Brenton
Philip SharpParticles
July 26th 2007 03:33
This article is going to describe the uses of common Japanese particles.
Particles in the English language are little connecting words such as In, The, At, By, And, etc.
In Japanese, Particles are only ever one character large. They include;
は Ha/Wa. This character is known as Ha, but when used as a particle (in between two words rather than as part of one) it is pronounced Wa. It is used to point out the subject of a sentence.
Tatoeba (example) Watashi wa Dr Spin.
Wa came after Watashi - signifying 'Watashi (meaning I, or the speaker) as the subjct of trhe sentence.
Cono inu wa chairo.
This dog is brown. Wa came after inu (dog), which indicates inu as the subject of the sentance.
を O is a particle that connects actions to nouns. Eg,
Eiga o mimashita.
Eiga is movie. Mimashita is watched. So Someone watched a movie
が Ga is a particle with a very similar meaning to o. The only way to know which particle to use when is to gain a feel for it. Some circumstances in which Ga is always used are - talking about likes, natural phenonomon such as rain
Inu ga suki desu.
Inu is dog. Suki desu is to like. So the sentance means to like dogs.
に Ni implies a direction. It can indicate travel, or imply something (tangible like a gift, or intangible like a conversation or mood) passed on to another person.
Eg, Igirusu ni ikimashita.
I went TO England
Watashi ni, gifuto o agemashita.
A gift was given TO me. Also not use of o to connect gifto (gift) to the action (agemashita - to be given).
へ He is pronounced E when used as a particle, and indicates direction, similarly to Ni. It is not used often, and only implies actual physical direction.
Nihon e ikimashita.
で De is best translated as 'by means of'.
Busu de gakou ni ikimashita.
I went to school by means of bus. (I took the bus to school)
Terebi de "HOUSE" o mimashita.
I watched House by means of Television. (I watche House on TV). Note too the use of o to connect the show (House) to the action (watched).
と To is used to list items. It is the most approprite when making a list where not all items may be listed - ie, ice cream flavours you like.
Eg, Ichigo To Chokoreto To Banira ga suki desu.
Also not the use of Ga to connect Banira (Vanilla) to Suki (To Like).
や Ya is similar to To but is used more when making exhaustive lists.
Igirisu ya nihon ni Ikimashita.
し Shi is use in the same way as ya, but is more formal.
か Ka is used to imply a question, much the same when used in 'desu ka'. It often implies 'or' when placed after to nouns or adjectives.
Chairo ka midori ga suki desu ka.
Do you like Brown or green - again, note use of ga with suki.
Honda ka Ford ga suki desu ka?
Do you like Ford or Honda?
It's important ot note that the first ka - after a noun or adjective means 'or' while the second is simply part of the desu ka sentance ending - indicating that the whole sentance holds a question.
Particles in the English language are little connecting words such as In, The, At, By, And, etc.
In Japanese, Particles are only ever one character large. They include;
は Ha/Wa. This character is known as Ha, but when used as a particle (in between two words rather than as part of one) it is pronounced Wa. It is used to point out the subject of a sentence.
Tatoeba (example) Watashi wa Dr Spin.
Wa came after Watashi - signifying 'Watashi (meaning I, or the speaker) as the subjct of trhe sentence.
This dog is brown. Wa came after inu (dog), which indicates inu as the subject of the sentance.
を O is a particle that connects actions to nouns. Eg,
Eiga o mimashita.
Eiga is movie. Mimashita is watched. So Someone watched a movie
が Ga is a particle with a very similar meaning to o. The only way to know which particle to use when is to gain a feel for it. Some circumstances in which Ga is always used are - talking about likes, natural phenonomon such as rain
Inu ga suki desu.
Inu is dog. Suki desu is to like. So the sentance means to like dogs.
に Ni implies a direction. It can indicate travel, or imply something (tangible like a gift, or intangible like a conversation or mood) passed on to another person.
Eg, Igirusu ni ikimashita.
I went TO England
Watashi ni, gifuto o agemashita.
A gift was given TO me. Also not use of o to connect gifto (gift) to the action (agemashita - to be given).
へ He is pronounced E when used as a particle, and indicates direction, similarly to Ni. It is not used often, and only implies actual physical direction.
で De is best translated as 'by means of'.
Busu de gakou ni ikimashita.
I went to school by means of bus. (I took the bus to school)
Terebi de "HOUSE" o mimashita.
I watched House by means of Television. (I watche House on TV). Note too the use of o to connect the show (House) to the action (watched).
と To is used to list items. It is the most approprite when making a list where not all items may be listed - ie, ice cream flavours you like.
Eg, Ichigo To Chokoreto To Banira ga suki desu.
Also not the use of Ga to connect Banira (Vanilla) to Suki (To Like).
や Ya is similar to To but is used more when making exhaustive lists.
Igirisu ya nihon ni Ikimashita.
し Shi is use in the same way as ya, but is more formal.
か Ka is used to imply a question, much the same when used in 'desu ka'. It often implies 'or' when placed after to nouns or adjectives.
Chairo ka midori ga suki desu ka.
Do you like Brown or green - again, note use of ga with suki.
Honda ka Ford ga suki desu ka?
Do you like Ford or Honda?
It's important ot note that the first ka - after a noun or adjective means 'or' while the second is simply part of the desu ka sentance ending - indicating that the whole sentance holds a question.
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Douzou Yoroshiku) means 'pleased to meet you'. It is can be used at the climax of your conversation. 
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