JAPANESE

PARTICLES
IN ACTION
(all the basics edition)
by koichi@tofugu.com

Introduction

2. Introduce what the particle does (if it does multiple

things).

Japanese particles can be a frustration point for a lot of

3. Explain the particle.

Japanese learners. But, they are everywhere. They are

4. Show you example sentences. Lots and lots of

like the glue that holds together Japanese sentences.

example sentences. Sometimes there will even be an

Not only that, but one particle can be used in several

explanation between them!

dierent ways.

5. Tell you some things about the particle you ought to

know.

This book is meant to serve as both a reference book

6. Probably more example sentences.

and learning book. If you are studying something and

dont understand a particle, you might learn about it

The idea is that you should get a working knowledge of

here. Or, if you learned about a particle in some other

the particle and how it works. Then after that, you get

textbook, you should read about it here too. It will make

to see it in context.

you understand the particle a little bit better. Then when

you go back to class youll impress your teacher and

Right now this book is incomplete. Im just starting

your classmates and everyone will love you, or think

with the most basic particles. Ill be adding more,

youre a sesame grinder.

though. Eventually, all the particles will be here. To see

which particles you get in this version move on to the

That being said, this isnt a textbook! Sure, you could

read through it, and itll probably be helpful, but its
mainly to be used as a supplement to your current
studies or as a reference when you dont understand
something fully.
Each section of the book goes something like this:
1. Introduce the particle.

next page (The Table Of Contents).

TABLE OF CONTENTS

.. 61
.. 63

4
9
15

Even more particles coming in the Full Version:

20

25
29
37
38
42
.. 44
.. 49
.. 52
.. 54
.. 56
... 59

and maybe some others, well just have

to see.


Probably the rst particle you ever learn, or close to it.
This is pronounced like wa when used as a particle, not

the very similar particle ), but lets look at some simple

examples.
1.
Today is hot.

ha. This confuses people early on, but it pops up so

much that you get used to it very quickly. A really long
time ago people used to pronounce it as ha, but dont
do that now. Those people are all dead and youll sound

2.
That over there is a rabbit.

weird.
As a particle, there are two ways in which can be
used.
a. Marking a topic
What does this mean? This is a fancy grammar way to
say that shows in a sentence what it is were talking
about. This could be a person, a thing, or anything else.
Were relaying information about something. Another
way well describe it a lot is that it shows the context
of the sentence.
This might be confusing right now (it will either become
more confusing or make more sense when you get to

3.
The bacon is tasty.
The above English translations dont actually do the
particle very much justice, but thats how most people
would translate it. If we do a very direct and literal
translation, they would become:
1. As for today, it is hot.
2. As for that over there, it is a rabbit.
3. As for the bacon, it is tasty.
Remember how marks in a sentence what it is were
talking about? The part that it is marking is the part it
comes after. In the case of these rst three example
sentences, were talking about today. Were talking

about that thing over there. Were talking about the

Lets take a look at an example sentence to try this

bacon. Thats the context of the sentence. Everything

question out.

else has to do with that context in some way.

Some more example sentences:

6a.
I ate the sushi.

4.

6b.

Baseball is fun / As for baseball, it is fun.

I ate the sushi.

5.
She is a nurse / As for her, is a nurse.
itself isnt too hard, I think. Its manageable, at least.
Only when the particle gets introduced does get
really confusing. In many cases, they seem
interchangeable, though theyre kind of not, sometimes.
Well dive more deeply into this relationship in the
section, but for now Ill just ask you a simple question.
You should ask this question every time youre not sure
which particle ( or ) to use.
Q. If you remove the topic (the ___ part), will the
sentence still make sense?

(1)Yes, the sentence still makes sense without the

__!
Lets say the sentence still makes sense, even without
the portion. You now just have .
This on its own would be ate sushi. But in context, it
could make sense. For example, what if someone asks
what did you eat? Now we know that the topic is me,
because theyre asking me what I ate. I can just say
. Or, I can say . In both cases,
based on the context, they make sense. So, the correct
particle to use here is .
(1) No, this sentence doesnt make sense without
the ___ part.

Lets look at another example. What if someone is asking

But, we should be focusing on for now. With all that

Who is the person who ate the sushi? Now you need

in mind, lets look at some more example sentences.

the topic (the ). Because, were identifying the the

person who ate the sushi. We already know the sushi
was eaten. In this case, without the the sentence
wont make sense. If that happens, well, its probably

7. )
The airport is here / as for the airport, it is here.

better to use the particle instead of . Youll learn

more why this is the case in the chapter, but please
do keep these two questions in mind as they will help.
One more way to tell the two apart. places
importance and emphasis on what comes after it.
places that emphasis and importance on what comes
before it. In the above example, we needed to know
who the person was that ate the sushi. In that situation,
your reply would probably be . Emphasis
on the part before the particle. That is the important

8.
This is tofu / as for this, it is tofu
The important part of these sentences is what comes
after the particle . The fact that the airport is here is
whats important. The fact that this is tofu is important.
Its like asking what is this? and then someone telling
the other person that this is tofu. Oh, so thats what this
is.

part of this sentence, after all.

Its not a fail-safe way of thinking about these two
particles, but ti does help quite a bit in most situations.
Just ask, what part of this sentence is necessary? What
isnt necessary, based on the context? From there, you
can gure out whether you should use or in most
situations.

9.
He is a nuisance. / As for him, is a nuisance.
Heres another example. Maybe you have someone in
front of you, and someone asks you to describe that
person. So, you say oh, he is . We already know
about him, so the important part (where the emphasis
is), goes to the . You dont even need the part,
necessarily (passes the is it necessary check). If

someone asked you is that person over there a

Did you do it? Okay, lets contrast.

nuisance? you could simply respond with

(yeah, [he is] a nuisance).

Using for contrasting elements is a lot like doing

algebra. Don't worry, Im really bad at math so Ill keep

Alright, after writing all that about the particle , heres

it simple.

an appropriate example sentence to leave you with.

[ X A ] * [ Z A ]
10. (
Im exhausted. / As for me, am exhausted.

1.

