The short syntactic words or affixes in Japanese that are used to modify words or entire sentences.
41
votes
4answers
2k views
What's the difference between wa (は) and ga (が)?
When is it correct to use は but not が, and when is it correct to use が but not は? Are there any times when you can use either without changing the meaning of the sentence? In other cases, how does ...
13
votes
3answers
434 views
When is it okay to use あります with a living subject?
When learning Japanese everyone's taught いる is for a living thing and ある is for non-living things. However, I recently saw the following sentence ...
あと、サッカー選手でもあります。
... which ends in ある / あります ...
25
votes
5answers
914 views
What is the difference between 〜となる and 〜になる?
Is it a nuance difference? Is it formality?
EDIT
For example:
請求書のお支払いは現金のみとなりますので、ご了承くださいませ。
請求書のお支払いは現金のみになりますので、ご了承くださいませ。
I just made that example up, but for some reason, my gut ...
17
votes
2answers
556 views
The difference between が and を with the potential form of a verb.
When using the potential form of a verb, I was taught that the particle を becomes が. However, in real life this seems to not always be the case. I've even heard Japanese people use を instead of が ...
30
votes
7answers
883 views
When going somewhere, is there any difference between e (へ) and ni (に)?
Can you use へ and に interchangeably, as in 北海道へ行く and 北海道に行く? Are there any subtle differences in the use of these two?
17
votes
3answers
1k views
The many ways to say “and” in Japanese
In English, we just have one word for the conjunction and which works just fine for many categories, but in Japanese, there are separate words:
と joins nouns together in a closed list
や joins nouns ...
11
votes
2answers
900 views
How to use へ (-e), に (-ni), まで (made) and の方 (no-hō) with destination and direction?
It is common to ask the difference between just "へ" (-e) and "に" (-ni) but it seems to get even more complicated when you also mix in "まで" (made) and even "の方" (no-hō).
When Japanese people ask me ...
20
votes
4answers
1k views
What is the difference between “に” and “には”?
The title should be pretty self-explanatory. What meanings does each convey? And in what kinds of circumstances would one be used instead of the other?
For example, what are the differences between ...
13
votes
1answer
613 views
What are the guidelines of omitting particles?
I've recently discovered that certain particles could be omitted from a Japanese sentence (to help make it shorter), and still preserve the original meaning. Unfortunately, most resources about this ...
8
votes
2answers
256 views
why is it that some 形容動詞 accepts の after it while some only accepts な after it?
why is it that some 形容動詞 accepts の after it while some only accepts な after it?
Examples:
の only: 普通、大勢
な or の: 初心、特別、特殊
Is there a way for us to tell if a 形容動詞 needs a の or な particle after ...
12
votes
1answer
519 views
けど at the end of the sentence?
According to dictionaries, 「けど」 means ‘but’, ‘although’, ‘however’.
However, it seems to have slightly another meaning at the end of the sentence. For example, here are few example sentences with ...
12
votes
3answers
208 views
Dissecting つく verbs
I think we all are familiar with する verbs, which are verbs that are formed by appending する to nouns. Examples include 勉強する, 愛する etc. This pattern is very convenient because it can be appended to ...
8
votes
2answers
682 views
When to use ～ので vs ～から
I was looking in A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar when I saw something on page 329 which truly shocked me:
"node cannot be used and kara must be used [... when ...] the main clause is a ...
24
votes
8answers
944 views
Particles: に vs. で
I have progressed pretty far in Japanese, but when I construct Japanese sentences, I still get these two particles mixed up. For example, when talking about being inside something, I don't know when ...
12
votes
3answers
808 views
Usage of なんて and なんか as emphasis.
When are なんて and なんか used as emphasis in casual speech? Are they used when you're surprised, angry or can it be both? What sort of feeling does it convey to the listener compared to a normal sentence ...
18
votes
2answers
909 views
Why are the particles “は” (ha⇒wa), “へ” (he⇒e), and “を” (wo⇒o) not spelled phonetically?
As far as I know only three words (or particles) have irregular, non-phonetic spelling in Japanese:
"は" - The topic particle is pronounced "wa" but the kana is otherwise pronounced "ha"
"へ" - The ...
13
votes
2answers
665 views
What's the difference between に and で when speaking of time of an action?
What's the difference between に and で when speaking of the time of an action? I know に is very specific about time, but I'm not sure when, or how to use で. Can で only be used in certain instances?
...
