Particles (粒子)

Some particles, such as が ga and を o, are placed after a noun and show the relationship between the noun and the verb in a sentence. Such particles are called structural particles. Their function is essential for understanding the meaning of a sentence because word order is flexible in Japanese.

Some particles, such as は wa and も mo, are placed after a noun and its structural particle to add some pragmatic or contextual information, based on the speaker and the listener’s understanding. These are called pragmatic particles.

Some structural and pragmatic particles can also appear after a verb or an adjective.

を o (direct object)

The particle を o specifies the direct object of a verb. There is no counterpart forを o in English. In either language, only some verbs can take a direct object, and such verbs are called transitive verbs. For example:

音楽を聞きます。Ongaku o kikimasu. I listen to music.
名前を言った。Namae o itta. (He) said (his) name.
コーヒーを飲みます。Koohii o nomimasu. I drink coffee.

The particle を o also marks items that cannot easily be thought of as direct objects, such as the location covered by some movements, the location that one leaves, and occupations when expressed by the verb する suru (do). For example:

公園を散歩します。Kouen o sanpo shimasu. I take a walk through the park.
駅を左に曲がってください。Eki o hidari ni magatte kudasai. Please turn left at the station.
彼女は通訳をしています。Kanojo wa tsuuyaku o shite imasu. She is working as an interpreter.
バスを降りました。Basu o orimashita. (I) got off the bus.
私はボランティアをしています。Watashi wa borantia o shite imasu. I do volunteer work.

が ga (subject)

The particle が ga specifies the subject of a sentence. There is no direct English counterpart for the Japanese particle が ga. In Japanese, when the item has already been introduced in the context, が ga tends to be covered by the topic particle は wa. However, depending on the context, you might see the particle が ga. For example:

誰が話していますか。Dare ga hanashiteimasu ka? Who is speaking?
彼が先生です。Kare ga sensei desu. He is the teacher.
猫がいる。Neko ga iru. There is a cat.
問題が解けました。Mondai ga tokemashita. The problem was solved.

The particle が ga marks an item that might appear to be a direct object when the predicate is an adjective or a verb that expresses potential. For example:

彼女は日本語が上手です。Kanojo wa Nihongo ga jouzu desu. She is good at Japanese.
私はピアノが弾けます。Watashi wa piano ga hikemasu. I can play the piano.
彼は映画が好きです。Kare wa eiga ga suki desu. He likes movies.

に ni (at, in, to )

The particle に ni specifies the target of the action, such as coming, going, giving, or placing. For example:

図書館に本を返した。Toshokan ni hon o kaeshita. I returned the book to the library.
友達に手紙を送った。Tomodachi ni tegami o okutta. I sent a letter to my friend.
先生に質問をした。Sensei ni shitsumon o shita. I asked a question to the teacher.
弟にゲームをあげた。Otouto ni gēmu o ageta. I gave a game to my younger brother.

The particle に ni also specifies the location where people and things exist. For example:

公園に猫がいる。Kōen ni neko ga iru. There is a cat in the park.
部屋にテレビがある。Heya ni terebi ga aru. There is a TV in the room.

It also specifies the absolute time of an event, as in these examples:

金曜日に会議があります。Kinyōbi ni kaigi ga arimasu. There is a meeting on Friday.
夜に映画を見ます。Yoru ni eiga o mimasu. I watch a movie at night.

で de (at, by, in, with)

The particle で de specifies the location, tool, method, or condition used for an action. For example:

図書館で本を読む。Toshokan de hon o yomu. (I) read a book at the library.
ペンで書く。Pen de kaku. (I) write with a pen.
日本語で話す。Nihongo de hanasu. (I) speak in Japanese.
病気で学校を休んだ。Byouki de gakkou o yasunda. (I) missed school due to illness.
制服で学校に通う。Seifuku de gakkou ni kayou. I go to school in a uniform.

* e (toward, to )

The particle へ, which is read as e, specifies the direction of coming and going. The particle へ the particle に ni can replace e, but に ni cannot always be replaced by へ e because the particle に ni has many more functions than へ e. For example:

友達の家へ遊びに行った。Tomodachi no ie e asobi ni itta. I went to a friend’s house to hang out.
駅へ急いでください。Eki e isoide kudasai. Please hurry toward the station.

から kara (from)

The particle から kara specifies the source, origin, or starting point. For example:

東京から来ました。Tōkyō kara kimashita. I came from Tokyo.
駅から歩いて帰った。Eki kara aruite kaetta. I walked home from the station.
3時から会議があります。San-ji kara kaigi ga arimasu. There is a meeting starting from 3 o’clock.

まで made (until )

The particle まで specifies the ending point of a continuous action. For example:

6時まで勉強しました。Roku-ji made benkyō shimashita. I studied until 6 o’clock.
駅まで車で行きます。Eki made kuruma de ikimasu. I will go to the station by car.
バス停まで走った。Basutei made hashitta. I ran to the bus stop.

の no (of, ’s)

The particle の no creates a phrase along with the preceding noun, which qualifies the following noun. For example, 日本人の学生 means a Japanese student. A noun can be modified by multiple phrases created by の no.