Go through all the steps of thinking about the particle

Misaki is tall, but Noriko is short.

and apply it to this sentence. Do the is it necessary

check. Also think about where the emphasis goes. If

X =

youre having trouble, be sure to read the chapter about

A =

as well. Its basically the other half of this picture and

* =

will either make you feel more sad about particles or

Z =

provide you with some insight into the inner workings of

A =

the universe.
[ () () ] [ () () ]
b. Contrasting elements
MATH!
This particular use of is a little more complicated. It
usually involves the use of several dierent particles. So,
it might be a good idea to come back to this one after
youve read up on everything else.

2.

I like dogs, but I dont like cats.
If you look at it, this isnt all that dierent from the
particle when it is marking a topic. Youre just
marking two topics, saying something about those
topics, and then contrasting them.

When you put emphasis on the part of that

sentence, you are contrasting with an assumed element.
Maybe you know it via context, maybe youre just
guessing. For example, might be translated
to mean Im not sure about other people, but I am a
student. That Im not sure about other people part? It
was made up based on some context you didnt know
about.
That little emphasis suddenly turned a simple sentence

3.

(My) father can drive, but (my) mother cant.
Sadly, its not this simple all the time. Using to
contrast elements can happen with much shorter
sentences (which ironically makes things more
complicated).
4. (
I am a student.
Whats up with this bolding? Thats how Im telling you
that emphasis has been put on that part of the
sentence. Its hard to get this context in writing, but in
speech you can hear it.

into a contrasting one, though you need to know the

context in order to gure out what were trying to
contrast.
This is a really good particle ebook (but maybe
others arent as good? Thats what the emphasis
suggests.)


If theres anything worse than the particle , its when
you have to decide whether or not you should be using
or . Its probably the single most confusing particle

1.
(I) want to drink coee.

2.
(My) butt is itchy.

conundrum youll ever have to gure out. Id denitely

recommend reading about before reading about .
Well try to demystify some of this / confusion right
here and now, though. Put on your science jacket,
friend. Were going to break these particles apart in the
Large Haldron Collider that is your brain. Ha! Science
jokes!
a. Indicating the subject.
Youll remember that marks a topic. Well,
indicates a subject.
Ugh, grammar terms. What do they even mean??
Are you lost? Great, now the linguists have won. Well
still retaliate, but lets start simple.

3.
The automatic door opened.
The subject is the part before the . What happens to
the subject, or what the subject is, is the part after the
.
1. The coee is the subject. What about the subject?
Oh, (I) want to drink it.
2. (My) butt is the subject. What about it? Its itchy.
3. The automatic door is the subject. What about it? It
opened.
Thats simple enough, but youll notice that its kind of
similar to in a lot of ways. There are two ways that
could mess with these sentences.

First, could get in there and provide context (but only

if necessary). For example sentence 1, it could just as
easily be:

I want to drink coee / As for me, want to drink coee.

As for Tom, (he) wants to drink coee.
You have to specify. From this perspective, you can see
that indicates what were talking about. The topic, or
the context. on the other hand just indicates a
subject, then tells us something about it / tells us whats

So when would you include the and when would you

happening to or with it.

omit it? That depends on context. Or how you feel that

day. Most likely, the listener can gure out that its you

Now, youll remember that there was another way that

(the topic) who wants the coee, so you dont need to

can rear its ugly head in these examples. You may

include it. Say youre standing in front of the barista

remember how also contrasts elements? Maybe you

slack jawed, drool going down your face and youre

didnt read that because I told you to come back to it

about to make your order. You dont need to say

later. If so, dont worry about this section and skim

because the context (the topic) is already established.

ahead a little bit.

Youre there in line, you order coee at a coee place.

Its obvious. You can just say
Jump straight to the subject, which is coee, and what
you want to do with it, which is drink it. Its already
known that you are the topic who wants to drink coee.
But, lets think of another situation where you would
want to provide some context to the subject of coee
and drinking it. Maybe you know that Tom, in particular,
wants to drink coee. Then you might say:

4. (

The sunower bloomed.

What if we change the to ?

5.
The sunower bloomed, but as for the (other owers)
Im not sure.
It is comparing the act of the sunowers blooming with
the act of other owers blooming. We are contrasting
with something else.
Youll also want to remember how with , its the part
that comes after the particle that has the emphasis /
importance. The important part of the sentence is that
the sunower bloomed. Not the fact that its a sunower
thats blooming.
But, with example number 4 we have a dierent feeling.
The part before the is whats important. Its the fact
that its a sunower that bloomed. What bloomed? Oh, it

says I am Tom! The other says No, I am Tom! But,

which particle do you use to say this in Japanese, or
? (Think about it for a moment)

I am Tom.

I am Tom.
The same translation? BLRALRHGG!
()
Dont be mad. Put that table back.
( -)

was the sunower that bloomed.

Ill explain the dierence.

We should take a closer look at this interchangeability

of and though. Actually, theyre not really

interchangeable, though it feels like it. Lets gure out
the dierence.
My favorite way to explain it involves aliens making a
clone of your good friend. Lets name him Tom. One Tom

Emphasis is placed on what comes after the . Thats

the important part. We know that were talking about I
(). But, who am I? I am Tom.

Emphasis is placed on what comes before the . Thats

the important part. The fact that you are the one who is
Tom. Someone is asking which one of you is Tom?
Ah, I am the Tom (and none of these other people are

6.

He needs this map / As for him, he needs this map.
The topic is him. Were talking about him. What are

the Tom, I am the Tom youre looking for).

we saying about him? That the map is necessary (in

So back to aliens and clones. You have your gun out,

map.

relation to him). So, we end up with he needs this

and you have to shoot one of them, because one of

them is denitely not Tom. You ask Hey, which one of
you is Tom?
How should Tom respond? (you have to gure this out
on your own, think about it!)
Or, what if you ask Who are you? Then how would one
of the Toms respond? You should be able to gure it out
from the info in the previous paragraphs.
Now that you understand the basic dierence, we can
look at more example sentences.

7.
The clip came o.
The subject is the clip. What happens to it? It
, or it came o. Maybe someone asked What
happened to the clip? Context was already known that
something happened to the clip, though we dont know
what.
8.
Who wrote this?
One interesting factoid: You can never follow a word like
(), (), or with . Why? Because these
WH-words are not concrete. They can be a subject, but
not the topic. So you wouldnt ever say

. It would be like saying as for who, wrote this?

Doesnt make much sense.

4. The part that comes after the . It is important or

emphasized. Why is it important in this sentence
based on the known context?

9.

(I) want to buy a Playstation 4.

