Japanese Particle Table

Japanese Particles

In Japanese, being able to use particles correctly has a significant importance on determining whether a sentence makes sense or not. We have made a table showing all of the functions.

Japanese Particle

Particle Function Example Note
は
  1. Topic
  2. Contrast
  1. 明日あしたは雨あめだ
    • As for tomorrow, it will rain.
  2. 日に本ほんは雨あめじゃない
    • As for Japan, it will not rain.
    • *Implies it rains somewhere.
  
も
  1. Inclusion
  2. Surprise
  1. アメリカも雨あめじゃない
    • As for the US, it will not rain, too.
  2. １０じゅう時じ間かんも雨あめだった
    • It rained (surprisingly) for 10 hours.
  
が
  1. Subject of Predicate
  2. Object of Emotion
  3. Object of Potential
  4. New Information
  5. Identifier
  1. 雨あめが冷つめたい
    • Rain is cold.
  2. 雨あめが嫌きらいだ
    • Rain is the one that I dislike.
  3. 日本語が話せる
    • [I] can speak Japanese.
  4. バスが来くる
    • The bus will come.
    • *Said when you've found a bus is about to come.
  5. 誰だれが乗のる？
    • Who will take (transportation)?
  
を
  1. Direct Object
  2. Location to Leave
  3. Location to Pass
  4. Direction of Action
  1. ケーキを食たべる
    • [I will]  eat cake.
  2. 家いえを出でる
    • [I will] leave my house.
  3. 橋はしを渡わたる
    • [I will] cross the bridge.
  4. 右みぎを向むく
    • [I will] turn right. 

2. vs から 1.

3. vs で 1. 

に
  1. Location of Existence
  2. Direction of Motion
  3. Destination
  4. Target (Indirect Object)
  5. Source
  6. Specific Time
  7. Notion of Per
  1. 家いえにいる
    • [I] am in [my] house.
  2. 北きたに向むかう
    • [I will] head to the north.
  3. 学校がっこうに行いく
    • [I will] go to school.
  4. 先生せんせいに会あう
    • [I will] meet [my] teacher.
  5. お金かねを友達ともだちに借かりる。
    • [I will] borrow money from [my] friend.
  6. ６ろく時じに起おきる
    • [I will] get up at 6 o'clock. 
  7. 三回さんかいに一回いっかい、失敗しっぱいする
    • I fail once in three times.

3. vs まで 1.

5. vs から 2. 

へ
  1. Direction of Motion
  2. Destination
  1. 南みなみへ向むかう
    • [I will] head to the south.
  2. アメリカへ行いく
    • [I will] go to the US.
 1. = に 2.
2. = に 3.
と
  1. Partner of Interaction
  2. Object of Similarity / Difference
  1. 彼女かのじょと結婚けっこんする
    • [I will] get married to [my] girlfriend. 
  2. 父ちちと似にている
    • [I] resemble my father. 
  
で
  1. Location of Action
  2. Material
  3. Means
  4. Reason (Causation)
  5. Range (Period of Time)
  6. Amount
  7. State
  1. 家いえで寝ねる
    • [I will] sleep in [my] house.
  2. 木きで椅子いすを作つくる
    • [I will] make a chair by [using] wood.
  3. タクシーで行いく
    • [I will] go by taxi.
  4. 病びょう気きで眠ねむい
    • [I] am sleepy due to sickness.
  5. 一いち時じ間かんで宿しゅく題だいをする
    • [I will] do my homework within an hour.
  6. 一人ひとりで働はたらく
    • [I will] work alone.
  7. 裸足はだしで歩あるく。
    • [I will] walk with bare feet.
  2. vs から 3.
から
  1. Starting Point
  2. Source
  3. Raw Material
  4. State Before Change
  1. 東とう京きょうから出しゅっ発ぱつする
    • [I will] depart from Tokyo.
  2. 母ははから聞きいた
    • [I] heard [it] from my mother.
  3. ブドウからワインを作つくる
    • [I will] make wine from grapes.
  4. 赤あかから青あおに変かわる
    • [It will] change from red to blue.

1. vs を 2.

2. vs に 5.

3. vs で 2.

まで
  1. Ending Point
  1. 夜よるまで働はたらく
    • [I will] work until night.
  1. vs に 3.
Note
"=" means the functions are interchangeable.
"VS" means the functions can be replaced (not always).
 English translations may not be natural in terms of English grammar.
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