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The wa and ga particles These particles are among the 10 most important in the Japanese language The wa particle and the ga particle are particles which look very similar and are therefore difficult to distinguish. These are probably the particles that cause the most problems when learning Japanese. But no worries! Futakazan is here to help! ​ The particle wa (は) : the theme of the sentence The particle wa is written は (ha) but is pronounced わ (wa). This is due to its old pronunciation. Formerly it was pronounced "ha", but over time, in the spoken language, this pronunciation has changed to "wa". Nevertheless, the Japanese still wanted to keep the way of writing it and at the same time, keep the authenticity of their culture. ​ Its uses ​ The particle は indicates the theme of the sentence (the general subject, what the sentence will talk about). ​ 1) It is used to speak of general truth or permanent action. It is an observation ! Example : ​ -空 は 青 い で す。 ( sora wa aoi desu ): the sky is blue ​ -こ の 猫 は き れ い で す。 ( kono neko wa kirei desu ) : This cat is pretty. (i.e.: he's pretty all the time | we're talking about the species to which the cat belongs) ​ 2) It can simply indicate the theme of the sentence. ​ 私 は 食 べ っ て い ま す。 ( watashi wa tabette imasu) translates to ( I 'm eating) but literally means: as far as I'm concerned ; I am eating . ​ ​ The particle ga (が): the subject of the sentence ​ The particles が indicate the subject of the sentence, which is directly related to the verb of the sentence (not to be confused with the theme). ​ Its uses: ​ 1) It is used to tell specific events in time and space. 空 が 青 い で す 。 ( sora ga aoi desu ): the sky is blue (as I speak, but in normal times, it may not be ). ​ こ の 猫 が き れ い で す よ。 ( kono neko ga kirei desu yo ) : How pretty is this cat! (We are amazed to see such a beautiful one.) ​ 2) After interrogative words: ​ 誰 が エ マ で す か。 ( dare ga ema desu ka): Who is Emma? (literally: Who is Emma?) ​ ​ In most cases, ga can be translated as "this is" because it emphasizes the subject . ​​ 3) To ask a question: ​ When we ask a question with an interrogative word (only when it is at the beginning of the sentence), we use ga to structure the question by placing it just after this first one. ​ Examples 4.Can be used to mark a contrast, an opposition as a conjunction "but". ​​​ Example: "明日 は テ ス ト が あ り ま す が 、眠 り た く あ り ま せ ん 。" “ Ashita wa tesuto ga arimasu ga , nemuritaku arimasen ” Translates to: " Tomorrow there is a test but (i) don't want to sleep " How to differentiate the wa particle from the ga particle? But finally ... the theme and the subject of the sentence ... it's the same thing! No ? Well ... it depends! ​ Recall : - The theme: the general subject of the sentence: what it will talk about - The subject: The one who is in direct connection with the verb ​ Example in romaji: 1.watashi wa / ga neko desu : I am a cat ; the subject is the theme of the sentence. You can put wa or ga, because that doesn't really alter the meaning of the sentence. 2. neko wa karada (体) ga kirei desu : the cat has a nice body . ​ To better understand, we can translate this sentence by: About the cat , his body is pretty. ( literally : About the cat , ( he has ) a body attractive.) The theme of the sentence is "the cat" ( we are talking about the cat ), but the subject is "body" ( because it is the body (of the cat) which is pretty , but not the cat itself). ​ We Usually places the theme of the sentence before the subject of the sentence, but this order can be reversed without changing the meaning of the sentence, because the particles are used to tell who does what in the sentence. ​ We could very well say "karada ga neko wa kirei desu" (The body, about the cat, is pretty) but this does not do in this case NOT AT ALL NATURAL even in English. ​ ​ The wa particles speak of a theme in general; the particle ga is more precise. ​ Example:猫 が き れ い で す and猫 は き れ い で す : the cat is beautiful ( neko ga kirei desu ) ( neko wa kirei desu ) The two sentences can be translated as saying "the cat is beautiful" but there are differences: - neko ga kirei desu : talks about a specific cat or group of cats - neko wa kirei desu : speaks of cats in general or of a general truth. ​ b) the particle wa for the report and the particle ga for the story: Let's take the phrase "the sky is blue" 空は 青 い で す 。 ( sora wa aoi desu ) 空が 青 い で す 。 ( sora ga aoi desu ) In the sentence "sora wa aoi desu"; wa introduces a statement, it is a general truth , we say everything just that the sky is blue. It is a fact, the veracity of which is not to be demonstrated. ​ Nevertheless, in the sentence "sora ga aoi desu" ga introduces the story , we tell, we inform that the sky is blue, in a very precise place . For example, when describing a landscape, ga will be used to describe the sky! Example : 山 に 行 っ た と き 、 空 が と て も 青 か っ た で す。 ( yama ni itta toki, sora ga totemo aokatta desu) ​ When I was in the mountains , the sky was so blue ! : In this sentence ga is used because the sky cannot be "so blue" in general but it is "so blue" in the mountains . This is not a general truth but a story ! ​ c) The particle ga is used to answer a question: -誰 が 食 べ っ て い ま す か。 ( dare ga tabette imasu ka.): Who eats? / Who is eating? - 私 が 食 べ っ て い ま す ( watashi ga tabette imasu): it is I who am trying to to eat " ​ In normal times, with the omission of the subject; a "私 で す ( watashi desu ): it's me" is enough as an answer, this is only for example. ​ d) It is also used to ask a question after the interrogative words: ​ In the sentence: Who eats (above), "Who" (dare) is the subject of the sentence. In theory, we could put wa in place of ga, but it is obligatory to put ga in place of wa when the interrogative word is at the beginning of the sentence. With wa this would give: -誰 は 食 べ っ て い ま す か。 ( dare wa tabette imasu ka.) : Who is eating right now? (It's incomprehensible !) -私 は 食 べ っ て い ま す ( watashi wa tabette imasu) : I am trying to eat ”(This is not an answer but just an affirmation). ​ In the examples below, the two sentences mean “Who is Emma?”, But with different positions of the word “Who”: ​ エ マは 誰 で す か。 (Ema wa dare desu ka.): the interrogative word is not at the beginning, so we use wa. (literally: Emma, who is it? 誰が エ マ で す か。 (Dare ga Ema desu ka.): the interrogative word is at the beginning, so we use ga. (literally: Who is Emma?) Thanks for reading this page! And see you soon !

The Japanese conjugation is one of the simplest, because there is no conjugation for each person. Let's start at the beginning, that is to say… the personal pronouns. There are several that each have a very specific use. There are others, but these are the most used! The others rarely get along and (belong to ancient Japanese). Personal pronouns : First person singular (I): 私 (watashi): This is the most used, it can be used in any situation 私 (watakushi): less used than watashi, it is just as formal, but is reserved for women あたし (atashi): it is not at all formal. It is used by some women or sissy men in order to look cuter. 僕 (boku): it is a pronoun that designates a masculine, gentle, friendly personality. Used by men 俺 (ore): it is a pronoun that designates a strong male personality, indicates a certain power. Used by men. 我 (ware): This is an extremely formal pronoun. It is used in high administrations. 奴 (yatsu): this is a pronoun just as formal as ware, although much less used. Second person singular (You): 貴方 (anata) 君 (kimi) お前 (omae): is used by men. It is not formal at all; it can even be considered disrespectful. third person singular He: 彼 (kare): She: 彼女 (kanojo): The plural pronouns are formed from the singular pronouns + the plural marks (tachi or ra) or by doubling their kanji in certain cases (hence the usefulness of learning it's last). Us: watashi tachi, bokura, boku tachi, ore tachi, orera, warera, wareware, yatsura You: anata tachi, kimi tachi They: kare tachi They: kanojo tachi They/they/they: karera Continuation of the program

Particles are the pillars of Japanese grammar. They can act as conjunctions, adverbs or simply structure the sentence in which they are found. First, it should be known that a particle defines the word or the noun group that precedes it. It is the reverse of the French. Example: I will go by car : watashi wa kuruma from ikimasu. ​ Second, you should know that the same particle can have several meanings depending on its place in a sentence. ​ Example: because he has been going since the train station to the sea, I love this train! : eki kara umi made ni ikimasu da kara , kono densha ga suki desu yo. ​ The last thing is that elementary particles (wa, ga, no, ka, ni, wo, he, de, to, mo) can combine with each other to form other particles! ​ We advise you to learn the particles in order sub pages, that is to say: ​ - wa, ga, no and ka - ni, wo, he - to and mo - de, kara and made - yo, ne and sou - sae and dake - zutsu and nara ... ​ Here is a table with all the particles