5. Could the be contrasting something else that I

dont know about? What is the context from before?
6. Should I just move on? Im way too confused and Ill
never gure this out. Maybe my time is better spent
coming back to this later.

10.

Kaori cant read Japanese / As for Kaori, (she) cant read
Japanese.
and are fairly confusing. Sometimes its confusing
for native speakers too. But, each time you see a or a
and youre confused, make sure to think through
these things:
1. What is the topic / context? Does it need to be
expressed? If so, why?
2. What is the subject? What is happening with the
subject or how is it being described?
3. The part that comes before the . It is important
or emphasized. Why is it important in this sentence
based on the known context? Why does it need to be
here?

Whether youre making your own sentences, or reading

Japanese sentences that already exist, if you go through
these questions ~100 times, by the end it will all be
automatic. Most people try to skim over asking questions
like these, and it really hurts them in the long run.
Spend the time now to gure it out and youll thank
yourself later.
Side Note:
I bet that some of you who have been around the
Japanese language block a few times are asking where
is to mean butt but?
Actually, thats not a particle! Though it does seem like it
should be one. Its, like, a grammar thing or a word or a
mystery or something (actually, its a disjunctive
coordinate conjunction that combines two sentences,

but nobody knows what that means. Well just call it an

ancient Jomon secret, lost forever).
And, this book focuses only on particles. Sorry pal!


Many of you will know part (a) of this particle, which has
to do with possession. The second use of the particle
isnt something you learn for a while, but its quite

But, it doesnt have to be things that people have.

Inanimate objects can have things too, though maybe
not in the way youre thinking.
3.
A trees owers / Flower of the tree(s)

simple and easy to understand.

a. Possession
This shows who/what owns who/what. Some very
simple examples:
1.
My dog / Dog of I
Whatever is before the is the thing/person that

4.
An English teacher / A teacher of English
In these examples, we see that a tree can have owers.
Even the concept of English can have a teacher,
making it A teacher of English. English doesnt own the
teacher or anything, but the teacher is of English,
making them an English teacher.
You can even extend this by adding more s.

possesses the thing thats after it.

5.
2.

The book of the teacher of English The English

Toms beer

teachers book

Tom owns / possesses the beer! Lucky Tom.

If we break this apart, it gets easier to understand:

[]

The rst part, is a teacher of English. What

my boyfriend]. Usually phrases that use can be

does the teacher of English possess? A book. That

broken up in this way, where the portion is its own

makes this The teacher of Englishs book or An English

section and you can apply other grammar rules to the

teachers book.

whole thing.

Alright, now I think we can look at some longer, more

complicated sentences. The above examples were really
just parts of sentences to help get your feet wet.
6.

Its lying under the table.

7.

This ring is a present from my boyfriend.

This sentence is a little tricky, but we can break it up into
the [ part] and everything else.

8.

This is a letter from my grandfather to my grandmother.
Lets break this one up:
= this is
[] = the letter written by
my grandfather to my grandmother.
(lets break this part of the sentence up even more)
= Written by (my) grandfather to my
grandmother

+ []

= the letter of

The portion can be translated to

This is the letter of the thing that was written by the

the present from (my) boyfriend. The topic is this

ring. So youre saying that this ring is [a present from

grandfather to the grandmother.

That sentence had a lot of parts to it, but even

something like this can be broken down into littler parts.
If this went over your head dont worry about it too
much. Try doing this with shorter sentences, and your

11.

That is not my writing. / That is not the writing of me.

ability to break phrases up like this will get stronger and

stronger with experience.

12.

9.

I am looking for a job in China. / I am looking for a job

of in China.

I am Ootake of Toyota.
As you can see, its possible to add after other
This is an interesting one. People can be of a company,
or a group. In this example, Ootake is an employee of
Toyota, so he can say that he is Ootake of Toyota or
Toyotas Ootake. Since Japanese people tend to like to
be part of a group, and/or like associating themselves
with groups, this is something youll see a lot.
10.

That is school equipment. / That is the equipment of the
school

particles (like , though its not limited to ). The

translation becomes of in China instead of of China.
b. A sentence-ender that shows assumed common
interest or gives an explanatory feeling
This use of the particle is a little more specic. If
youre a beginner of Japanese, you can probably not
worry too much about this right now. Just knowing it
exists is pretty good. You have other grammar sh to
fry.
This is a sentence-ender (meaning it goes on the end
of a sentence, like the particles or ) that has a
couple of purposes:

- When used in a statement, it can be because you are

Perhaps someone is asking a question about why they

are crying. This is your explanation as to why youre

explaining something. Why are you eating? Because

crying. But how would they do that? How would they

Im hungry.

request an explanation??

asking for explanation. Why are you eating? (can I

Requesting Explanation :

- On the other hand, when used as a question, youre

get an explanation on this?)

- When used in a statement, it can also be because you

think the other person has an assumed common
interest in what youre saying. Was it big? Yeah, it
was bigggg.
One important thing to keep in mind though is that this
use of the particle tends to be reserved for women
and children. While a man using the sentence ending
particle in this way wont be grammatically incorrect,
it does sound a little weird or out of place.

2.
Why are you crying?
Ah, there it is. Using to request an explanation. If you
add sentence 1 to the end of this, it all makes sense.


Assumed Common Interest:

Lets break this up into the three parts:

Explanation :

3.

Tom is really terrible, you know?

1.
My knee hurts!

Its like youre getting someone involved with what

youre saying, or youre pushing your viewpoints on

them. They have to agree, or you assume theyre going

to agree. At least, thats the feeling.
Weve gone through all three ways the sentence ending

6.
Did you brush your teeth?

particle can be used. Some of you may have realized

that theres another bit of grammar that does the same
thing, that being . In fact, its exactly the same,
though some things like formality and gendered
language change a bit. The sentence ender particle

7.
What happened to kindergarten? / Why arent you at
kindergarten?

originally came from . The was dropped, probably

to make it easier to say. Unfortunately, isnt a
particle anymore, though, so it wont be covered in this
particular book.
(;yy`)
In the end, at least with as a sentence ender particle,
most (though not all) of the use will come from
questions. People requesting explanation. Thats where
the rest of our examples will lie.
4.
Did (he/she) break up with you?

5.
Can you play the guitar?

8.

Why dont you take a shower?


