Can you imagine not using “and” or “because” in your everyday language? Using conjunctions to connect words, phrases, and clauses will transform your Japanese language skills.
Holding a conversation depends on a person’s ability to make sentences flow from one to another, which means you’ll see an improvement in your Japanese writing and speaking by picking up some key conjunctions.
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Categories of conjunctions in Japanese
Japanese conjunctions—or setsuzoku-shi (接続詞)—function differently than English conjunctions. While conjunctions connect ideas in both languages, Japanese conjunctions (one of the nine Japanese parts of speech) use a mix of particles, conjugations, and adverbs to connect ideas within or between sentences. Three similar terms can be used to describe this:
- setsuzoku-go (接続語): “connectives,” or the larger category that describes the act of connecting words and clauses
- setsuzoku-joshi (接続助詞): “conjunctive particles,” which includes Japanese particles and conjugations that act as conjunctions
- setsuzoku-shi (接続詞): “conjunctive adverbs,” which includes conjunctions that stand alone, usually at the beginning of a sentence (this is also the word used to refer to the part of speech)
To help you understand how to use Japanese conjunctions, it’s easier to divide them into four broad categories:
- conjunctions that connect words within a sentence
- conjunctions that connect clauses
- conjunctions that draw connections between the current sentence and the previous
- conjunctions that are made by conjugating verbs or adjectives
7 essential Japanese conjunctions to know
Japanese has dozens of conjunctions for you to choose from, but you can get started with just a handful. If you can accurately use the Japanese equivalents of “and,” “but,” “or,” and “because” with a few different phrases, you’ll have the essentials down.
| Japanese Conjunction | When To Use | English |
| to (と) | Between nouns | and |
| te-form | Between adjectives or clauses | and |
| soshite (そして) | At the beginning of a sentence which follows in sequence from the previous sentence | and/and then |
| kedo (けど) | Between clauses | but |
| demo (でも) | At the beginning of a sentence which connects to the previous sentence | but |
| ka (か) | Between words in a sentence, normally nouns | or |
| kara (から) | Between two clauses, attached to the end of the clause with the reason | because |
To ([noun] and [noun])
To (と) is a Japanese particle that means “and,” and it goes between nouns. It functions as particles normally do: by going after the word it’s describing. For “and,” that means to goes after the first item on the list (and every item after except for the last).
- Kyō no hirugohan wa tonkatsu to gohan desu.（今日の昼ごはんはとんかつとご飯です。）= Today’s lunch is pork cutlet and rice.
- Neko to inu to usagi o katteiru.（猫と犬とウサギを飼っている。）= I have a cat, [and] a dog, and a rabbit.
Te-form ([adjective/clause] and [adjective/clause])
To use “and” between adjectives or clauses, you’ll need to use te-form, not the particle to. Conjugate the end of every clause or adjective into te-form except for the last one to connect them all into one sentence.
- Koneko wa chīsakute kawaii desu.（子猫は小さくてかわいいです。）= Kittens are small and cute.
- Ninjin o kitte, shio o kuwaete, ōbun ni iremashita.（ニンジンを切って、塩を加えて、オーブンに入れました。）= I cut the carrots, [and] added salt, and put them in the oven.
Soshite (and then [sentence])
The conjunction soshite (そして) means “and” or “and then” in English. Unlike to or te-form, this “and” draws a sequential connection between the current sentence and the previous one.
- Shukudai o shimashita. Soshite, kaji o shimashita.（宿題をしました。そして、家事をしました。）= I did my homework. And then, I did chores.
Kedo ([clause] but [clause])
To connect two clauses with “but,” add kedo (けど) to the end of the first clause. The first clause will usually be in short form rather than the polite form (masu-form), regardless of what form the final verb is in.
- Konsāto ni ikitai kedo, okane ga arimasen.（コンサートに行きたいけど、お金がありません。）= I want to go to the concert, but I don’t have any money.
Demo (but [sentence])
Demo (でも) is used to say “but” at the beginning of a sentence, and it’s connected to something that was said in the sentence before it.
- Pan-ya de meron pan o kaō to omotta. Demo, urikire datta.（パン屋でメロンパンを買おうと思った。でも、売り切れだった。）= I thought I’d buy some melon bread at the bakery. But, they were sold out.
Ka (or)
The main conjunction for “or” in Japanese is ka (か). Like to (“and”), it’s a particle that goes between words within a sentence (usually nouns).
