

Nianddecan both be used to showlocation,corresponding to the prepositions "in" or "at" in English. Their uses are mutually exclusive.

Ni,when used to show location, is used only withstative verbssuch asiru,"to be, exist;"aru,"to be, exist, have;" andsumu,"to live, inhabit."

• Nhật bổn に trụ んでいる.(Nihon-ni sunde iru."I live in Japan." )
• Học giáo にいる.(Gakkō-ni iru."I am in school." )

Deis used withaction verbsto convey the place of action, as opposed to location of being.

• Học giáo で tẩm る.(Gakkō-de neru."I sleep in/at school." )
  • *Gakkō-ni neru.* "I sleep to school," is not usually used.

にniand へe

Niandecan both indicatedirection of motion,literally meaning "to" or "at" in English. However, as particles in Japanese directly modify the preceding noun, some Japanese language courses call this the "goal of movement" usage because it marks the goal of the movement. For example, in the sentenceTư はうちに quy ります(Watashi wa uchi ni kaerimasuor "I'm going back home" ) the goal of the movement is home (uchi ni). In this sense,eis perhaps closer to English "towards" in terms of use (see example below). As long asniis used directionally, it is possible to substituteein its place.Niused in other senses cannot be replaced bye:

• Học giáo に hành く.(Gakkō ni iku."I'm going to school" ), whereHọc giáogakkō,"school," is thedestinationofHành くiku,"go."
  • Gakkō e iku."I'm going to school," wheregakkō,"school," is the destination ofiku,"go."
• Học giáo にいる.(Gakkō ni iru."I'm at school" ), whereHọc giáogakkō,"school," is thelocationofいるiru,"be;" not a destination.
  • Gakkō e iru.* "I'm to school," is not a possible construction since "be" is not a verb of motion.
• Hữu đạt に hội う.(Tomodachi ni au"I'll meet my friends" ) whereHữu đạttomodachi,"friends," is theindirect objectofHội うau,"meet;" not a destination.
  • Tomodachi e au* "I'll meet to my friends," which is impossible because "meet" is not a verb of motion.
• Bổn を mãi いに hành った.(Hon o kai ni itta"I went to buy a book" ), whereMãi いにkai ni,"to buy," shows purpose or intent, and is averbal adverb;not destination.
  • Hon o kai e itta* "I went towards buying a book," is not possible becausekai,"buying," cannot be a destination.

Indicating direction, usingeinstead ofniis preferred whenniis used non-directionally in proximity:

• Hữu đạt に hội いに kinh đô へ hành った.(Tomodachi ni ai ni Kyōto e itta."I went to Kyoto to meet my friends." )

Nican not be replaced byein all uses. It must be used with days of the week as inNhật diệu nhật に kinh đô にいきます(Nichiyoubi ni Kyoto ni ikimasu"I will go to Kyoto on Sunday".) whereniis used both to mark the day of the week ( nhật diệu nhật ) and the goal of the movement ( kinh đô ). It is also required with numerical times (but not relative times). For example,nimust be used in the sentenceThập nhất thời に tẩm ます(Juu ichi ji ni nemasu"I will go to sleep at 11 o'clock" ) to mark the numerical time ( thập nhất thời ) but it is not used with the relative time words like tomorrow ( minh nhật ), yesterday ( tạc nhật ), today ( kim nhật ), last week ( tiên chu ), next month ( lai nguyệt ), etc. For example, in the sentenceTư は tạc nhật sĩ sự に hành きませんでした(watashi wa kinou shigoto ni ikimasen deshita"I did not go to work yesterday" ) no particle is needed for "yesterday" ( tạc nhật ), butniis used to mark the goal of movement ( sĩ sự に).

がgaand をo

In some cases,gaandoare seemingly interchangeable. For example, with thetaiform, meaning "want to", it is possible to say either of the following:

• ご phạn が thực べたい.(Gohan ga tabetai."I want to eat rice." )
• ご phạn を thực べたい.(Gohan o tabetai."I want to eat rice." )

This is becauseたい(an adjective indicating desire) can either be a helper adjective attached to a verb or a standalone adjective in conjunction with the previous verb depending on context. If the above sentences were broken down, they could be interpreted as

• ご phạn が・ thực べたい."Eating rice is desirable."
• ご phạn を thực べ・たい."Rice-eating is desirable"

にniand とto

Niandtoare sometimes interchangeable in forms likeになるni naruandとなるto naru.Theni naruform suggests a natural change, whereasto narusuggests change to a final stage.

やyaand とto

Yais used for incomplete lists, whereastois used for complete ones.

Historical particles

いiwas used inOld Japaneseandkanbunworks. Its meaning is still debated, but has traditionally been considered emphatic.

Differences from English prepositions

Many Japanese particles fill the role of prepositions in English, but they are unlike prepositions in many ways. Japanese does not have equivalents of prepositions like "on" or "about", and often uses particles along with verbs and nouns to modify another word where English might use prepositions. For example,ueis a noun meaning "top/up"; andni tsuiteis a fixed verbal expression meaning "concerning":

テーブルの

Tēburu-no

Table-OF

Thượng に

-ue-ni

top/up-AT

ある.

aru.

exists.

テーブルのThượng にある.

Tēburu-no-ue-niaru.

Table-OF top/up-AT exists.

"It'sonthe table. "

あの

Ano

That

Nhân は,

hito-wa,

person-TOPIC

ギターに

gitā-ni

guitar-TO

ついて

tsuite

concerning

Hà でも

nandemo

anything

わかる.

wakaru.

knows.

あの nhân は, ギターについてHà でも わかる.

Ano hito-wa, gitā-nitsuitenandemo wakaru.

That person-TOPIC guitar-TO concerning anything knows.

"That person knows everythingaboutguitars. "

See also

• Adposition
• Chinese particles
• Okinawan particles
• Korean particles
• Japanese counter words
• Japanese grammar: particles
• Japanese verb conjugations
• Sentence-final particle
• Particles of the Kagoshima dialects

General references

• Chino, Naoko.How to Tell the Difference Between Japanese Particles.Tokyo; New York: Kodansha International, 2005.ISBN4-7700-2200-X.
• Makino, Seiichi, and Michio Tsutsui.A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.Tokyo: Japan Times, 1986.ISBN4-7890-0454-6.
• Makino, Seiichi, and Michio Tsutsui.A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.Tokyo: Japan Times, 1997.ISBN4-7890-0775-8.
• Martin, Samuel E.A Reference Grammar of Japanese.New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1975.ISBN0-300-01813-4.
• McClain, Yoko Matsuoka.A Handbook of Modern Japanese Grammar: Including Lists of Words and Expressions with English Equivalents for Reading Aid.Tokyo: Hokuseido Press, 1981.ISBN4-590-00570-0,ISBN0-89346-149-0.

External links

• The dictionary definition ofCategory:Japanese particlesat Wiktionary