The particle can be confusing for some learners. I
think its because there are a lot of ways to use . But,
the rst two explanations for are going to be the two
most important ones to focus on. If youre a beginner, it
might be best to just do that. If not, learning those other
two and/or making them more solid in your mind will
improve your Japanese.
a. Indicating location
The most common way to use the particle is to show
where something is happening. A location!
1.
I played tennis at the park.
Where is tennis being played happening? At the park!

Where is a book being read? At the library!

3.

This is popular in Japan.
Where is this getting popular? In Japan!
You get the picture.
As you can see, the basic patterns are:
[Location] + [something about that location or
something that happened at that location]

or

[Something is] + [location] + [the thing that is

happening].
4.
Dad is waiting at home.

2.
I read a book at a library.

5.
Where did you buy it?
Note: Although this particle indicates the location, it
does not indicate the location where something /
someone exists. So you cant say (you
would want to use instead). Though, there are some

Were using the hammer ( = by way of the

hammer) to do an action. In this case its hitting the nail
with it.
2.

(Im) working with my computer.

exceptions to this. If youre using (not ), and its

being used to show the location of an event, then you

Another way to say it is: by way of computer (

can use it. Events are things like s or s.

), I am working ().

For example, (we had the

drinking party at the bar).
b. Using X to do Y
isnt just for locations, though. You can use it to show
how something is used to do something else. Its almost
like saying by way of X, I do Y though well come up
with nicer sounding translations for the English in the
examples.
1.

Drive the nail in with a hammer.

3.

(I) clean (my) ears with cotton swabs.
aka by way of cotton swabs (), I do ear
cleaning.
Are you getting the picture? Try to change the rest of
the sentences to by way of ____ translations.
4.
(I) will go by car.

5.

Which textbook are you studying from?

6.

(I) fry steak using a frying pan.

or by way of the snow, and you wouldnt say by way

of the snow I was late for school. You can see the
similarity between this particle usage and b though,
right? More examples.
2.

Because Michiko was dumped she doesnt have an
appetite.

c. Because of
This is really similar to b, I think. But, its considered its
own thing so well separate it.

3.

Because of the noise I cant hear you well.

Instead of being by way of ___, can be used to say

because of ___. Its showing a causal relationship (not
a casual relationship, thats something dierent. Causal
means that something causes something else).

4.

Because the copy machine is out of order I/we cant use
it.

1.
Because of the snow, I was late for school.
In this case, means because of the snow and not
by way of the snow. Youll have to gure out when to
use which by context, though usually its pretty obvious.
You arent usually going to get to school via the snow

5.

Because of karaoke my voice got hoarse.

6.

Because of the typhoon the train was stopped.
d. The time when something stops or the time an
activity has taken.

The shows how long until something stops. the

thing that is stopping is you being able to nish it,
whatever it is.
3.

This movie will end in one hour.

The last particle sounds complicated but its actually

quite simple. Its also used in very nite ways, so it

is the topic or the context. The important part

wont take too many examples to get across.

for this particle is the , which means in one

hour and the verb that follows, which is (to

1.

end). So, in one hour [topic] will end.

Tomorrow I will turn 60.

4.

In this example, we are seeing the time it takes for me

My daughter started talking at the age of two.

to become 60 years old and when you stop not being 60

years old.

This example shows how can be used to show the

time an activity has taken. In this case, it took until the

2.

I think I will nish it in 3 hours.

daughter was 2 years old to be able to speak.

5.

Next year will be the 5th anniversary of the founding of
this company.
(the time an activity has taken) +
(from the founding, ve years). A little bit of and
action all in one sentence.

1.
Dogs and monkeys are not good friends.

Theres a surprising number of dierent ways to use the

particle. Id list them out, but I dont know how. I
guess Ill have to learn right now. Ohhh snap! *high
ves*

2.

This and this and this is mine.

a. An exhaustive list
By exhaustive, I dont mean exhausting, as in wow,
learning particles is exhausting, although that is true.
An exhaustive list means that everything is listed.
Theres nothing else on the list, to the speakers

3.

You and I are riding/taking this train.

knowledge.

4.

Exhaustive (): Eggs, bacon, and ham.

(My) dad and older brother dont like natto.

Not Exhaustive (): Eggs, bacon, ham, and maybe

some other things Im not listing.
The list that could have other things in it uses instead
of , but that lesson is for another chapter (the one that
covers , of course).
Lets take a look at some of those examples.

You can see the most basic pattern in these sentences.

It goes something like:
[the list] + [something about the list].
Go through each sentence and identify this pattern.
That being said, it could just as easily be:

have your parents () and what youre doing together

[the topic were listing about] + [the list] + [something

with them ().

about the list].

One thing to note about this particle use is that the
As in:

relationship is reciprocal. You are both living together,

which means you can use . Take these examples:

5.

2.

This child is my and your daughter.

I talked with my parents.

b. Doing something together with someone or

Because were using , you are talking with your

something

parents. Its reciprocal. However, take this example:

This is sort of like a list. Lists put things together. Its not
a huge leap to imagine this particle putting things
together that are doing things together.
1.

I live with my parents.
Were assuming that were talking about you here (this
sentence could also be , if the
context that were talking about you wasnt known). You

3.
I talked to my parents.
Its no longer reciprocal because were using the particle
. See the dierence? You both have to be equal parties
in the action to use .
4.

On Sunday, do you want to go to the sea with me?

5.

I was watching a movie with my friend.

You have the thing thats being quoted inside the

marks. Then, you have and the verb that is used to
quote them. They could say something, they could
yell something. Really thats up to you, though is
going to be very common.

6.

Keisuke really resembles his father.

2.

When you go to bed, you say good night.

7.
Come together with me.

You can also use this particle to sort of quote a sound.

c. A quotation, sound.

3.

The particle can be used to mark a quotation or

This kanji is read as ai.

sound, Koichi said.

So far youve seen to say and to read. Theres a
1.

handful of verbs that tend to use in this way. A

Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar lists out ,

Kana said, Ill be there by 3:30.

, , , and as examples.

You can even omit the part to make the

4.

sentence simpler and easier to understand.

I think Masaru is handsome.

5.

Please dont read this, I wrote.
Side Note: There is also a that is used like if __
happens then___, but that is not a particle, even
though it kind of seems like it should be. So, not covered
here. Sorry!

2.

In the morning I will go to the hospital.

