What are particles in Japanese?

Japanese particles are function words that we use mostly to indicate something about the role some other word or phrase is playing in a sentence. Particles are often untranslatable, and can do a lot of different things, but they are all there to help you sort out what all the other words or phrases in a sentence are there to accomplish.

Here are some common features of Japanese particles:

• They are usually short, one or two hiragana (though they can rarely be longer).

• They never change their form or take endings.

• They don’t stand alone, they always “mark” some other element of the sentence. Most particles follow the element they mark.

In this post, we will take you through the main categories of particles in Japanese, providing some examples of common particles (and links to further resources) along the way. Then, we’ll answer some common learner questions about particles. Ready to have a look? Let’s get to it!

There are a range of different ways to categorize Japanese particles, and not all fit neatly into categories. However, the most common categories you’ll hear discussed are listed below, along with some common examples of each. Follow the links to learn more!

• Case markers

  Case-marking particles, or 格助詞[kakujoshi], indicate the role a noun or noun phrase plays in a sentence (, , possessor, etc.)

  subjectsubject marker

  鳥がいます。

  Tori ga imasu.

  There is a bird.

  → 鳥[tori](bird) is the subject.

  direct objectdirect object marker

  水を飲みます。

  Mizu o nomimasu.

  I will drink water.

  → 水[mizu](water) is the direct object.

  Some common case-marking particles include:

  • が[ga] → subject marker

  • を[o] → direct object marker

  • の[no] → possessive marker

  • で[de] → location marker

  • に[ni] and へ[e] → time or goal markers

  Some other particles, like から[kara] and と[to] are case markers only in particular uses.

• Sentence-ending particles

  Sentence-ending particles, or 終助詞[shūjoshi], come at the end of a sentence or and indicate something about what the speaker is trying to achieve by speaking. Are they asking a question, giving a command, seeking agreement, or something else?

  sentence-ending particle

  あの人は本当に歌が上手ですね。

  Ano hito wa hontō ni uta ga jōzu desu ne.

  He is really good at singing, isn’t he?

  → Adding ね makes it clear that the speaker is seeking agreement or confirmation of their thoughts, not just making a statement.

  Some common sentence-ending particles include:

  • か[ka] → the question particle

  • の[no] → requests & explanations (feminine)

  • ね[ne] → “checking in” with the listener

  • な[na] → commands and prohibitions (masculine)

  • よ[yo] → giving the listener new information

  We’ll discuss many more sentence-enders in our post on Japanese sentence-ending particles!

• Adverbial particles

  Adverbial particles, or 副助詞[fukujoshi], can modify a range of different kinds of words and phrases. They help clarify how elements of a sentence tie in with the broader conversation, providing emphasis, connecting ideas, marking new information, etc.

  adverbial particle

  鳥がいます。犬もいます。

  Tori ga imasu. Inu mo imasu.

  There is a bird. There is a dog, too.

  → The particle helps connect the two ideas, but doesn’t combine the sentences.

  We often translate adverbial particles using English adverbs that also have meanings that are a bit hard to pin down, like “too” or “even” or with phrases like “as for…”

  Some common adverbial particles include:

  • は[wa] → topic marker

  • も[mo] → “also”

  • だけ[dake], しか[shika] and ばかり[bakari] → “only,” “anyting but,” “just”

  You’ll encounter more of these as you practice speaking conversationally!

• Conjunctive particles

  Conjunctive particles, or 接続助詞[setsuzoku joshi], help connect clauses, much like like English conjunctions.

  conjunctive particle

  寒ければ、このジャケットを着てください。

  Samu kere ba kono jaketto o kite kudasai.

  If you are cold, please put this jacket on.

  Some common conjunctive particles include:

  • ば[ba] → conditional marker “if”

  • ながら[nagara] → simultaneity marker “while”

  • から[kara] → reason marker “because”

  • ので[node] → cause marker “since”

  Tip

  Note that these particles are primarily for connecting clauses. We have other posts that address connecting nouns, connecting adjectives, and connecting simple actions.

Depending on how you classify them, and how narrow you want to be, you may encounter other categories of particles, but these four are a good starting point if you’re trying to sort them out as a language learner.

In Japanese, all particles are placed directly after the word or phrase they mark. Luckily, this simple rule will work for all categories of particles!

