JAPANESE PARTICLES CHEAT SHEET

Indicate subjects by
coming after them

The Possessive

Also / Too

Meanings: Apostrophe S & of

Meanings: is, am, are

*Makes something possessive, like saying my

monkey, Jennys friend, or Bobby of Sony (i.e.
Sonys Bobby).

Meanings: also and too - it can also

emphasize any

*One thing to know about is that its not

pronounced ha but pronounced wa
emphasizes what comes after it
emphasizes what comes before it
: I am Koichi
: I am Koichi
* The first example would be used when youre
introducing yourself to someone, the second one
would be more like one of those movies where one
person has the gun pointed at two identical
targets, where they are saying I am Koichi and
No, Im Koichi! The important (emphasized)
part is the I portion, so youd use .

Examples:

Examples:

Me too / Me also

My name is is Koichi

Bobby also will go to Ikea

Its Bobbys dog

I didnt eat anything

Examples:

I am a student (where is am in this sentence)

That student is stupid

You are interesting

What is it that you want to eat?

I like sushi / it is sushi that I like

The Direct Object

Movement and Time

How its used: All it does is shows what the direct

object is. Used when youre directly doing
something (the verb) to something (the object).

How its used: Used to show what an action is

directed to, and also shows destinations,
directions, places, and time. Remember, when you
move you use your knees (ni)

Examples:
(object) (particle) (verb)
Eat sushi
Xbox
I will buy an X-Box
*Not used when you arent directly involved or
responsible (i.e. the radio is broken vs. I broke
the radio - the second one uses )

Examples:

I will go to Japan

At 3 oclock I will eat sushi

*Some Movement Verbs:

Emphasizing the
Destination

Shows Context

Other Particles

Meaning: By way of / at

How its used: This is a lot like the particle ni

but emphasizes the destination. Its more like
heading towards than anything else (see
examples below)

Can show how and where an action takes place.

Question marker - used on the end of a

sentence to make a question, like a question mark!

Examples:

Used to list nouns when you are listing

everything and you know everything on the list

Examples:

I went by Car

Used to list nouns when you arent listing

everything, and maybe there are other things not
included.

Heading towards Japan

I ate at the restaurant

Sentence ender that gives an isnt it feeling

used to receive agreement for what youre saying.
Sentence ender that gives a you know
feeling, often when relaying new information.

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