{"id":26866,"date":"2023-01-25T12:19:12","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T12:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/?p=26866"},"modified":"2025-01-06T14:57:15","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T05:57:15","slug":"particles-in-japanese-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/blog\/particles-in-japanese-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"A beginner\u2019s guide to particles in Japanese Part 2: \u306b, \u3067, \u3068, and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Particles in Japanese are like the building blocks in a sentence and crucial for constructing sentences. In this article we will review some functions of the particles \u306b\/\u3078, \u3067, \u3068, \u304b\u3089\/\u307e\u3067, as well as the sentence final particles \u304b\/\u306d\/\u3088.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the second article about basic particles in Japanese – make sure you check out the first article here<\/a> where we cover \u306f, \u306e, \u3092, \u304c and\u3082.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>Let\u2019s continue to review some commonly used particles in Japanese and their basic functions!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u306b(ni) and \u3078(e)<\/b><\/h2>\n

Main functions: <\/b>
<\/b>1. Indicates directionality<\/b>
<\/span>2. Indicates a fixed time<\/b>
<\/b>
<\/b>The particle \u306b has two main functions. One is to indicate a direction\/location. This can often be translated with the word \u201cto\u201d in English. For example:<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>(\u79c1\u306f\uff09\u660e\u65e5\u5b66\u6821\u306b\u884c\u304f\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>(Watashi wa) ashita gakk\u014d ni iku.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>I will go <\/span>to<\/b> school tomorrow.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>You can also use \u3078 instead of \u306b, but only in the case of physical movement with words such as \u884c\u304f(<\/span>iku<\/span><\/i>, to go), \u6765\u308b (<\/span>kuru<\/span><\/i>, to come) or \u5e30\u308b (<\/span>kaeru<\/span><\/i>, to return).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, there is a subtle difference in that \u306b emphasizes the destination, while \u3078 emphasizes the path there. Personally I also feel that using \u3078 is a more indirect and humble way of speaking compared to \u306b.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>*Note that the particle \u3078 is pronounced \u201ce\u201d not \u201che\u201d!<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>\u79c1\u306e\u53cb\u3060\u3061\u306f\u56fd\u3078\u5e30\u308b\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>Watashi no tomodachi wa kuni e kaeru.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>My friend is going to return <\/span>to<\/b> his\/her country.<\/span><\/p>\n

The following sentence is one where you can\u2019t use \u3078:<\/span>
<\/span>(\u79c1\u306f) \u6628\u65e5\u3001\u5148\u751f\u306b\u672c\u3092\u8fd4\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>(Watashi wa) kin\u014d, sensei ni hon o kaeshita.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>I returned a book <\/span>to<\/b> my teacher yesterday.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>The second function of \u306b is to indicate <\/span>a fixed time<\/b> an event takes place. You don\u2019t use \u306b together with words such as \u4eca\u65e5 (<\/span>ky\u014d<\/span><\/i>, today), \u660e\u65e5 (<\/span>ashita<\/span><\/i>, tomorrow) or \u6765\u9031 (<\/span>raish\u016b<\/span><\/i>, next week) because the date\/time of such words is relative to the speaker\u2019s location in time. For such words a rule of thumb is to not use a particle, or if not previously used in the sentence, use \u306f instead of \u306b.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span><\/i>(\u79c1\u306f)\u6728\u66dc\u65e5\u306b\u65c5\u884c\u306b\u884c\u304f\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>(Watashi wa) mokuy\u014dbi ni ryok\u014d ni iku.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>On<\/b> Thursday I\u2019m going on a trip.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u3067(de)<\/b><\/h2>\n