Particles are tiny and tricky. Can I just ignore them for now and learn them once I’m a better Japanese speaker? No! Using particles correctly is an essential skill for anyone learning Japanese. Many sentences are incomplete without proper particles.

Case particles are especially important because Japanese sentences have fewer word-order restrictions than languages like English. Often the only way to know which noun is the subject and which is the object is the particles.

Notice how, in the sentences below, the particles help you identify the role of each noun, wherever it appears in the sentence.

Even in cases where a particle can be changed without altering the basic message, though, leaving them out or using them incorrectly, may lead to other social misunderstandings. Compare the sentences below:

Do you see how big of a difference one particle can create? With the particle が[ga], the speaker indicates that the juice is the best choice among everything else. On the other hand, で[de] indicates that there are better choices but they compromise and accept juice.

Let’s look now at some frequently asked questions about Japanese particles!

• How many particles does the Japanese language have?

  Japanese has somewhere between 64 and 110+ particles. The exact answer will depend on the linguist and how they’ve counted.

  Some will include older particles that are not very common in the modern language, others include regional or gender-bound particles. Some linguists may even debate whether individual particles are really particles or ought to be categorized some other way.

  Either way, there are a lot of particles for you to learn, so time to get working!

• How can particles help you read Japanese?

  As you may have noticed already, the Japanese language does not use spaces between words. If you can recognize the particles, they can help you read by letting you more easily spot the end of a word or phrase.

  Can you see how much highlighting the particles in the sentence below helps you separate the sentence into meaningful parts?

  私は公園で水を飲みました。

  Watashi wa kōen de mizu o nomimashita.

  I had water at the park.

  Learning to recognize the particles early, therefore, can help speed up the process of learning to read in Japanese!

• Can you use two particles to mark the same phrase?

  Sometimes two particles can be combined and work together to mark the same phrase. However, you can’t combine any two particles, so you’ll want to learn the rules for when you can and should combine particles.

  Here are some examples of common particle combinations:

  直人って、看護師だよね。

  Naoto tte kangoshi da yo ne.

  Naoto is a nurse, right?

  → よ[yo] + ね[ne] = よね[yo ne]

  日曜だったので、だれとも会いませんでした。

  Nichiyou datta node, dare to mo aimasendeshita.

  Since it was Sunday, I didn’t see anyone.

  → と[to] + も[mo] = とも[to mo]

• Are Japanese particles prepositions?

  Japanese particles and English are both small function words with meanings that are difficult to explain, but they are not the same. Prepositions only mark nouns or noun phrases, and while Japanese particles can mark nouns, they can also mark adjectives, verbs, or even complete sentences. This immediately makes them different from prepositions.

  However, some groups of particles, in particular the case markers, are a lot like English prepositions. Though case markers, like all particles, follow the noun they mark rather than preceding it, the function they perform is more-or-less the same as a preposition.

  Like prepositions, case markers only mark nouns and noun phrases. Like prepositions, they help us show how a noun relates to the rest of a sentence. In fact, we often translate particles using English prepositions:

  公園で

  kōen de

  at the park

  But though it might be helpful to think of case markers as “a little like prepositions,” it’s important to remember that Japanese case-markers are used in a lot of instances where you don’t need a preposition in English. Notice that while we may translate で[de] as “at,” we don’t usually use a preposition to translate the direct object marker を[o].

  私は公園で水を飲みました。

  Watashi wa kōen de mizu o nomimashita.

  I had water at the park.

  Therefore, while it might help you to think of case markers as “the ones that are like prepositions,” you should never assume a one-to-one translation from Japanese to English or vice versa!

Japanese particles form the skeleton of a sentence or a conversation: they may not look like much but they’re very important. Here are the things you should remember about particles in Japanese:

• Japanese particles always come directly after the word or phrase they mark.

• Particles can have these basic functions:

  • Case markers → Mark the role of nouns in a sentence.

  • Sentence-enders → Mark the function of a sentence in conversation.

  • Adverbial particles → Mark the significance or purpose of a word or phrase in the conversation.

  • Conjunctive particles → Indicating that one clause is linked to another.

  …and more!

Ready to test what you’ve learned? Try out these Japanese particle activities, or have a look at the many other articles on Japanese particles in our Japanese grammar resource center!