Sentence Structure
In this chapter the structure of Japanese sentence is explained
General Structure
The general structure of a sentence in Japanese is: <subject> <object> <verb>
To show which part of a sentence is what subject and objects are usually marked with particles
like wa, ga, or, etc.
No Particle
no is the genitive particle and can combine multiple nouns. It is used like N1 no N2. N2 belongs to N1.
Wa vs Ga
Wa and ga can sometimes be used interchangeably. As a rule of thumb:
Ga is for new or unkown topics and wa is for already introduced topics
As en example:
In the first sentence we use ga because there is a new topic, Yamada-san. In the second sentence we’re already talking about Yamada-san and thus we use wa.
Wa and ga can also be used to emphasize part of the sentence. In English, we usually do this by raising our voice.
In the first sentence the “delicious” part is important while in the second sentence
the emphasizes is on sushi.
Ga as But
_________
ga if used in the middle of a sentence, means “but” or “however”.
Wa to constrast
wa can be used to highlith the difference between to objects or subjects. It will replace o or ga.
This can be useful in sentence where two things are compared like with “but” or “however”
(see But (or) However for “but” and “however” sentences)
Mo
mo means also/as well and replaces the wa particle
O Particle
The o particle has several uses and the following list isn’t complete.
Object Particle
The o particle can be used to mark the object.
Example:
Where You Leave
The o particle can also be used to show where you leave or depart from.
Here are a few examples:
Ni Particle
ni is known as the location particle and can be loosely translated to “in”, “on”, “at” or “to” depending
on the usage. It’s important to remember that its usage isn’t always the same as in english.
ni is often used together with a verb of motion, like “come”, “go” or “walk” in a structure like
<noun> ni <verb of motion>
Show a destination
ni can be used to show a destination.
A Point of Contatct
With ni you can also show a point of contact with an other person.
Mark the Time
You can also mark the time in a sentence, as long it isn’t a relative time pronoun, like “now” or “tomorrow”.
Mark a Place
If ni is placed at the start of a sentence, it indicates a location where the action takes place.
ni can also be placed in the middle. This changes the focus of the sentence as seen in the following example.
To and Ya
In Japanese you use to and ya to say “and”.
to acts like the english counterpart “and” and connects to nouns, like so:
Note
to can also be used to mean “width” or “to” when it connects a noun to a verb, as the following example shows:
ya is called the “listing particle” and is used to show that the list isn’t complete. It can be compared to “etc.”
in English. Here are some examples:
Note
You can’t mix yo and to in the same list
Also Mo
The word mo can be translated to “also” or “too” and it replaces the wa, ga and o in a sentence.
To make everythingh a bit more complicated: If mo is used multiple times in a sentence, it also means “and”.
But mo is used after every object/noun in the list.
But (or) However
“but” and “however” have multiple words in Japanese.
Note
ga can also be used to say “but” or “however” this however is described in Wa vs Ga
Demo
demo is used at the start of a sentence. If you want to be polite, you can use shikashi instead.
This however is mostly used in writting or formal speeches.
Kedo
kedo can also join two sentences but compared to demo, it is in the middle of the final sentence.
Like with demo and shikashi, there is also a polite version of kedo: keredo. It is
also mostly used in formal speech or writing.
Demonstrativa-System
Description |
Ko |
So |
A |
Do (Fragebegriffe) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Objects |
Kore (das hier) |
Sore (das dort) |
Are (dort drüben) |
Dore (welches) |
People |
Kono (dieses + Nomen) |
Sono (Jenes + Nomen) |
Ano (jenes dort + Nomen) |
Dono (welche + Nomen) |
Place |
Koko (hier) |
Soko (dort) |
Asoko (dort drüben) |
Doko (wo) |
Direction, Place |
Kochira |
Sochira |
Achira |
Dochira (wo/woher) |