When learning Japanese, you will be introduced to the concept of Japanese particles almost immediately. These short words—often only one or two characters long—hold entire sentences together despite their length. Particles do not always have a meaning on their own, but understanding their individual functions will help you build sentences while identifying the role every word plays.
Particles may be small, but they are found everywhere in the Japanese language. By learning Japanese with Rosetta Stone, you can see these helpful grammar components in context. Being introduced to particles naturally through our immersive environment will ensure you understand where they fit in a sentence, even if you’ve never seen them translated before.
Table of Contents
What is a particle in Japanese?
Japanese particles (joshi, 助詞) are short words that identify the role of other words in a sentence. They are a critical part of Japanese grammar that connects each word or phrase in a sentence to the others to create a complete sentence.
Some particles are attached to words as suffixes while others are words on their own that separate one part of speech from another. Japanese does not use spaces, so particles are incredibly useful when breaking down the parts of a sentence.
Particles perform a wide variety of functions, including:
- identifying parts of speech
- connecting clauses and ideas
- providing further context
- adding linguistic nuance and flavor
Particles cannot stand on their own and are not conjugated like Japanese verbs are. They need to be connected to verbs, adjectives, nouns, and other parts of speech to communicate their meaning.
How many Japanese particles are there?
The exact number of particles in Japanese depends on whether one particle with multiple uses is considered to be one particle or many different ones. If every individual use is considered its own particle, there are hundreds of Japanese particles. However, the particles no (の) and ka (か) alone have more than five different uses each, so it may be more accurate to say there are fewer than 100.
Realistically speaking, there are three dozen or so particles that are commonly used. However, learning them in context as a part of sentences will help you learn Japanese faster than studying them as individual words.
Japanese particles list
Out of those dozens of particles, we will examine 15 of the most common ones here. Many of the particles here have additional uses, but this is a good starting point.
To help you to understand how these particles work, we’ve included example sentences and detailed breakdowns of each.
| Function | Japanese | Romanization |
| identifies the topic of a sentence | は | wa (uses the hiragana character for ha) |
| identifies the subject of a sentence; “but” conjunction | が | ga |
| indicates possession | の | no |
| identifies a verb’s direct object | を | o (sometimes romanized “wo”) |
| “also” or “too” | も | mo |
| “and” or “with” between nouns | と | to |
| “and” for a non-exhaustive list | や | ya |
| indicates destination (“to”) or time (“at”) | に | ni |
| indicates direction | へ | e (uses the hiragana character for he) |
| indicates location | で | de |
| “because” conjunction | から | kara |
| question marker | か | ka |
| expresses strong assertion at the end of a sentence | よ | yo |
| expresses a request for confirmation or agreement at the end of a sentence | ね | ne |
Commonly used Japanese particles
The particles wa, ga, no, and o interact with different parts of speech, but all are among the most commonly used particles. Wa and o are exceptions in Japanese pronunciation versus their romanization, so they are worth paying extra attention to.
Particle wa
This is likely the first particle a Japanese language learner will encounter. The particle wa (は) goes after the topic of the sentence, which is what the sentence is about. It may also be the subject of the sentence—the person or thing that performs the verb—but not in every case.
In the example below, “I” is what we are discussing (the topic) as well as the subject.
- Watashi wa gakusei desu. (私は学生です。）= I am a student.
| Topic | Particle | Noun | Verb |
| 私 | は | 学生 | です |
| watashi | wa | gakusei | desu |
| I | (topic) | student | am |
Particle ga
The distinction between particles wa and ga is difficult to master. Because wa is the topic and ga is the subject, either one may be used depending on the sentence. One good rule of thumb to remember is that if a question word such as “what” or “who” is the subject, the particle used after it is nearly always ga.
Check out the breakdown of this example sentence using ga.
- Dare ga kimasu ka. (だれが来ますか。）= Who is coming?
| Subject | Particle | Verb | Particle |
| だれ | が | 来ます | か |
| dare | ga | kimasu | ka |
| who | (subject) | will come | (question) |
Particle no
When you want to show possession in English, you often add an apostrophe and “s,” as in “mother’s.” The particle no is the Japanese equivalent, and it follows the noun that “owns” the noun that comes after the particle.
See how it works in this sentence example:
- Kore wa sensei no hon desu. (これは先生の本です。）= This is the teacher’s book.
| Topic | Particle | Noun | Particle | Noun | Verb |
| これ | は | 先生 | の | 本 | です |
| kore | wa | sensei | no | hon | desu |
| this | (topic) | teacher | (possession) | book | is |
The particle no can also attribute a quality to a noun similar to how an adjective works. In this case, the noun before the particle no is describing the noun that follows it:
- Panda wa chūgoku no dо̄butsu desu. (パンダは中国の動物です。）= The panda is a Chinese animal.
| Topic | Particle | Noun | Particle | Noun | Verb |
| パンダ | は | 中国 | の | 動物 | です |
| panda | wa | chūgoku | no | dо̄butsu | desu |
| panda | (topic) | China | (possession) | animal | is |
Particle o
This particle identifies the direct object of a sentence, which is what the verb is acting on. If you “eat an apple,” then the apple is the direct object. If you “write a letter,” then the letter is the direct clause. There can only be one use of o in any given clause.