When it comes to the particle , it always seems to

come back to movement. Either its movement in time,
space, or something in between. That being said, there
are many distinct ways to use the particle , making

3.
In the spring the owers bloomed.

kind of the ultimate particle, at least when it comes to

use quantity.
a. The time at which something takes place
What time does something take place? What date does it
take place? What month does it take place? What year
does it take place? These are all things that will use this
version of the particle.
1.

At 6 oclock I will go to the bacon festival.

4.

My family, on the morning of the New Year, eats mochi.

There are time related words that cannot use ,
though. The rule basically goes like this: If the time is
a uniquely identiable time, then it can have . If not,
then it will not use , though there is some grey area.
For example, is an identiable time. You can point
to it and say in October, this is gonna happen.
However, there are many time-words that dont accept
. Some examples: , , , , ,
etc. These are not specic dates (like ), specic

We have the time () and then the right after. That

makes it at 6 oclock _____. You can do this with other
time-related words as well.

times (), or specic days (). Think of

it this way. Usually, if you can say on [time], in [time]
or at [time] in English, then chances are you can say
___ in Japanese, too.

In October. Guess what, is okay!

On January 1. is okay!
At 3:30pm. Great! totally works.

1. )
(I) will go to Japan.
There is the location () and the movement action (
). You are going to () Japan.

On Christmas. Thats a thing! is no

problem.
On today. Uhh That doesnt work. is not
okay.
In morning. is not okay.
In the morning. is okay, however, because

2.
)
When will (you) go back to America?
America is the location. The movement is . Think of
it like to america plus the movement action of . To
America, return!

the species things!

On tomorrow. doesnt work.
b. Where something or someone moves to
First we looked at time, now lets look at movement.
Specically, the location to which someone or something
moves. As in, I go to the store (the go part is the
movement, and the store is the location where Im
going).

3.

Last month, we went to the hot spring as a family
We have the location () and the movement (
).
4.

Why did you come here?

there are sentences that are still too dicult for you to
The location () and the movement ([])

understand 100%.

Do you see the pattern?

c. An action that transfers

5.
)
Where is this car heading to?

Think of verbs that involve transferring something from

one person to another. With these verbs, youll usually
want to use the particle . Remember, has to do with
movement, whether thats time (a), or going someplace
(b). In this case, its the movement of transferring

6.

something between people or things.

Please carry this to that room over there.

1.

7.
)
I saw that guy over there entering McDonalds.

8.

He was late getting to the meeting place.
Although some of the later sentences get more
complicated, you can still see the pattern: Location
movement-action. Try to nd just this pattern even if

I teach English to Japanese people.

The key word here is to. The act of teaching English is
transferring to the Japanese people.
2.

Mr. Kimura gave me kimchee.

Once again, something is being transferred. This time its
more tangible, in that its some delicious kimchee.

6.
3.

I split up my candies with my younger sister.

A large dog barked at me.

A little less obvious, but the dog is transferring its bark
to you / at you.
4.

(I) will show this photo to Matsumoto-san.

The act of showing the photo is being transferred to
Matsumoto-san.
5.

My mom lectured my younger brother.

7.

I sent a letter to the president of America.

8.

I will email you later.
Make sure you can identify whats being transferred in
the nal three examples.
d. The surface upon which something takes place
This is a really specic use case, but does come up quite
a bit. When one thing is happening on the surface of

The lecture is being transferred to your younger brother.

another thing, you use to indicate that.

1.

5.

Please stamp your seal here.

My older brother is lying down on the couch.

Upon the surface of (were assuming this is

One thing you may have noticed is that in all of these

referring to paper or something similar) you are

examples, something is doing something directly to

stamping (or pushing) your seal.

something else. These are all direct actions. You are

doing something to the surface. Dont get this confused

2.
Please write this down in your notebook.
Once again, we are doing something on the surface of
something else. In this case, that surface is the
notebook, and what youre doing to it is writing on it.
6.

The cat climbed up on the roof.

with the particle in this regard. is by way of the

surface, is on the surface.
This use of the particle also doesnt have anything to
do with existence. Although you can and will say
(youll learn that next), its a dierent category of
the particle, though super similar.
e. Showing where something exists
In (d) you learned how is used to show whats
happening on a surface. I also mentioned at the end that
you cant use it to show existence on a surface or

4.

I placed a book on the desk.

otherwise (thats usually and ), because

its a dierent use of this particle. Were going to learn
that now.

1. )
(Im) in the room.
We have the location () and the person/thing exists
().

This isnt all that dierent from particle version (d),

but I think its good to separate them out. When
combined, you have an increased overall knowledge of
the particle .
f. Showing why someone moves from one place to
another.

2.
)
is the teacher in the classroom?
This sentence is a little longer, but you can see the
pattern there right? The location is the and the
existence is . Something exists in the classroom,
and that is the teacher (because it is the topic).

This feels a little more like a grammar pattern to learn,

but its a particle nonetheless. It goes something like
this.
[thing you are doing in stem form] + + [movement
verb]
You are going/coming/etc to do something to something
else.

3.

The soy sauce is on top of that shelf.

4.

Im always here on my days o.

1. )
I came (here) to meet you.
changes to stem form () and then you add
plus the movement verb (, in this case). You come
to meet the person.

2. )

6.

Do you want to go see a movie?

Didnt you come here to drink alcohol?

You are going () to see () a movie ().

7. )
3.

What are you here for?

Im going to the gym to swim.
Youre going () to do swimming () at
the gym ()
4.

I'm going to Japan to teach English.

8.
)
I came to this town to sell umbrellas.
g. The source in passive, causative, receiving
Passive and causative forms are just about the last thing
that Japanese learners are able to learn. So dont get too
worked up if you dont understand this. Youll need to

Youre always moving somewhere to do something with

understand passive and causative forms rst, after all.

this pattern and particle.

1.
5.

I will make Mr. Tachibana write a novel.

I will go to the park to read books.

(that was a causative example).

2.

5.

Koichi praised Viet.

My friend betrayed me.

(that was a passive example).

Besides causative and passive, you can also use this
particle with receiving related words.
3.

6.
I was stung by a bee.

7.

A stranger gave me a lottery ticket.

I will make (my) husband do the cleaning.

This one is pretty straight forward, because is

8.

pretty much as receive-related as it gets.

That person over there told me so.

4.

