Grammar
XใฏYใงใ
You can say things like "I am a musician" or "My major is Japanese" by using the pattern XใฏYใงใ. For example:
ๅญฆ็ใงใใ(I am) a student.
ๆฌ่ชใงใใ(My major) is Japanese.
You'll notice that there are no subjects in these sentences like in English. That's because Japanese speakers tend to omit them when it's clear who or what they are talking about.
An example of a sentence with a subject:
ใธใฅใชใขใณใใใใฏๅญฆ็ใงใใJulianne is a student.
The ใฏ in these sentences is what's referred to as a particle and is pronounced "wa". Particles attach themselves to phrases and indicate how the phrases relate to the rest of the sentence.
Question Sentences
To turn a sentence into a question, simply add ใ to the end of it. Note that it is not customary to write a question mark.
ใธใฅใชใขใณใใใใฏๅญฆ็ใงใใใ Is Julianne a student?
There are sometimes "question words" that these types of sentences might contain. The question word for "what" has two pronunciations: ใชใ and ใชใซ. ใชใ is used right before ใงใ or a counter. ใชใซ is used before a particle.
nounใฎnoun
The particle ใฎ is used to connect two nouns. It can act as the possessive or be used to make a noun more specific.
Example of being the possessive:
ใธใฅใชใขใณใใใใฎๆฌ Julianne's book
Example of making a noun more specific:
ๅคงๅญฆใฎๅ ็ A college professor
ใใใใใใใใใใฉใ
ใใ, ใใ, ใใ, and ใฉใ are used to talk about things we don't know the name of. They are similar to "this" and "that" in English.
ใใ refers to a thing that is close to you:
ใใใฏใใฐใใงใใThis is a bag.
ใใ refers to a thing that is close to the person you're speaking to:
ใใใฏใใใใใใฎใใใตใงใใThat is Takeshi's wallet.
ใใ refers to something the is not close to the listener or the speaker:
ใใใฏใธใฅใชใขใณใใฎใใฆใใใใงใใThat is Julianne's bike over there.
ใฉใ means "which". When using it, ใ must be the following particle in question sentences.
ใฉใใใธใฅใชใขใณใใใใฎ่ช่ปข่ปใงใใใWhich one is Julianne's bike?
ใใฎใใใฎใใใฎใใฉใฎใ+ใnoun
ใใฎ, ใใฎ, ใใฎ, and ใฉใฎ are more specific than ใใ, ใใ, ใใ, and ใฉใ. Use these when you know what something is. Again, in question sentences you must use ใ as the following particle.
ใใฎใใฐใใฏ้ซใใงใใญใใThis bag is expensive.
ใใฎใใฐใใ้ซใใงใใใใIs that bag expensive?
ใใฎใใฐใใฏ้ซใใงใใญใใThat bag over there is expensive.
ใฉใฎใใฐใใ้ซใใงใใใใWhich bag is expensive?
ใใใใใใใใใใใฉใ
These words represent places.
ใใ basically means "here"; some place near the speaker:
ใธใฅใชใขใณใใใใฎ่ช่ปข่ปใฏใใใงใใใJulianne's bike is here.
ใใ means "there"; some place close to the listener:
ใธใฅใชใขใณใใใใฎ่ช่ปข่ปใฏใใใงใใใJulianne's bike is there.
ใใใ essentially means "over there"; somewhere away from both the speaker and the listener:
ใธใฅใชใขใณใใใใฎๅฎถใฏใใใใงใใใJulianne's house is over there.
ใฉใ means "where":
ใธใฅใชใขใณใใใใฎๅฎถใฏใฉใใงใใใใWhere is Julianne's house?
ใ ใใฎnoun
The pattern ใ ใใฎ<noun> is used to ask who something belongs to.
ใใใฏใ ใใฎใใฐใใงใใใใWhose bag is this?
noun ใ
The particle ใ essentially means "too". You use it to specify that something shares some property with a previously-mentioned thing.