4
votes
2answers
168 views
この道をまっすぐ行ってください。Why “を” and not “で”?
In a quiz, I got a question where one had to complete with に、を、で or が the following sentence:
この道 (?) まっすぐ行ってください。
The correct answer being:
この道をまっすぐ行ってください。
It always seems more natural to me to ...
17
votes
2answers
465 views
Why is は pronounced as わ when used as a topic particle?
The particle は is pronounced similarly to わ (unlike the rest of the ハ行 kana) when used as a particle; why is this? What historical shifts went on to cause this irregularity?
10
votes
2answers
336 views
Why is the honorific o used for the bathroom?
I've seen the honorific "o"/"go" (is it called bikago?) being used as politness or reverence: o-cha for non-western tea, o-namae when talking about someone else's name, o-genki instead of just genki, ...
8
votes
1answer
122 views
What is the difference between あっての and とあって?
From what I can tell they both mean "Because of", and the only differences in meaning I can see seem to be very subtle.
あっての:
Because of A (strong emphasis), B
Thanks to (various ...
6
votes
4answers
336 views
does anyone know of any o-words or go-words which are absolutely neutral?
Does anyone know of any o-words or go-words which are absolutely neutral (have no nuances of being polite / courteous / respectful / womanly / cute etc etc)?
The only ones I'm aware of currently is ...
5
votes
3answers
818 views
How do I say “I am the best” ? の,は or が and 私 or 俺?
I'm making a shirt for a (rather egotistical) friend of mine and so am trying to do something with the slogan "I am the best" for fun. I need something with four characters only, and would like to ask ...
16
votes
4answers
480 views
Are there cases when two or more particles will occur next to each other without intervening lexical words?
Most particles seem to be postpositions but I'm sure I've seen say a noun followed by a location particle followed by "wa" or "ga" or possibly "wo" but when I've tried to use it I've only confused my ...
17
votes
4answers
1k views
Why is it 日本語がわかります instead of 日本語をわかります?
From what I understand, は is the topic marker, が is the subject marker, and を is the object marker.
One of the first sentences I learned doesn't seem to fit the rules I described above. The sentence ...
16
votes
1answer
260 views
What are the differences between 〜ので and 〜から?
When I was studying this, my 先生 kind of brushed over the point, and then years later, I realize that they are different, but I don't know exactly how.
The only thing I understand is that ので is more ...
16
votes
5answers
1k views
Pronouncing が as 'nga'
I'm a beginner and am learning from CD (Pimsleur). There are two native speakers going through the dialogue. One, the man, pronounces が as I would expect - 'ga'. The other (female) pronounces it as ...
11
votes
4answers
446 views
に vs で again: 前に vs 後で
Following the current trend of pitting the particles に and で against each other, here is another question that does the same but from another type of usage and perspective.
When we want to say "do X ...
11
votes
6answers
771 views
What are other language equivalents to Japanese particles?
When a person is learning は and が in terms of particles, what are the best way to relate them to English equivalents?
The closest I can come to explaining them to others is "the" and "a" but I'm not ...
9
votes
1answer
212 views
Is there a difference between に伴う and を伴う?
In a report I handed in earlier this week, my professor corrected my sentence to
日本において、金融政策の目的に関する考え方が時間を伴い、変わってきた。
from 「に伴い」. Is there a practical difference between the two? ALC shows a ...
11
votes
2answers
205 views
Can't に always replace へ?
Me and the particle へ don't get along. It's not that we don't like each other, it's that we don't get each other. I'm in a pretty committed relationship with に.
I mean, I think I understand what へ ...
9
votes
2answers
159 views
How does one use the “[V ます stem] に [Vタ]” pattern (as in 待ちに待った)?
Every now and then I hear 待ちに待った, as in:
待ちに待ったライブ a long-awaited concert
I started wondering if this pattern can apply to other verbs, and it certainly seems to, if Google is any indication. I ...
14
votes
2answers
629 views
Does the particle “を” (wo) have a special use when at the end of a sentence?
I thought the character "を" (wo) was only used for the particle whose only job was to indicate the direct object of a verb.
But today I saw it at the end of an exclamation on a sign I think on a ...
12
votes
1answer
450 views
Using な particle after common nouns (non na-adjectives)
Is な particle allowed to be used after common nouns (i.e non na-adjectives) for whatever reasons, e.g. cuteness, trendy, humor etc?
Dictionary@goo website seems to use (normal noun)+な in a couple of ...