と to, や ya, and か ka (listing nouns)

The particles と to, や ya, and か ka can be used to list nouns. と to is used to exhaustively list nouns, as in A, B, and C; や ya is used to list nouns as examples, as in A, B, C, etc.; and か ka is used to list alternatives, as in A, B, or C. For example:

りんごとバナナを食べました。Ringo to banana o tabemashita. I ate apples and bananas.
パンやチーズやワインを買いました。Pan ya chiizu ya wain o kaimashita. I bought bread, cheese, wine, etc.
お茶かコーヒーを飲みます。Ocha ka kōhī o nomimasu. I’ll drink tea or coffee.

The particle と to can also specify the person or animal that acts with the person or animal specified by the subject noun. It can also indicate a reciprocal relationship. For example:

母と買い物に行きました。Haha to kaimono ni ikimashita. I went shopping with my mother.
子どもが先生と議論した。Kodomo ga sensei to giron shita. The child debated with the teacher.
彼女は姉とそっくりだ。Kanojo wa ane to sokkuri da. She looks just like her older sister.

は wa (topic)

The particle は is pronounced as wa. は wa indicates that an item is what the speaker wants to discuss, and therefore, it must already be known to both the speaker and the listener. It doesn’t matter whether the item is the subject, direct object, or destination. Usually, such a noun is placed at the beginning of a sentence. は wa can follow structural particles, but が ga and を o need to be dropped when followed by は wa. Other structural particles, such as に ni and から kara, may or may not be present before は wa. For example:

今日は暑いですね。Kyō wa atsui desu ne. As for today, it’s hot, isn’t it?
このクラスは宿題がありません。 Kono kurasu wa shukudai ga arimasen. In this class, homework is not assigned.
学校へは行きませんでした。Gakkō e wa ikimasen deshita. I didn’t go to school (as for school, I didn’t go).
あの人は先生です。Ano hito wa sensei desu. That person is a teacher.

は wa is also used to highlight some nouns that are in contrast to one another. It is also used to mark the item to which the action does not apply when the verb is in the negative form. For example:

日本語は話せますが、英語は話せません。Nihongo wa hanasemasu ga, Eigo wa hanasemasen. I can speak Japanese, but I can't speak English.
テレビは見ません。Terebi wa mimasen. I don’t watch TV.

も mo (addition)

The particle も mo marks an item that is in addition to another item introduced in the context. It means also or too. It is a pragmatic particle just like は wa and may follow structural particles except for が ga and を o. For example:

彼は学生です。彼女も学生です。Kare wa gakusei desu. Kanojo mo gakusei desu. He is a student. She is also a student.
友達から手紙をもらいました。先生からももらいました。Tomodachi kara tegami o moraimashita. Sensei kara mo moraimashita. I got a letter from my friend. I also got one from my teacher.
ピアノもギターもひけます。Piano mo gitā mo hikemasu. I can play both the piano and the guitar.

ばかり bakari (nothing but . . . )

The particle ばかり bakari is used to show that an action applies to an item exclusively and excessively. It gives a negative connotation. Like other pragmatic particles, ばかり bakari can follow structural particles other than が ga and を o. For example:

兄はビールばかり飲んでいます。Ani wa bīru bakari nonde imasu. My older brother drinks nothing but beer.
お菓子ばかり食べています。Okashi bakari tabete imasu. (They) eat nothing but sweets.

It can also follow verbs in the te form. For example:

泣いてばかりいる赤ちゃん。Naite bakari iru akachan. A baby who does nothing but cry.

Theoretically, ばかり bakari can be added at the end of a noun or at the end of the verb in the te form. For example, the following examples are both grammatical:

会社では仕事ばかりしています。Kaisha de wa shigoto bakari shite imasu. I do nothing but work at the office.

しか shika (only)

しか shika means only and expresses that the quantity, amount, or range of items is too few, little, or limited for the given context. Just like other pragmatic particles, such as は wa, も mo, andばかり bakari, しか shika can be placed after structural particles except が ga and を o. The predicate must be negative if shika is used in a sentence. For example:

日本語しか話せません。Nihongo shika hanasemasen. I can only speak Japanese.
お金が100円しかない。Okane ga hyaku-en shika nai. I only have 100 yen.

だけ dake (just/only)

だけ dake means just or only. When だけ dake occurs with a noun, the particle that is used for the noun can be placed before or after だけ dake, except for the particles が ga and を o, which can optionally occur only after だけ dake. Unlike with しか shika, the predicate can be either affirmative or negative. For example:

この部屋だけ使ってください。Kono heya dake tsukatte kudasai. Please use only this room.
二人だけで旅行しました。Futari dake de ryokō shimashita. We travelled just the two of us.
ジョンさんにだけ言いました。Jon-san ni dake iimashita. I told it only to John.

When the emphasis is on the lack of additional quantity, amount, or number of items, しかshika should be used rather than だけ dake. For example:

ひらがなしか読めません。Hiragana shika yomemasen. I cannot read anything other than hiragana.
ひらがなだけ読めます。Hiragana dake yomemasu. I can read only hiragana.

でも demo (even)

でも demo means 'even' and implies that the speaker considers the item to be one of the least expected items in the given situation. For example:

子どもでも読めます。Kodomo demo yomemasu. Even a child can read it.
日本人でも知らない言葉です。Nihonjin demo shiranai kotoba desu. It’s a word even Japanese people don’t know.