Sentence Particles

Question 1

は／が

Answer 1

Indicate subjects by
coming after them
Meanings: “is, am, are”
*One thing to know about は is that it’s not
pronounced “ha” but pronounced “wa”
は emphasizes what comes after it
が emphasizes what comes before it
わたし　は　こういち　です: I am Koichi
わたし　が　こういち　です: I am Koichi
* The first example would be used when you’re
introducing yourself to someone, the second one
would be more like one of those movies where one
person has the gun pointed at two identical
targets, where they are saying “I am Koichi” and
“No, I’m Koichi!” The important (emphasized)
part is the I portion, so you’d use が.

Question 2

の

Answer 2

The Possessive
Meanings: “Apostrophe S” & “of”
*Makes something possessive, like saying “my
monkey,” “Jenny’s friend,” or “Bobby of Sony (i.e.
Sony’s Bobby).”
Examples:
わたし　の　なまえ　は　こういち　です
My name is is Koichi
ボッビーさん　の　いぬ　です
It’s Bobby’s dog

Question 3

も

Answer 3

Also / Too
Meanings: “also” and “too” - it can also
emphasize “any”
Examples:
わたしも
Me too / Me also
ボッビーさん　も　アイキア　に　行きます
Bobby also will go to Ikea
なに　も　たべなかった
I didn’t eat anything

Question 4

を

Answer 4

The Direct Object
How it’s used: All it does is shows what the direct
object is. Used when you’re directly doing
something (the verb) to something (the object).
Examples:
すし (object) を (particle)　たべます (verb)
Eat sushi
わたし　は　Xbox を　かいます
I will buy an X-Box
*Not used when you aren’t directly involved or
responsible (i.e. “the radio is broken” vs. “I broke
the radio” - the second one uses を)

Question 5

に

Answer 5

Movement and Time
How it’s used: Used to show what an action is
directed to, and also shows destinations,
directions, places, and time. Remember, when you
move you use your knees (ni)
Examples:
わたし　は　にほん　に　いきます
I will go to Japan
３じ　に　すし　を　たべます
At 3 o’clock I will eat sushi
*Some Movement Verbs: いきます、きます、かえ
ります、のります、のぼります、はいります

Question 6

へ

Answer 6

Emphasizing the
Destination
How it’s used: This is a lot like the particle “ni”
but emphasizes the destination. It’s more like
“heading towards” than anything else (see
examples below)
Examples:
にほん　へ　いきます
Heading towards Japan

Question 7

で

Answer 7

Shows Context
Meaning: “By way of” / “at”
Can show how and where an action takes place.
Examples:
くるま　で　いきます
I went by Car
わたし　は　レストラン　で　たべた
I ate at the restaurant

Question 8

か

Answer 8

Question marker - used on the end of a

sentence to make a question, like a question mark!

Question 9

と

Answer 9

Used to list nouns when you are listing
everything and you know everything on the list.
Also Co-Participants

Question 10

や

Answer 10

Can be best approximated in English as “among other things” or “such as”.
(Watashi wa ringo ya orenji ya remon ga suki desu. Among other things, I like things such as apples, oranges, and lemons.)

Question 11

ね

Answer 11

Sentence ender that gives an “isn’t it” feeling

used to receive agreement for what you’re saying.

Question 12

よ

Answer 12

Sentence ender that gives a “you know”

feeling, often when relaying new information.

Question 13

から

Answer 13

his particle describes the beginning of something and can be used in a temporary or geographical context or it has the meaning “from”.