ใใฎใใฐใใฏ้ซใใงใใใThis bag is expensive.
ใใฎใใฐใใ้ซใใงใใใThat bag is also expensive.
Negating Statements
To negate a statement, simply replace the ending ใงใ with ใใใชใใงใ.
ใใใฏใธใฅใชใขใณใใใใฎใใคใใใชใใงใใใThese are not Julianne's shoes.
Note that this does not work with adjectives.
Another way of doing this is by using ใใใใใพใใ, which is more formal. ใใ is a contraction of ใงใฏ, which is even more formal and more appropriate for writing.
ใธใฅใชใขใณใใใใฏๅญฆ็ใใใใใพใใใใJulianne is not a student.
ใธใฅใชใขใณใใใใฏๅญฆ็ใงใฏใใใพใใใใJulianne is not a student.
~ใญใป~ใ
You will often hear statements end with an extra ใญ or ใ thrown in. Whether you hear these depends on how the speaker feels about the interaction with the listener.
Adding ใญ is equivalent to adding "right"? to the end of a sentence:
ใใใฏ่ใใใชใใงใใญใใThis is not meat, right?
Adding ใ is similar to adding "I tell you" or "I assure you" to the end of a statement. It's used to assure the listener of what has been said.
ใใใฏ่ใใใชใใงใใใใLet me assure you, that is not meat.
Verb Conjugation: ru-verbs and u-verbs
Verbs in Japanese conjugate, or change form. Here we learn three forms:
Dictionary Form
Present Tense Affirmative
Present Tense Negative
There are two kinds of verbs that follow regular conjugation patterns:
ru-verbs
u-verbs
A ru-verb is a verb that ends with ใ. They are usually created by adding a ใ to the base of the word to form the dictionary form. Note that some verbs ending with ใ may actually be u-verbs that just happen to end with ใ. To conjugate a ru-verb, simply replace the ใ with ใพใ or ใพใใ.
An u-verb is a verb whose dictionary form consists of the word's base and the suffix "-u" (ใ, ใ, ใฌ, etc.). To conjugate an u-verb, you replace the "-u" character with an "-i" character and add the suffix ใพใ or ใพใใ.
Examples of conjugating a ru-verb and an u-verb are listed below.
It is important to remember which class each verb belongs to, especially for verbs ending with ใ. They may be irregular verbs, or ru-verbs, or u-verbs that happen to end with the consonant "r". Usually, if you see the vowels "a", "u", or "o" right before the final ใ, then it is an u-verb. If you see an "i" or "e" before the final ใ, then it is usually a ru-verb. There are exceptions to this rule, like ใใใ.
Irregular Verbs
There are some verbs that do not follow standard conjugation rules. These are called irregular verbs. Two examples of this are ใใ and ใใ:
These verbs are also used to form compound verbs, like ในใใใใใใ.
Verb Types and "Present Tense"
The "present tense" of an "action verb" either means:
The person regularly engages in the activity.
The person will, or is planning to, perform the action in the future.
For example, a habitual action would be described as follows:
็งใฏใใใใฌใใใฟใพใใใI often watch television.
And a future action would be:
็งใฏใใใใใใใจใซ่กใใพใใใI will go to Kyoto tomorrow.
Particles
Nouns used in sentences generally must be followed by particles, which indicate the relations that the nouns bear to the verbs.
For example, four particles are ใ, ใง, ใซ, and ใธ.
ใ
The particle ใ indicates "direct objects", the kind of things that are directly involved in, or affected by, the event. It is pronounced "o".
ใใใใใใใใพใใใI listen to music.
ใง
ใง indicates where the event described by the verb takes place.
ใจใใใใใงๆฌใใใฟใพใใใI will read books at the library.
ใซ
ใซ has many meanings, but we'll just cover two here:
the goal toward which things move
the time at which an event takes place
For example, as a goal of movement:
็งใฏไปๆฅใใฃใใใซ่กใใพใใใใI will not go to school today.