Learn how to use o from this dissected sentence example:
- Kare wa nihongo wo hanashimasu. (彼は日本語を話します。）= He speaks Japanese.
| Topic | Particle | Direct Object | Particle | Verb |
| 彼 | は | 日本語 | を | 話します |
| kare | wa | nihongo | o | hanashimasu |
| he | (topic) | Japanese | (direct object) | speaks |
Japanese particles for “also” and “and”
There are multiple particles that group things together, and each performs that function in a slightly different way.
Particle mo
This particle is used when indicating that the word following mo is the “same” as something similar in the conversation. This can be translated as “too” in English, as in “Me, too!” Multiple words in the same sentence can be followed by mo to indicate that they all share a particular quality. It’s important to note that mo can also replace particles such as wa and o.
Use the breakdown of this example sentence to learn how to use mo:
- Watashi wa sakana mo niku mo tabemasu. (私は魚も肉も食べます。）= I eat both fish and meat. (Literally: I eat fish and also meat.)
| Topic | Particle | Direct Object | Particle | Direct Object | Particle | Verb |
| 私 | は | 魚 | も | 肉 | も | 食べます |
| watashi | wa | sakana | mo | niku | mo | tabemasu |
| I | (topic) | fish | (also) | meat | (also) | eat |
Particle to
The particle to can be translated as the simplest “and” or “with.”
Specifically, this use of “and” is for an exhaustive list, meaning there is nothing else to add to it. If the last item on the list is a direct object marked by o, that particle’s function applies to the rest of the list:
- Ken wa eigo to nihongo wo hanashimasu. (けんは英語と日本語を話します。）= Ken speaks English and Japanese.
| Topic | Particle | Direct Object | Particle | Direct Object | Particle | Verb |
| けん | は | 英語 | と | 日本語 | を | 話します |
| ken | wa | eigo | to | nihongo | o | hanashimasu |
| Ken | (topic) | English | and | Japanese | (direct object) | speaks |
In the case of “with,” the particle follows the person in question:
- Watashi wa haha to kо̄en ni ikimashita. (私は母と公園に行きました。）= I went to the park with my mother.
| Topic | Particle | Person | Particle | Place | Particle | Verb |
| 私 | は | 母 | と | 公園 | に | 行きました |
| watashi | wa | haha | to | kо̄en | ni | ikimashita |
| I | (topic) | my mother | with | park | to | went |
Particle ya
While the particle to is “and” for an exhaustive list, the particle ya is “and” for a non-exhaustive list. If there are other things in the list being omitted for the sake of brevity or otherwise, ya is used instead of to. Like particle to, if the last item on the list is followed by o, the items in that list are all direct objects.
Look at how ya is used in the sentence example:
- Kyо̄ wa sushi ya tenpura wo tabemashita. (今日は寿司や天ぷらを食べました。）= Today, I ate sushi, tempura, and other things.
| Topic | Particle | Direct Object | Particle | Direct Object | Particle | Verb |
| 今日 | は | 寿司 | や | 天ぷら | を | 食べました |
| kyо̄ | wa | sushi | ya | tenpura | o | tabemashita |
| today | (topic) | sushi | and, among other things | tempura | (direct object) | ate |
Japanese particles for location and movement
For beginner Japanese language learners, one of the most common mistakes with particles is the incorrect use of particles ni and de. The biggest distinction is whether the location is a destination (where someone is going) or a location (where something is being done). Once you’ve determined that, choosing the correct particle is much easier.
Particle ni
When talking about a destination, ni is used most often. To use it, the particle goes after the location and is then paired with a movement verb such as “to go.” The particle ni is also used for time, meaning you can have more than one ni in a sentence.
This example sentence uses ni twice:
- Satoshi wa hachiji ni shigoto ni ikimasu. (さとしは八時に仕事に行きます。）= Satoshi goes to work at 8:00.
| Topic | Particle | Time | Particle | Place | Particle | Verb |
| さとし | は | 八時 | に | 仕事 | に | 行きます |
| satoshi | wa | hachiji | ni | shigoto | ni | ikimasu |
| Satoshi | (topic) | 8:00 | at | work | to | goes |
Particle e
The particle e is pronounced as “eh,” but it is written with the character he (へ). Unlike ni, which specifies an exact destination, e indicates a more general direction, as in “toward.” However, ni can be used in place of e in most situations to communicate the same thing.
See how e works in the breakdown of this example sentence:
- Watashi wa ashita kyо̄to e ikimasu. (私は明日京都へ行きます。）= I’m headed for Kyoto tomorrow. (Literally: I’m going to/toward Kyoto tomorrow.)
| Topic | Particle | Time | Place | Particle | Verb |
| 私 | は | 明日 | 京都 | へ | 行きます |
| watashi | wa | ashita | kyо̄to | e | ikimasu |
| I | (topic) | tomorrow | Kyoto | to/toward | am going |
Particle de
When talking about location, the particle de is primarily used and can be translated as “at” or “in.” Like ni, the particle goes after the place being discussed.