Professor Yoshida teaches me Japanese.
In this case, youre receiving Japanese from Professor
Yoshida.
Lets move on with examples from all three possible
situations:

9.
Im being pursued by the police.
This is one of the most dicult to acquire grammar rules
in Japanese (at least the passive and causative parts), so
dont feel bad if it was confusing. Come back when you
understand and this section will be useful.

3.

The main escaped the country.

This particle is a lot like , but the use is much more

specic. It just does one thing, and thats to show the
direction in which something or some action is going.
a. The direction toward which something or some

4.

Im going back to England in April.

action goes.
5.
1.

I sent a letter to my friend in the Philippines.

We ran to the hospital.

In this case, we did the action of running towards the
hospital. Simple, right? Just like particle b.
2.

You should get out of the house sometime.

6.

Im planning to not go to university.
The only time that b and are not interchangeable is
when you need to follow up the particle with . In that
case, you have to use the particle , not .
7.

This is the door that goes to hell.

doing something directly to the object, in this case

youre eating it.
You are doing something to it. The object itself isnt

Kind of like the particle , the particle has a slightly

doing something.

weird pronunciation. Instead of a wo sound, it is an o

sound. Basically 99% the same as hiragana , though
occasionally you hear a little w sound depending on
the speaker. I wouldnt worry too much about that,
though. Just think of it as an o sound and youll be

2.
The sushi will eat.

more than okay.

Take this nonsense of a sentence. When you use , it is

a. Marking a direct object

about the sushi and what its doing. So, the sushi will

Stupid grammar terms! What does marking a direct

mistake to make.

indicating the subject, which makes it so were talking

eat. Whoops. Thats an embarrassing (but easy)

object mean?
Essentially, it means you are taking an object and youre
doing something directly to it. For example:
1.
I will eat sushi.
You are marking the object, which is sushi. The direct
part of direct object is referring to the fact that you are

3.
I will play tennis.
In this case, the direct object is . What are you
directly doing to tennis? You are doing it, i.e. you are
playing it. So, you end up with I am playing tennis.
4. )
I will take my contacts out.

Just think of this as an exceptionthat happens a

5.

I bought new lipstick.

6.
Who did you invite?

lot.

form: (I want to eat sushi)

Potential form: (I can eat sushi)

Whats even more confusing is that you could use for

these two as well.
Also, . For example: I talked to

7.
Im looking for my glasses.

8.

My father is wearing sunglasses.

Tom). This is because youre transmitting one thing to

another thing.
For the most part, though, if youre doing something
directly to something else, you can use .
Note: You cant have more than one in a clause! A
good thing to know when youre self correcting.

Some things to know about when it is marking a

direct object:
Sometimes other particles can also mark the direct

b. Someone or something moving on/through/

along something

object. Its confusing!

Youd think this job would be given to the particle

- for example: (I dont understand

to be weird like that. The use of this particle in this way

Japanese).

because theres movement, but nooooooo, Japanese has

is pretty specic, though.

You are passing through in this example. You are

1.
Are (we) going to cross that bridge?
In the case of this bridge, you are moving on it / moving
through it. Or, at least talking about it. You are doing the
action of crossing it. If you used in this situation, it
would be like youre crossing to the bridge, instead of
crossing the bridge itself. Thats the dierence.
2.
I walked the riverbank.
In this case, you are walking along the riverbank. If you
used , you would be saying you are walking to the
riverbank. By using you are saying you are doing the
action on the object, which is the riverbank.
3.

I left Nagoya and passed through Nara before arriving at
Osaka.

doing the action of passing through Nara. Thats why its

.
c. Where a movement begins
If you want to show where a movement begins from,
look no further than the particle .
1.

Im going to leave my parents home and start living by
myself.
The important part of the sentence is . The
movement begins from , and the movement is the
person leaving.
2.

Please get o the train at Tokyo Station.
The important part here is (please
get o the train). The movement begins from the train,
and the movement is someone getting o it.

3.

I escaped the classroom without being seen by the
teacher.
You are escaping (), which is the movement.
And, the location from which this movement begins from
is from is the classroom.


This particle shows where something is from. Words like
from and since come to mind.

2.

Masao will be a junior high school student (starting)
from April.
Now we see an example of with time being applied

a. A starting point or source.

to something bigger. A whole month! You can say

A starting point or source can mean several things. It

imagine, years will also work. , etc.

, , and 12 as well. As you can probably

can relate to time. It can relate to a physical location. It

can even relate to what something was made out of (its
source). Well cover all of these things and more.
Lets start with time.
1.
The drinking party starts from 6 oclock.

3.

From the morning, I have felt sick.
Heres something a little more general. Since this
morning or from this morning. You could also say
(from lunch) or any time related thing you
desire.

The important part of this sentence is the bit.

This means From 6 oclock. What about other kinds of
time?

But it doesnt just have to be time. You can use to

describe a source, too.
4.

Chocolate is made from cacao beans.

want. Heck, you can replace America with your mom

The source of chocolate is cacao.

too, if you want to get really specic for some reason.

is made from cacao beans.

8.
5.

Youre not allowed beyond (from) this point.

As for my mother, from her cold she got pneumonia.

The is from here You could say to
The source of the pneumonia was the cold. .

mean from there or to say from over

there. Anyways, you get the picture. From ____

Similar to source, locations are a good way to use

as well.
6.

From the chimney, smoke is exiting (rising).
From the chimney.
7.
(I) came from America.
From America. You can replace this
with your own country, or town, or city, or building if you

location _____.


Most of you will know this particle as the question
marker particle. But, it also does some other neat things

Do you smoke (tobacco)?
Look at that, its the same exact thing! Japanese
sentences dont need question marks, though they do

too.

often help to make sentences more clear. For example,

a. A sentence-ender that indicates the sentence is a

you dont use a . Its all in the tone of your voice. But

when you ask a question with casual speech, sometimes

question.

with writing, there is no tone of voice, so without a

If a sentence ends with , that sentence is probably a

ambiguous.

question. Simple as that. is almost like a question

mark, in that sense, though sometimes in Japanese you
have both (a question mark and a ), though you dont
have to.
1.
Do you smoke (tobacco)?

question mark questions without the are very

vs.