11
votes
3answers
267 views
Using で instead of に with いる
The example sentence in Why is も used instead of が in the sentence 「日本ではクモを見ると良いことがあると言う人もいますよ」,
日本ではクモを見ると良いことがあると言う人もいますよ
got me thinking "Why is it using で, not に?". I.e., why not
...
11
votes
3answers
336 views
What is the difference between 「ほど」 {hodo} and 「ぐらい」 {gurai}?
As in the question title, what is the difference between the two sentences below?
一時間ほどかかります。
ichijikan hodo kakarimasu.
一時間ぐらいかかります。
ichijikan gurai kakarimasu.
How do we choose to ...
10
votes
4answers
321 views
What is the significance of [の] (no)?
I've seen it used on many places, and sometimes it feels like a connection between words.
For example "鳥の詩" (tori no uta), it looks as if the の is connecting 鳥 (tori) and 詩 (uta), and I would like to ...
8
votes
3answers
315 views
Problems with は and が
Consider:
[A] 猫が好きだ
To me this means [A']"I like cats."
Contrast this to:
[B] 猫は好きだ
To me this means [B']"I like cats (among other animals)"
I based my understanding of [B] from Derek ...
8
votes
3answers
491 views
In what situation can I use ~かい (for interrogative question)?
One day, I asked my japanese friend how I could invite some friends to eat.
He said
"一緒に食べに行くかい？"
I know that we could also say:
行きましょうか（行こうか）？
行きませんか（行かない）？
行きますか（行くの）？
but I got interested ...
7
votes
2answers
192 views
How should I view でより and でのより?
My basic understanding of より to compare things or ending letters, is failing me when there's a で or での in front of it.
As I write this, I'm wondering, can read でより as "with, more", "in, more"?
...
7
votes
2answers
269 views
Can placements of adverbs be altered freely?
I'm curious if there is any difference in nuance between these two sentences:
彼は少なくとも週に一度車を洗う。
彼は週に少なくとも一度車を洗う。
I'm aware that grammatically speaking both are 100% right, but this question is not ...
6
votes
3answers
163 views
When do you use は/に for どようびは/に?
There is a sentence in a worksheet that goes: どようびは ほんを よみます。Why is it not どようびに? When do I know which one to use and what is the difference?
Spoke to my sensei and she said you can use something ...
6
votes
2answers
288 views
What's the purpose of な in なのに?
I don't understand the role of "な" when used before "のに" as in these two sentences (with given translations):
朝目がさめて初めて、外が雪なのに気がついた。
He noticed that there was snow outside only after he woke up ...
4
votes
3answers
244 views
に vs で with state of being (but no verb)
All the に vs で comparisons I can find discuss using them with verbs. However I recently wanted to say something like "I am alone at home", and phrased it without a verb:
家で一人です
But that got me ...
3
votes
2answers
195 views
Particles で and も and でも
In both these sentences, what does でも mean? (I think I know the meaning of the sentences, just not the particles)
カードでもいいですか。
なごやでもうっていますか。
I know that で is a particle that can denote location or ...
2
votes
1answer
174 views
The uses & etymology of で
In Japanese, the particle で seems to have multiple uses:
Instrumental: 車{くるま}で大阪{おおさか}に行{い}った。 "I went to Osaka by car."
Locative: 図書館{としょかん}で数学{すうがく}を勉強{べんきょう}している。 "I'm studying math in the ...
12
votes
2answers
308 views
When does a suru-noun require し in front of a purposive-に?
According to Chocolate's comment to a question, some suru-nouns can be followed by the purposive に directly, but others require (the stem of) する in between.
面会しに行く
面会に行く
料理しに行く
× 料理に行く
...
10
votes
1answer
535 views
わ usage at the end of sentences
What is the difference between the "わ" sentence ender used by women in general and the one that is used by both Males and females in the Kansai area?
I've asked my Japanese co-workers about it ...
8
votes
2answers
147 views
How to break down who did what in AにBをCさせる
I'm trying to understand the following:
後輩にサイフを開かせることはないよ
I guess this could be generalized as AにBをCさせる.
It's confusing. Maybe if someone can break down how to understand this and then I can ...
5
votes
1answer
192 views
What is the nuance when は directly follows a verb in plain form?
It seems like this is a remnant of (or reference to) older forms of Japanese. Is that all there is to it, or does it have special meaning?
Examples from songs:
歌声 笑い声 満ちる大空 目指すは憧れ
...