Main functions: <\/b>
<\/b>1. Indicates a location an action\/event takes place<\/b>
<\/b>2. Indicates a tool or means by which you perform an action.<\/b>
<\/span>
<\/span>First of all, \u3067 is used to describe a location where an action or event takes place. For example:<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>\u660e\u65e5\u306f\u56f3\u66f8\u9928\u3067\u52c9\u5f37\u3059\u308b\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>Ashita wa toshokan de benky\u014d suru.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>Tomorrow I will study <\/span>at<\/b> the library.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>It is important to note that \u3067 is only used together with verbs that describe <\/span>an<\/b> action\/event<\/b> affiliated with the subject. Existential verbs such as \u3042\u308b\/\u3044\u308b (<\/span>aru\/iru<\/span><\/i>, to have\/be\/exist) or \u4f4f\u3080 (<\/span>sumu<\/span><\/i>, to live) do not describe an action and in these cases \u306b is used instead of \u3067. For example:<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>\u6bcd\u306f\u6771\u4eac<\/span>\u306b<\/b>\u4f4f\u3093\u3067\u3044\u308b\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>Haha wa Tokyo ni sundeiru.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>Mom lives <\/span>in<\/b> Tokyo. <\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>The second function of \u3067 is to indicate how the subject performs an action. Namely, what means, or tool does the subject use to perform a task. For example:<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>(\u79c1\u306f)\u8eca\u3067\u4e5d\u5dde\u306b\u884c\u3063\u305f\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>(Watashi wa) kuruma de ky\u016bsh\u016b ni itta.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>I went to Ky\u016bsh\u016b <\/span>by<\/b> car.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>\u3053\u308c\u306f\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u3067\u4f55\u3067\u3059\u304b\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>Kore wa nihongo de nan desuka.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>What is this <\/span>in<\/b> Japanese? (Japanese is a means of communication so \u3067 is used.)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Particles<\/p>\n

\u3068(to)<\/b><\/h2>\n

Main functions: <\/b>
<\/b>1. Used to lump together nouns with the meaning \u201cand\u201d<\/b>
<\/b>2. Indicate who the subject is accompanied by.<\/b>
<\/b>3. Used as citation.<\/b>
<\/b>
<\/span>The particle \u3068 also has many functions. Let\u2019s start with the most straightforward one: \u3068 is used between nouns with the meaning \u201cand\u201d. For example:<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>(\u79c1\u306f)\u732b\u3068\u72ac\u304c\u3044\u308b\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>(Watashi wa) neko to inu ga iru.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>I have a cat <\/span>and<\/b> a dog.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>A common mistake is to use \u3068 as \u201cand\u201d when describing two actions\/events. In such cases the \u3066-form should be used instead. For example:<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>The wrong way:
<\/span>\u65e5\u672c\u3078\u884c\u3063\u305f\u3068\u3001\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u3092\u5b66\u3093\u3060\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>Nihon he itta to, nihongo o mananda.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>
<\/span>The right way:
<\/span>\u65e5\u672c\u3078\u884c\u3063\u3066\u3001\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u3092\u5b66\u3093\u3060\u3002\u3000<\/span>
<\/span>Nihon e itte, nihongo o mananda.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>I went to Japan <\/span>and<\/b> learned Japanese.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>The second use of \u3068 is to indicate who the subject is accompanied by or who the subject is performing an action together with. For example:<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>\u5148\u751f\u3068\u98df\u3079\u306b\u884c\u3063\u305f\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>Sensei to tabe ni itta.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>I went to eat <\/span>with<\/b> my teacher.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>\u4e09\u4eba\u306e\u53cb\u9054\u3068\u65c5\u884c\u3092\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>Sannin no tomodachi to ryok\u014d o shita.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>I went on a trip <\/span>with<\/b> three friends.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>The third and final use of \u3068 is to cite who said\/thought\/felt something. Usually it\u2019s used in the following form: [The person in question] \u306f [Quotation in plain form] \u3068[thought\/said\/felt]. For example:<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>\u53cb\u9054\u306f\u30d1\u30fc\u30c6\u30a3\u30fc\u306b\u6765\u306a\u3044\u3068\u8a00\u3063\u3066\u3044\u305f\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>Tomodachi wa p\u0101t\u012b ni konai to itteita.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>My friend <\/span>said that<\/b> he\/she isn\u2019t coming to the party.<\/span>
<\/b>
<\/b>(\u79c1\u306f)\u3044\u3064\u304b\u65e5\u672c\u306b\u884c\u304d\u305f\u3044\u3068\u601d\u3063\u3066\u3044\u308b\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>(Watashi wa) itsuka nihon ni ikitai to omotteiru.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>(My opinion is that) someday, I want to go to Japan.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u304b\u3089(kara) and \u307e\u3067(made)<\/b><\/h2>\n