Without the question mark, thered be no way to know if
the rst sentence is a question or not. I mean, it

What if this sentence didnt have the on the end, and

probably isnt, because anybody with half a mind would

no question mark?

use a question mark there to avoid confusion, but you

never know, right? Japanese writing existed before
question marks made their way into Japanese, after all.

Theres not much to do here other than examples. This

use of the particle is very straightforward.

9.

Did you just call my name?

3. (
Do you drink alcohol?

Can you gure out what all these sentences would be if

the wasnt included at the end?

4.
Did you turn o the heater?

b. When there is an alternative

If isnt the end of a sentence, then perhaps it is

5.

6.
Is that true?

7.
Did you take the medicine.

8.
Will you go to the hospital?

marking an alternative. Essentially, this is the word or

in English.
1.
Which do you prefer, Coke or Pepsi?

2.

Yoko or Kaori probably did it.

Something or something. You see the pattern there.
When used in this way, it can mark an alternative
between two nouns or even two sentences. Youve seen
the two nouns example already, so lets look at some
sentences.

6.
3.

I will reply to you either tomorrow or the day after

Drink your juice or eat your kale.

tomorrow.

With nouns, can mark alternatives between more

than two nouns too. When this happens, the very last
is omitted.
4.

7. SL
There are only small and large sizes.

8.
I will go by train or bus.

Please buy bacon or steak or chicken.

See how theres no after the nal noun, ?
Lets nish up with more examples.
5.
Between cats and dogs, Im a dog person.

9.

Do you have scissors or a knife?

10.

Please show your drivers license or health card.

c. Uncertainty of the topic
When you are uncertain about something, you can use
to show that. This is a little more advanced compared

to the other two uses of this particle, but I think those of

you at an intermediate+ level should be able to gure

The (or not) part is whats being omitted in the

this one out.

sentence, though its denitely there whether or not you

write it out. Its like saying buy a bikini or what? I am

First you start with the thing youre unsure about, then

confused. What a terrible sounding translation, though

you put in , then you add the verb that shows in what

its probably more accurate in some ways than the good

way you are unsure. It makes a lot more sense if we just

sounding version.

do it.
3.
1.

I dont know which story is true (or not).

I dont know when the disease will be cured.

Once again, we have the rst part which story is true.
The part before the shows what you have uncertainty

The is suggesting that what youre really saying is

about (when the disease will cure). After the is the

which story is true (or not), where or not is the

verb that shows what kind of uncertainty. In this case,

alternative that is being alluded to. Then, you add

you simply dont understand or know (when the disease

, which means you dont know which story is true

will cure).

(or not).

This version of the particle is actually a lot like (b),

marking when theres an alternative. The alternative is
just omitted. See this example:
2.

I wonder if I should buy a bikini (or not).

4.

I havent decided which book to buy yet.

5.

10.

I dont know whether or not I can nish by tomorrow.

I dont know if I will go to Japan or not.

6.

Its dicult to judge where to make a compromise.

Its pretty much the same as if you just did there

instead of , but suggests there is a clear
yes or no answer. Either I will go to Japan or I will not.
Just on its own marks uncertainty. Sure, some of
those will have yes or no answers, but if you specically

7.

Its uncertain if my reservation was placed.

8.

I dont know when Ill go to Japan yet.

9.
Im nervous about it not going well.
You may also nd this use of the particle somewhat
familiar. The pattern ____ is another particle
that is pretty common. marks a question with a
yes or no answer. For example:

want to mark a question with a yes or no answer, use

. Plus, its fun to say.


Also is probably the best word to describe the particle
, at least when it comes to section (a). Section (b) is
a little more advanced, but simple enough.

Lets look at some other nouns + .

3.

We watched this movie last week too.

a. When two subjects are the same

The key part of this sentence is . So you already

When two subjects are the same is a terrible title. So

last week also ____. The subject of last week and

know that whatever follows has something to do with

lets start really simple. Like, one-word simple.

whatever follows it are one in the same.

1. )

4.

I, too / I also / I as well

The weather is nice today also, isnt it?

Now lets add something to it.

means today also or today too, so if today

2.
I am also John. / Im John, too.

also is good weather then the weather is nice today

too.
can get a little more complicated, though. You can put
other particles before the . For example:

Do you see whats happening here? is I also or I,

too. What are you also? You are also John. I also am
John is just a funny way to say Im John, too. Both I
and John are one in the same. I am John. John am I.

5.

8.

I will also give Koichi bacon.

We also got orders from America.

means to Koichi. With , it is also [to
Now you have to look at as a separate

Koichi]. In this case you are also giving bacon to Koichi.

thing. That alone is from America, so when you add

to it you have Also [from America].
6.
Its famous in Japan too.
Once again were looking at the part before the ,
which is . You know that is In Japan, so if

b. Emphasizes something measurable

By measurable things I mean quantity, distance, or
frequency.
1.
A thousand people came!

you add to that you get Also [in Japan]. In this case,
something is famous also in Japan.

2.

7.

I gained ve kilos over winter break.

You should be friendly with Masaaki-kun as well.
means with Masaaki. So when you add to it
you get also [with Masaaki].

3.

Mariko cant even swim ten meters.

Its hard to see emphasis in text, but thats what is

doing here, and in the examples above you see it
happening to quantity and distance.
4.

I ate ten pieces of cake!
Yeah, that sounds like something Id want to emphasize.


If youve studied Japanese for a little while, chances are
youve come across this particle. It goes onto the end of

2.
I ate bacon, you know.
With negative sentences, it isnt as cut and dry as
adding you know or even the feeling of you know to

sentences, yo.

the sentence.

a. A sentence ender particle that turns the sentence

Otherwise, the sentence just becomes an exclamation.

into an exclamation.

Youre exclaiming something! Its not quite the same,

By exclamation, I mean that the speaker is making a

mark to a sentence in English. Just like as a question

strong assertion about something. The speaker is

assuming that they are saying something only known to

but it sort of has the feeling of adding an exclamation

mark, similar but not 100% the same. Id also say that
is about 50% as exciting as an exclamation mark, but

them.

maybe thats just me. The Japanese language uses

Really, though, its easier to simplify this down even

something exciting just use that.

exclamation marks too, so if you want to really make

further. Just translate it to you know, at least with non-

negative sentences.

3.
Hurry up and say it!

1.
I will go to Tokyo, you know.

4.

This is your bedroom.

5.
I will never buy it.

6.
Sure / Thats ne.

7.
I borrowed your pen, you know.

8.