Look at this sentence example of how to use de:
- Kanojo wa umi de oyoideimasu.（彼女は海で泳いでいます。）= She is swimming in the ocean.
| Topic | Particle | Place | Particle | Verb |
| 彼女 | は | 海 | で | 泳いでいます |
| kanojo | wa | umi | de | oyoideimasu |
| she | (topic) | ocean | in | swimming |
Sentence-ending Japanese particles
Particles that go at the end of a sentence usually express emotion or add social cues. Rather than identify parts of speech, sentence-ending particles function to enhance communication with the listener.
Particle ka
Questions end with the particle ka. In casual conversation, ka can be omitted, and questions are asked with a rising intonation at the end of the sentence instead.
Here’s an example:
- Tanjо̄bi wa itsu desu ka.（誕生日はいつですか。）= When is your birthday?
| Topic | Particle | Adverb | Verb | Particle |
| 誕生日 | は | いつ | です | か |
| tanjо̄bi | wa | itsu | desu | ka |
| birthday | (topic) | when | is | (question) |
Particle yo
The particle yo is added to the end of a sentence when the speaker is strongly expressing a statement. Because it has an insistent or even forceful nuance, understanding the formality of the conversation is important when deciding if the particle is appropriate to use.
See how to use yo properly in this example:
- Kyо̄ wa atsui desu yo!（今日は暑いですよ！）= It’s so hot today! (Literally: Today is hot, I’m telling you!)
| Topic | Particle | Adjective | Verb | Particle |
| 今日 | は | 暑い | です | よ |
| kyо̄ | wa | atsui | desu | yo |
| today | (topic) | hot | is | (emphasis) |
Particle ne
Adding the particle ne to the end of a sentence requests confirmation or agreement. In English, a close equivalent is adding “Right?” or “Isn’t it?” to the end of a sentence.
See ne in action with this sentence example:
- Rozetta sutо̄n wa benri desu ne!（ロゼッタストーンは便利ですね！）= Rosetta Stone is so convenient, isn’t it?
| Topic | Particle | Adjective | Verb | Particle |
| ロゼッタストーン | は | 便利 | です | ね |
| rozetta sutо̄n | wa | benri | desu | ne |
| Rosetta Stone | (topic) | convenient | is | (confirmation) |
Japanese particles that act as conjunctions
One of the ways to connect two sentences or clauses in Japanese is to use particles. While the particle to cannot be used for the conjunction “and,” there are particles that can be used for other conjunctions.
Particle ga
One of the uses of the particle ga is to mark the subject of a sentence, as explained above. But it also means “but” when connecting two clauses. The particle kedo (けど) achieves the same but is slightly less formal.
Learn how to use ga in a sentence:
- Ikitai desu ga, okane ga arimasen.（行きたいですが、お金がありません。）= I want to go, but I don’t have money.
| Verb Phrase | Particle | Subject | Particle | Verb |
| 行きたいです | が | おかね | が | ありません。 |
| ikitai desu | ga | okane | ga | arimasen |
| want to go | but | money | (subject) | don’t have |
Particle kara
To say “because,” the particle kara is used to connect the reason and the explanation. The reason is given first, kara is attached to the end of that clause, and then the explanation is given.
Here’s what that looks like in a sentence:
- Samui desu kara, jaketto o kiteimasu.（寒いですから、ジャケットを着ています。）= I’m wearing a jacket because it’s cold. (Literally: Because it’s cold, I’m wearing a jacket.)
| Adjective | Verb | Particle | Direct Object | Particle | Verb |
| 寒い | です | から | ジャケット | を | 着ています |
| samui | desu | kara | jaketto | o | kiteimasu |
| cold | is | because | jacket | (direct object) | wearing |
Frequently asked questions about Japanese particles
Particles, while handy, aren’t always the easiest aspect of Japanese grammar to grasp. You may still have questions, and you may find that other people are wondering the same things.
What Japanese particles should I learn first?
Particles used in basic Japanese sentences should be learned first, like wa, o, and ka. The particle wa allows you to introduce topics, the particle o helps you use verbs more effectively, and ka is essential for asking questions. Knowing basics like these will have a direct impact on how long it takes to learn Japanese.
What is the difference between the particle wa and the particle ga?
The particle wa follows the topic of a sentence and the particle ga follows the subject of a sentence. The topic is what the sentence is about and what it’s emphasizing. The subject is the person or thing performing the action in the sentence.
There are other nuanced uses for particles wa and ga, but this is the context where they often get confused because the topic and the subject may also be the same thing in a sentence.
Do Japanese particles have kanji?
Some particles do have kanji, but they are rarely used in modern Japanese. You may see kanji in place of particles in historic locations that still write their names in traditional characters. In these cases, the particle no (の) is often replaced with the kanji 之, which effectively means “this” or “of.”
What is the best way to learn Japanese particles?
The best way to learn Japanese particles is to see and use them in context. There are some cases where particles don’t act according to their normal rules. By immersing yourself in Japanese, thinking critically, and keeping an eye out for particles, you will reinforce your long-term understanding.
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