And for specific times (the first ใซ):
ๆฅๆๆฅใซใใใใจใซ่กใใพใใใI will go to Kyoto on Sunday.
Approximate time references can be made by substituting ใใ or ใใใซ for ใซ.
ๅไธๆใใใญใพใใใI will go to bed at about eleven.
Note that you do not typically use ใซ for relative times, such as "tomorrow" or "yesterday". You also do not use it with the word for "weekend" or for parts of the day ("in the morning", "at night", etc.). You do use it for days of the week and numerical time expressions.
ใธ
ใธ also indicates goal of movement. It can replace ใซ in those cases. Pronounced "e".
็งใฏใใกใธใใใใพใใใI will return home.
Extending Invitations
You can use ใพใใ to extend an invitation. Just use the present tense negative verb plus the question particle.
ๆผใ้ฃฏใ้ฃในใพใใใใใWould you like to have lunch (with me)?
Note that you cannot use the affirmative form of a verb for this.
Word Order
Japanese sentences are fairly flexible in the arrangement of elements that appear in them. They are mostly made of several noun-particle sequences followed by a verb or an adjective, which is followed by a sentence-final particle like ใ, ใญ, or ใ. Among the noun-particle sequences, their order is mostly free.
Frequency Adverbs
You can add a frequency adverb like ใพใใซใก, ใใ, or ใจใใฉใ to describe how often you do something.
็งใฏใจใใฉใใใฃใใฆใใซ่กใใพใใใI sometimes go to the cafe.
When describing how infrequently you do sometime, you need to conclude with ใพใใ.
็งใฏใใใใใใฌใใ่ฆใพใใใใI do not watch television at all.
Xใใใใพใ/ใใพใ
Xใใใใพใ means "there is/are X". This is only used for nonliving things. For living things, use Xใใใพใ.
The particle ใ introduces item X. You can use this pattern to say that something is in a certain location.
ใใใใซใใใใใใใใพใใใThere's a bank over there.
Note that this pattern calls for the particle ใซ instead of ใง for place descriptions.
You can use ใใใพใ to say you have or own something:
ใใฌใใใใใพใใใใI don't have a TV.
You can also use it to say that an event will take place:
้ๆๆฅใซใฏใฉในใใใใพใใใThere will be class on Friday.
Describing Where Things Are
You can describe the location of an item relative to another item by using XใฏYใฎ<place>ใงใ:
ใใฎใใใผใใฎๅใงใใใIt's in front of that department store.
You can also use location words together with a verb to describe an event that occurs in a place:
็งใฏๅญฆๆ กใฎๅใงใกใขใชใผใใใใพใกใพใใใใI waited for Mary in front of the school.
NOTE: both ใจใใ and ใใ mean "side-by-side" or "next to". ใจใชใ is used when both things are of the same category (two people, two buildings, etc.). ใใ is used when the items are distinct.
Past Tense of ใงใ
The past tense of ใงใ looks like the following:
Past Tense of Verbs
The past tense of verbs looks like the following:
Time Durations
The duration of an activity is expresses with a bare noun, like ไธๆ้. The noun is not followed by any particle.
็งใฏใใใงๅฑฑ็ฐใใใไธๆ้ใพใกใพใใใใI waited for Yamada here for an hour.
For approximate time measurements, add ใใใ after ~ๆ้.
Quantity
If you want to add quantity words like ใใใใ to the direct object of a sentence, you can place it before the noun or after the particle ใ.
ใจ
The particle ใจ has two meanings/functions. One is to connect two nouns A and B:
ๆฅๆฌ่ชใจ่ฑ่ชใ่ฉฑใใพใใใI speak Japanese and English.
The other meaning of ใจ is "together with". It describes with whom you do something.
ใกใขใชใผใใใฏในใผใใใจ้ๅฝใซ่กใใพใใใMary will go to Korea with Sue.
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