Grammar

Japanese particles for beginners: は, が, を, に, で, へ and more

Japanese particles are the small words that show how a sentence fits together. Here are the ten you need first, each with simple examples.

· 4 min read

In English, word order does most of the work: "the cat ate the fish" and "the fish ate the cat" mean very different things. Japanese works differently. Small words called particles sit after a word and show its job in the sentence: who's doing something, what to, where and when.

That's why Japanese word order is flexible, and why particles are worth learning early. Here are the ten you'll meet first.

は (wa): the topic

は marks the topic, what the sentence is about. Think of it as "as for…". When it's a particle, は is read wa, not ha.

Watashi wa gakusei desu.I'm a student. (As for me, student.)
Kyō wa samui desu.It's cold today. (As for today, cold.)

が (ga): the subject

が marks the subject, the thing that does something or is something, especially when it's new information. It's also used with "like", "can" and "have": まっちゃが 好すきです (I like matcha). は and が are easy to confuse, so they have their own guide.

Neko ga imasu.There's a cat.
Ame ga futte imasu.It's raining.

を (o): the object

を marks the object, the thing an action is done to. It's written を but read o.

Sushi o tabemasu.I eat sushi.
Hon o yomimasu.I read a book.

に (ni): time, destination, and "to"

に is a busy particle. Its main jobs:

  • A point in time: 7じに おきます (shichi-ji ni okimasu, "I get up at 7").
  • A destination: 日本にほんに 行いきます (Nihon ni ikimasu, "I go to Japan").
  • Where something exists: へやに ねこが います (heya ni neko ga imasu, "there's a cat in the room").
  • Who receives something: ともだちに あげます (tomodachi ni agemasu, "I give it to a friend").

で (de): place of action, and "by"

で marks where an action happens, and also the means of doing something.

Kafe de benkyō shimasu.I study at a café.
Basu de ikimasu.I go by bus.
Hashi de tabemasu.I eat with chopsticks.

へ (e): direction

へ shows direction, "towards". It's written へ but read e. With verbs of going, へ and に are often interchangeable: 日本にほんへ 行いきます.

と (to): "and", "with"

と joins nouns (and) and marks who you do something with.

pan to tamagobread and eggs
Tomodachi to ikimasu.I'm going with a friend.

も (mo): "too", "also"

も replaces は, が or を to mean "also".

Watashi mo gakusei desu.I'm a student too.

の (no): "of", "'s"

の links two nouns, like "'s" or "of" in English: わたしの 本ほん (watashi no hon, my book), 日本にほんの おちゃ (Nihon no ocha, Japanese tea).

か (ka): the question mark

Put か at the end of a sentence and it becomes a question. No change in word order needed.

Gakusei desu ka?Are you a student?

How to learn them

Don't try to memorise rules in isolation. Learn particles inside short sentences you can say out loud, and notice them every time you read. After a few weeks, a missing or wrong particle will start to "sound off", and that instinct is exactly what you're building.

Hitokuchi teaches particles one at a time, inside real phrases with audio. Start with this lesson on places, に and で.

Try "Where is it?" →

Keep reading

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