In the previous lesson, we’ve already had a brief look at how we can introduce yourself by using the copula desu. As you’ll find out soon, we can use the same grammatical structure to say even more about yourself and others, but first, let’s introduce one more grammatical device which will allow us to construct some more complex sentences…

Particles

One of the building stones of Japanese grammar are particles. Some of these particles correspond to English prepositions and postpositions, but many allow us to express concepts where English would resort to complex grammatical constructions, and some don’t have a direct translation at all.

Topic marker ha

The first two quintessential particles you need to learn are は (pronounced わ when used as a particle) and が. は, which is actually pronounced わ when used as a particle is going to be our starting point to produce Japanese sentences. It has many uses, but here we will be looking at its key use—to mark what you are speaking about.

For example, if we wanted to state that something is tasty, we would say 「おいしいです。」. The sentence can be broken down into ‘tasty’ and ‘is,’ and states that something unnamed is scrumptious.

To be specific about what we find delicious, we use the particle は, which sets the general sphere of what it is that the sentence explains. Many people like to think of this particle in English as the equivalent of saying ‘as for…’ or ‘in reference to…’

So, in the case of speaking about something delicious, we can specify that it is fish that we wish
to identify as the thing upon which the sentence is based: “As for fish/speaking about fish, it’s tasty.”

The word preceding the particle は, in the case above, 日本語, is the general topic of the speech. If you were to continue speaking about Japanese language in the next sentence, you could omit both the topic and the particle, as the general ‘sphere of speech’ has already been established.

Let’s take a look at a key example of topic omission.

We’re now talking about Hikari and it’s now a given to both parties that any subsequent information given will relate to her.

Of course the above sentence could include ひかりは at the beginning, and still be perfectly correct, but it’s better to omit it as otherwise your speaking could get quite repetitive!

Topic marker ga

Now we’ve covered the key most oft-used and fundamental particle of Japanese, let’s meet its best friend and worst enemy, が, which among other things, also happens to be a topic/subject marker. Deciding when to use which may be one of the most difficult factors in constructing Japanese sentences; in fact, even native speakers sometimes have to stop and think about the choices. So, don’t worry; there are clear patterns that can be identified—it’s just a bit of a conceptual headache.

You’ll have to really feel the language to make the right choice, but for now, let’s say that は marks a new topic of a dialogue, whereas が marks the subject of a specific sentence. For example, if you were talking about elephants, and decided to talk about zebras instead, you would have to inform others about the change of the topic using the は particle、and then use the が particle to speak about a specific zebra-related topic.

Firstly, we’ve identified the general sphere of what we are talking about with 私は (as for me). Then, we’ve further detailed what we are going to talk about with ラーメンが. Then, we’ve finally expressed our opinion and ended the sentence with the copula です.

It’s a given that there could be a 私は so we go straight into the particle that deals with specific, unknown information to identify what it is that is ほしい.

Let’s take a quick look at a dialogue between Hikari and Tom who are currently looking at an elephant to go into a little more depth about how は and が are used in the same sentence.

In the first sentence, Hikari and Tom are standing in front of an elephant, and this would have been followed by the は particle and can therefore be omitted. Within the sphere of elephants however they are speaking of tails, so this is marked with が.

In the next sentence, Tom changes the topic of the dialogue to a zebra using the は particle. However, as it is evident that he is talking about it’s tail and not the zebra itself, he can omit the tail reference.

In the last sentence, Hikari changes the topic of the dialogue back to the elephant using the particle は, and additionally changes the secondary topic to the ears using the particle が.

As you can see from the diagram above, が is always acting as a subsection (pink), supplementing the frame of reference (yellow) that is established by the use of は.

If you’re still having trouble conceptualising the rule, some people like to generalise the use of these two particles with the simple rule:

Try to listen carefully to how native speakers use these two particles, and you’ll soon be able to make the best choice unconsciously.

Question marker ka

In Japanese language, ？ is not traditionally used to mark a question, and you probably won’t meet it in a formal text. Instead, questions are marked with a special particle か, placed at the end of the sentence, and followed by the usual full stop 「。」. For example:

Please note that as with other particles, か also has several different uses and, with the exception of in-sentence quotations, only marks a question if found at the end of the sentence. For further uses of か, head to Chapter 18: Lost in the city.

More about yourself

Nationality

To say that you are from that or another country, all you have to do is say the name of the country and add 人, the character for “person”, also serving as “-ian” when talking about nationality. For example, Hikari would say 「日本人です。」

You can find some of the country names in the table below:

Profession

The Japanese word for “job” is 仕事. To let others know your profession, all you have to do is say the name of your job and add the copula です。 Many professions end with 員 (e.g., 会社員、店員、工員) but it’s certainly not a general rule. Some common occupations are listed below:

Education

While we’re going to discuss school-related vocabulary and the Japanese educational system in one of the later lessons, let’s look at the basics right now. The easiest way of describing yourself as a student is to use the fairly universal word 学生. While it has a certain connotation with universities, it can be safely used for virtually any educational institution. If, however, you would like to be more specific about the level of studies you are currently undertaking, check out the table below:

To say which grade you are currently in, you can use the word 年生, which isn’t exactly a counter but works in a similar way. For example, to say that you are a first-year student (or a first-year pupil), you say 「一年生です。」, and it works exactly the same way for higher numbers.

If you are a college student, you may also want to add your subject of study to your introduction. The word for “specialty” is 専門 and, for example, to say that one’s subject of study is Japanese language one would say 「専門は日本語です。」 Here’s a list of some common majors:

Hobbies and interests

At the beginning of the lesson, you’ve learned some basics about Japanese particles. Let’s try to use them in a real conversation…

In the first sentence, Natsuki asks Tom about his interests. As you can see, he could respond very simply, by saying the names of his hobbies and ending the sentence with the copula です, omitting the word 趣味 as the topic was already announced by Natsuki.

Another possible response is to tell that you like something, which is done using the word 好き. For example, 「私はアイスクリームが好きです。」 means “I like ice cream.”, although 私は would usually be omitted.

Notice that Tom used ご趣味 instead of 趣味 to show respect to Hikari’s mother. ご and お are honorific prefixes which you’ll often see used in formal situations. Some day-to-day objects were deemed so important in Japan that they are always used with a honorific prefix. For example, お茶、お酒、お弁当. Also notice だ, an informal version of the copula です, often used in colloquial Japanese.

My Neighbor Totoro

Hayao Miyazaki (1988)

When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wonderous forest spirits living nearby.

Have you ever heard of Botaoshi? Watch one team of 75 try acrobatically to topple a giant pole defended by 75 others in a two minute brutal battle!

Before you move on

• If you are going to buy one book then it’s got to be A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar from The Japan Times (and as you move on, the Intermediate and Advanced volumes as well). It is the ultimate compendium of Japanese grammar which will greatly support your learning process.
• If you are going to buy a second book, check out A Dictionary of Japanese Particles from Kodansha.
• Try to write a basic self-introduction and post it in the Japanese introductions thread at the Japanese forum.
• Create some sentences using the grammar pattern XはYです (e.g., 私は人です。)