Main functions: used to describe a route from A to B.<\/b>
<\/b><\/p>\n

The particles \u304b\u3089 \u201cfrom\u201d and \u307e\u3067 \u201cto, until\u201d are often used in a sentence to describe a route from A to B in either time or space. They can be used together, but don\u2019t always have to be. For example:<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>\u3046\u3061<\/span>\u304b\u3089<\/b>\u5927\u5b66<\/span>\u307e\u3067<\/b>\u306f\u30d0\u30b9\u30671\u6642\u9593\u3050\u3089\u3044\u3060\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>Uchi kara<\/strong> daigaku made<\/strong> wa basu de ichi jikan gurai da.
<\/em><\/span>It takes about one hour by bus<\/span> from <\/b>my house <\/span>to<\/b> the university.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>\u3053\u306e\u5e97\u306f\u591c\u306e9\u6642<\/span>\u307e\u3067<\/b>\u7a7a\u3044\u3066\u3044\u308b\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>kono mise wa yoru no kuji made aiteiru.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>This shop is open <\/span>until<\/b> 9 o\u2019clock in the evening.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u304b(ka), \u306d(ne) and \u3088(yo)<\/b><\/h2>\n

Main functions:<\/b> Sentence ending particles to ask a question and seek\/give confirmation.<\/b>
<\/b>
<\/b>Finally let\u2019s talk a little bit about the sentence ending particles \u304b, \u306d and \u3088. <\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>The particle \u304b is basically a question mark. Putting a \u304b at the end of a sentence means that you are asking something.<\/span>
<\/span><\/p>\n

\u3053\u308c\u306f\u7530\u4e2d\u3055\u3093\u306e\u672c\u3067\u3059\u304b\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>Kore wa Tanaka-san no hon desu ka.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>Is this your book, Tanaka?<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>Note that you don\u2019t have to use \u304b to ask a question. You can also raise the pitch accent on the last syllable in a sentence and it will automatically become a question. This is a slightly less formal way of talking compared to using \u304b, though.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>Using \u306d at the end of a sentence means that you are either seeking the listener\u2019s attention or confirmation. Unless you completely disagree with the statement, it is customary to also answer with the particle \u306d. <\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>\u4eca\u65e5\u306f\u6691\u3044\u3067\u3059\u306d\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>Ky\u014d wa atsui desu ne.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>Today is hot, huh?<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>\u305d\u3046\u3067\u3059\u306d\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>S\u014d desu ne.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>Yeah it really is.<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>Finally, using \u3088 at the end of a sentence means that you are telling the listener something he\/she presumably doesn\u2019t know about, or giving your permission to do something.<\/span><\/p>\n

Example 1:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u4eca\u65e5\u306f\u96e8\u3060\u3088\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>Ky\u014d wa ame da yo.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>It\u2019s going to rain today (assuming the person didn\u2019t know that)<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>Example 2:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u30c8\u30a4\u30ec\u3092\u4f7f\u3063\u3066\u3082\u3044\u3044\u3067\u3059\u304b\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>Toire o tsukatte mo ii desu ka.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>Can I use the bathroom?<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>\u3044\u3044\u3067\u3059\u3088\u3002<\/span>
<\/span>Ii desu yo.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>Sure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Particles in Japanese are like the building blocks in a sentence and crucial for constructing sentences. In this article we will review some functions of the particles \u306b\/\u3078, \u3067, \u3068, \u304b\u3089\/\u307e\u3067, as well as the sentence final particles \u304b\/\u306d\/\u3088.\u00a0 This is the second article about basic particles in Japanese – make sure you check out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":25619,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[404],"tags":[698,666],"class_list":["post-26866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn-japanese","tag-japanese-lessons","tag-language"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

In this article we have introduced some functions of the most common particles in Japanese: \u306b\/\u3078, \u3067, \u3068, \u304b\u3089\/\u307e\u3067 and \u304b\/\u306d\/\u3088. Understanding these particles and how they are used will help you understand and produce basic Japanese sentences. Did you find the articles helpful? If you have questions or want to add some information, comment below!<\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>If you are interested in learning more Japanese, feel free to check out our blog.<\/a> If you have any questions about moving to Japan and study Japanese, don\u2019t hesitate to contact us<\/a>!<\/strong>
<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"