Japanese Lesson 3 - Markers/Basics of Grammar

いいえ, ちがいます (iie, chigaimasu)

"No, it isn't" or "No, it is something else"

... は どこ です か (... wa doko desu ka)

"Where is ...?" ex: toire wa doko desu ka = "Where is the bathroom?"

を (wo) (pronounced "o")

Marks Direct Object (receives the action of the verb; this particle follows after the direct object in a statement) ex: asagohan o tabemasu = I eat breakfast ex: Hon o yomimasu = I read books (breakfast = asagohan, books = hon; both are direct objects in the statements above)

へ (e) (the Hiragana "he" is pronounced "e" when it immediately follows a place or direction)

Marks Direction (usually general direction rather than specific place, like 'ni') (translates as "to") (often used to welcome somebody to someplace - ex: Nihon e yokoso = Welcome to Japan; in this situation "e" is chosen over "ni" often)

が (ga)

Marks Subject

も (mo)

"Too" or "also" (can be used to express agreement or similarity) ex1 - showing agreement: watashi wa inu ga suki desu = "I like dogs." response: watashi mo inu ga suki desu = "I like dogs too." ex2 - showing similarity: watshi wa inu mo neko mo suki desu = I like both dogs and cats."

... は なん です か (... wa nan desu ka) 何 = nan or nani (in kanji)

"What is ...?" ex: kore wa nan desu ka = "What is this?" Kore wa = this (as topic), nan/nani = what, desuka = indicates question ex: O-namae wa nan desu ka = "What is your name?"

はい, そう です (Hai, so desu)

"Yes, it is/it is so" or "Yes, that's right"

と (to)

"and" or "with/together with" (when being used as "with", the particle "to" comes after the noun, unlike in English where "with" comes before the noun) ex: Tomodachi to benkyo shimashita = "I studied with a friend." (friend = tomodachi) "To" can also be used to mark the end of a quotation or thought. ex1: Kare wa ashita wa gakko ni kuru = He said he will come to school tomorrow. (he said = to iimashita) ex2: Ashita wa gakko ni iku to omoimasu = I think I will go to school today (to omoimasu = I think) "To" can also be used after a verb or adjective to form a condition - translates into "as soon as", "when", or "if". ex: Ie ni kaeru to daremo imasen deshita = When I got home nobody was there (Ie ni kaeru = I got home; to = when)

か (ka)

. The interrogative particle; acts as a question mark at the end of a statement. ex: if "A is B" = "A wa B desu" then "Is A B?" = A wa B desu ka" (Kore wa jusu desu ka= Is this juice?)

です (desu)

Links subject to predicate; often translated as "it is/to be".

に (ni)

Marks Direction, Time, Indirect Object (usually specific place rather than general direction, like 'e') (translates as "to" when talking about direction; almost interchangeable with "e" in these situations, but "ni" has many other uses that "e" does not; "e" ONLY marks direction) ex1-direction: "I'm going to take her home." (watashi wa kanojo wo ie ni okuru). In this case, the "ni" acts like a "to" - "I'm going to take her 'to' home". (When indicating a specific point in time - translates as "at", "on", or "in") ex2-time: "I'm leaving at 3 o'clock" (watashi wa sanji ni hanareru). ex3-indirect object: "I was taken home by him" (watashi wa kare ni ie made okurareta), "him" is the indirect object. ("ni" can also indicate a source or agent in passive or causative verbs; translates as "by") ex: Tanaka san ni nihongo o oshietemoramashita = I was taught by Mr. Tanaka (ni = by) "ni" can also be used to mean "per", as in "per day" or "per week" "ni" can also be used to indicate purpose - i.e., "to", "in order to" "ni" can be used to indicate the direction of an action - i.e., "Please write your name HERE = Koko ni namae o kaito kudasai; koko = here "Ni" has many, many uses.

は (wa) (the Hiragana "ha" is pronounced "wa" when it immediately follows the topic)

Marks Topic ex: "A is B" = "A wa B desu" (Watashi wa Amerikajin desu = I am American)

の (no)

Particle indicating possession; similar to 's in English. ex1: Watashi no kasa = "My umbrella" ex2: Sore wa Sara no kasa desu = "That is Sara's umbrella." (watashi = "I" or "me"; adding "no" makes it "my"; watashi no = "my")

で (de)

Translates as "in", "at", or "on". Indicates the place at which an action or event takes place. This particle comes after the place and before the action in a sentence. ex: toshokan de benkyo shimashita = "I studied at the library." (toshokan = library; de = at)