Why did you throw away the necktie?


This often gets paired with , just because its also an
extremely common sentence ending particle. The
meaning and feelings between them are totally dierent,
though.

2.

Youre Koichi from Tofugu, arent you?

Its assumed that both people know that this person is
Koichi from Tofugu. And, they are shing for agreement.
Youre him, right?

a. A sentence-ender particle that is looking for some

agreement.
Theres a couple important parts to this particle. First,
its shing for agreement. Thats why its often translated

3.

Its tough that snow days keep on coming, isnt it?

as isnt it?
4.
1.

I heard you got a perfect score, didnt you?

Tom is cute, isnt he?

The second important thing is that the thing the speaker
is saying is assumed to be shared knowledge. Its
almost as if the speaker is assuming that the person
agrees and thinks the same way. Or, they expect the
other person to agree and think the same way, even if
they dont actually.

5.
This part is broken, isnt it.

6.

You had breakfast, didnt you?

You can also combine this particle with , creating .
Youre not going to see though, so make sure you
remember that order. Now the sentence is a shing-for-
agreement-on-shared-knowledge-exclamation!
7.

Didnt I tell you to wash the dishes?

8.

This is your rst time, right?

9.

You bought cheese, didnt you?


This particle tells you the limit on something. You get to
know until which point something happens.
a. Until
By until we mean a spatial or temporal limit.

3.
People with the numbers 1-12 please come in.

4.

The age limit is until 30 years old.

You can have limits on location. Until you get to school.
Until you reach America. Etcetera.

You can have time related limits. Until 5:00pm. Until

March. Until tonight.

5.

1.

I walk from my house to the station every day.

I will work until 9pm.

6.
2.

I wonder where this road leads to.

Summer break is from July 20 to August 31.

And nally, you can have limits on actions as well.
You can also have limits on quantity of something. An
amount of money, food, or haunted dolls that you keep
in your home are all examples.

7.

Until you nish your homework, you cant play games.

8.

Until you eat your cake, you cant eat kale.

As you can see from the examples, one very common
pattern is ________. This is saying from ___
until ____ in English. For example,
means from 10 to 12 years old. And,
means from kids to adults. With , youll see this
pattern surface all the time. So become familiar with it
and look out for it. Good thing you know all about the
particle by this point in the ebook.
One tricky note. When used with time, is a little
dierent from English. For example, if you say Ill sleep
until February in English, that means the month of
February is when you stop sleeping. But in Japanese, if
you say , that means youre going sleep
through February, and stop sleeping when March starts
and February ends. Something like this can become an
terrible misunderstanding, so make sure youre careful1

Also, please be sure to read the chapter. Its so

similar yet so dierent.


This particle (or combination of particles) is similar to
, with one subtle but important change. is

2.

I wanted to come here once before I die.
This one is a little bit tougher. Instead of a straight up

about time limits on actions.

dose of time, you are saying by the time you die. But,

a. Indicates a limit on an action

the time you die.

Unlike , feels like its putting a hard limit on

Lets compare two similar sentences. One is and the

the until. Instead of until, its easier to think of

death is still a time limit, and youre doing something by

other is .

as the word by. As in by 6:00pm or by the time you

get to school.

3.

1.

Until I die I want to smoke (tobacco).

Finish your homework by 8 oclock.

This one is simple - its a time limit. By 8 oclock you do
something, in this case its nish your homework.

4.

Before I die I want to smoke (tobacco).

See the dierence? In (3) (), you keep smoking
tobacco until you die. In (4) () you want to smoke
before the time limit of your life coming to an end.

5.

I have to make a presentation document before the

meeting starts tomorrow.

6.

I will make myself able to do that come the next time.

7.

I will make my love confession by graduation.

8.

I want a child by the time I turn 30.

9.

I experienced something Ive never experienced before

now.

Compare these example sentences to if they only

included and not . What would the dierences
be in translation?


is all about comparisons. You are comparing

2.

Japanese is more dicult to learn than any other

language.

something or someone and then following the with

the criteria in which youre comparing those things with.
a. Something / Someone is being compared with
Something / someone
Theres two main ways to use , Id say. One involves
comparing the two things up front. The other involves
comparing after.
A B ________. A is _____ more than B.
1.

Coee tastes better than tea.

3.

You are better at sales than book keeping, dont you

think?
The other pattern switches things around, though the
meaning on the English side doesnt change much.
A B ________. More than A, B is _____.
4.

More than coee, tea tastes good / Tea tastes better

than coee.

5.

More than cold, hot is good. / Hot is better than cold.

6.

I prefer a man who is funny to one that is handsome.
Lets look at more examples.
7. ()
It would be slightly better than now

8.
There is no other way than to go by airplane.

9.

Youve improved a lot compared to last time.

10.

There is no one in the world who is taller than you.

Try to change these sentences around so that they

follow the rst pattern or the second pattern (whichever
one the sentence is not).


This is similar to , but tends to be masculine speech
(typically used by dudes). Also, it is usually used
together with a yes-or-no question as if youre expecting
a yes-or-no answer.
a. A masculine sentence-ender for yes-or-no
questions
Theres not too much to say about this particle. If you
know how works (which you should at this point), and
you remember that this is mainly used by guys for
typically yes-or-no questions, then you know what you

3.
Have you eaten super?

4.

Do you think this stock is a buy?

5.

Are your fathers feet stinky too?

6.

need to know.

Have you heard the news?

1.

7.

Have you gone there already?

2.
Do you have any money?

So, you kissed her/him?

8.

Dont you think its too cruel?

9.

Was the surgery successful?

10.
Do you enjoy school?
Youll notice that all these questions have possible yes-
or-no answers.
Another thing to note is that tends to be somewhat
casual. So dont use it with your boss or people youre
not familiar with, as itll come o as a bit juvenile or
rude.

More coming!
Thank you for reading. I hope this was helpful! Im
working on adding more particles to this ebook. If you
would like to get those updates, make sure youre signed
up for the Tofugu newsletter (where you get a free
Japanese resource, like this one, every month).
http://tofugu.com/newsletter/
References / other awesome resources if youre
interested in particles:
- A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
- Wikipedia: Japanese Particles
- Making Sense Of Japanese
- Japanese Sentence Patterns for Eective
Communication
- A Dictionary of Japanese Particles