The particles wo, ni and e The wo particle and the ni particle: The particle wo / o を: ​ The particle を is pronounced either "wo" or "o" it's as you want! (even if conventionally its pronunciation is "o" for the same reasons as the particle wa). ​ It indicates the COD of a sentence. Example : ​ I eat fish: watashi wa sakana wo tabete-imasu (私 は魚 を 食 べ て い ま す). I watch my dog: watashi no inu wo mite-imasu (私 の犬 を 見 て い ま す ) ​ For bad students who don't know what a COD😭 is: A COD is a "Direct Object Complement". And to find it, we ask the question "who" or "what" after the verb. What am I eating? : fish / who am I looking at? : my dog. (I'm not a French teacher so please! 😩) ​ You will understand, in the sentences where there is no COD, we do not use wo, but wa or ga! Example: my dog eats: watashi no inu ga tabete-imasu (私 の 犬 が 食 べ て い ま す) ​ 1) It indicates a distance: ​ When we somehow get away from a place or an object, we need to use を: ​ I leave the room: heya wo deru (部屋 を 出 る) | I get off the train: densha wo oriru (電車 を 下 り る) ​ 2) It indicates the fact of crossing a place: ​ ​ The dog runs through / in the city: inu ga machi wo ashirimasu (犬 が 町 を あ し り ま す). ​ He travels the world: kare wa sekai wo arukimawaru (彼 は 世界を 歩 き 回 る). ​ The particle ni に: The ni particle is a multipurpose particle. It can be translated by: en, à, au, dans or par. Unlike wo, it expresses a coming together or the fact of being or going to a place without crossing it! ​ 1) It indicates the place of the sentence: a) anata wa nihon ni ikimasu (あ な た は日本 に 行 き ま す): you will in Japan . b) watashi wa gakkou ni imasu (私 は学校 に 大 ま す): I am at school. c) neko ga têburu no ue ni imasu (猫 がテ ー ブ ル の 上 に い ま す): the cat is on the table . d) boku wa densha nor hairu (僕 は電車に入る): I enter the train ​ 2) It indicates a change, a transformation: for example with the verbs to become and to change a) kimi wa isha ni narimasu (君 は 医 者に な り ま す ): you will become doctor ! b) mizu ga kõri ni kaete-imasu (水 が 氷に 変 え て い ま す ): water turns to ice. Yes it can also indicate the COD of the sentence. ​ 3) It indicates the COI: Boku ga marina ni denwashimashita. (僕がマリナに電話し ました): I phoned Marina . kimi ga atarashii kutsu ni hitsuyou da yo. (君が新しい靴に必要 だよ) you need new shoes Well, you have to stop sleeping in class Good! A COI is an Indirect Object Complement. To find it, we ask the question "to whom", "to what", "from whom" or "from what" after the verb. who did I call? : in Marina | what do you need ? : new shoes. ​ 4) It indicates the time values: date, hours, frequency a) gozen kyû ji ni denwashimasu daro. 午前 9 時 に 電話 し ま す だ ろ: I'll call you at 9am ! b) kayoubi ni aimashou.火曜日 に 会 い ま し ょ う。: Let's meet on Tuesday ! | See you Tuesday ! c) tokidoki ni kudamono wo kaimashita.時 々に 果物 を 買 い ま し た。: I sometimes bought fruit. ​ The particle e へ: ​ Like は, the particle has a different pronunciation than the way it is written. The particle e is written へ (he) but is pronounced e. ​ Just like neither, it indicates a place! However, its meaning is often much stronger and more poetic and formal than that of ni. ​ Examples: ​ gakkou ni ikimasu.学校 に行きます. I'm going to school / I go to school. gakkou e ikimasu.学校へ 行 き ま す。: I am going towards the school / I will go towards the school. ​ ​ ​ Thanks for viewing this page! ​ ​

The particles no and ka The particle no (の): Here is one ... better than Cupid. ​ The particle no is a connecting, binding, relating, possessing and transforming particle. ​ 1) Belonging: possessive adjectives: ​ Formula: [Owner] の [possessed]. The order of the words is exactly the opposite to that of French. 私 の 魚 で す ( watashi no sakana desu) means: my fish (literal.: the fish of me ) ​ 私 はあ な た の 犬 の お も ち ゃ を 持 っ て い る。 (watashi wa anata no inu no omocha o motteiru.) means: "I have your dog's toy " ​ 2) Linking two words: ​ Formula: [determinant] の [determined] ト ヨタの車(toyota no Kuruma) means: car (in) Toyota. 3) Nominalization: transforms a verb into a noun: ​ Formula: [verb] の ​ (私 は)食 べ る の が 好 き で す。 ((watashi wa) taberu no ga suki desu) means "I like to eat " (I like the fact of eating ) ​ 4) Allows to replace an obvious name in the context: ​ As an example, to the question “What is your favorite car among these?”, We could answer: 赤 い の で す ( akai no desu) translating to: it's red ​ 5) Transforms a noun into an adjective: allows for example to use a noun when the adjective does not exist 金属 の 皿 。 ( kinzoku no sara) means: a plate metallic . (literally: a plate metal ) The ka (か) particle: Simple as ... mmh ... good question. ​ In 70% of cases, the particle ka is used to form interrogative sentences. Example : ​ 君は狸です(desu kimi wa tanuki): you are a tanuki ---->君 は狸ですか(kimi wa desu ka tanuki) Are - you a tanuki? ​ But it can also be used to form adverbs from interrogative words. Index: Tanuki: The Tanuki more commonly known as raccoon dog, is a species of canid living in Japan and resembling the raccoon. In Japanese legends, he is a forest spirit endowed with supernatural powers Question words