- Natsuyasumi ni wa umi ka yama ni ikimasu.（夏休みには海か山に行きます。）= For summer vacation, I’m either going to the beach or the mountains.
Kara (because)
Kara (から) goes between two clauses to say the second clause happened “because” of the first clause. English typically does the reverse (offering the reason second), so be extra careful that kara is attached to the end of the clause with the reason.
- Hon o takusan katta kara, atarashii hondana mo katta.（本をたくさん買ったから、新しい本棚も買った。）= Because I bought a lot of books, I also bought a new bookshelf.
Next steps: More conjunctions organised by type
Conjunctions help us build more complex sentences and communicate connecting and contrasting information to express ourselves more deeply. Learn more Japanese conjunctions organised by how they work.
Japanese conjunctions that connect words within a sentence
Some conjunctions connect words within a sentence rather than piecing together two clauses. These are usually particles, and they go between nouns.
| Japanese | Romanization | Pronunciation | English |
| と | to | toh | and (exhaustive) |
| や | ya | yah | and (non-exhaustive) |
| とか | toka | toh-kah | and/or (listing examples) |
| か | ka | kah | or |
- Watashi wa Eigo to Nihongo o hanashimasu.（私は英語と日本語を話します。）= I speak English and Japanese.
Japanese conjunctions that connect clauses
These conjunctions usually connect two separate clauses to create one complete sentence, which is similar to how English connects clauses with conjunctions like “and” or “but.”
| Japanese | Romanization | Pronunciation | English |
| から | kara | kah-rah | because |
| し | shi | shee | because (non-exhaustive list) |
| ので | node | noh-deh | since |
| けど | kedo | keh-doh | but |
| が | ga | gah | although |
| のに | noni | noh-nee | even though |
| なら | nara | nah-rah | if |
| ために | tame ni | tah-meh nee | in order to; for |
| と言えば | to ieba | toh ee-eh bah | speaking of |
- Itsuka Nihon ni ikitai kara, Nihongo o benkyō shiteiru.（いつか日本に行きたいから、日本語を勉強している。）= Because I want to go to Japan someday, I’m studying Japanese.
You can also put these conjunctions at the end of a sentence to connect two separate sentences, but the clause order is reversed. This makes the second sentence (which would have been the first half of a sentence if the two clauses were combined) feel like an elaboration or an afterthought.
- Nihongo o benkyō shiteiru. Itsuka Nihon ni ikitai kara.（日本語を勉強している。いつか日本に行きたいから。）= I’m studying Japanese. Because I want to go to Japan someday.
Japanese conjunctions that connect separate sentences
The majority of Japanese conjunctions go at the beginning of a sentence to draw a connection between the previous sentence and the new one (which has the conjunction attached).
| Japanese | Romanization | Pronunciation | English |
| でも | demo | deh-moh | but |
| しかし | shikashi | shee-kah-shee | however |
| じゃあ | jā | jah | well then (casual) |
| では | de wa | deh-wah | well then (neutral) |
| さらに | sara ni | sah-rah nee | furthermore |
| そして | soshite | soh-shee-teh | and then |
| たとえば | tatoeba | tah-toh-eh-bah | for example |
| ところで | tokoro de | toh-koh-roh deh | by the way |
| だから | da kara | dah kah-rah | for that reason |
| だが | daga | dah-gah | nevertheless |
| つまり | tsumari | tsoo-mah-ree | in other words |
| そのために | sono tame ni | soh-noh tah-meh nee | hence |
| それで | sore de | soh-reh deh | because of that |
| それでは | sore de wa | soh-reh deh wah | in that case |
| それでも | sore demo | soh-reh deh-moh | even so |
| それなのに | sore na noni | soh-reh nah noh-nee | despite that |
| それから | sore kara | soh-reh kah-rah | after that |
| それなら | sore nara | soh-reh nah-rah | if so |
| それに | sore ni | soh-reh nee | additionally |
- Suzuki wa sūgaku ga tokui desu. Demo, kagaku wa nigate desu.（鈴木は数学が得意です。でも、科学は苦手です。）= Suzuki is good at math. But, he is poor at science.
You may notice that several of these words start with one of the demonstrative pronouns in Japanese: sore (それ). Sore means “that,” which refers to what was stated in the previous sentence. The words after sore have their own individual meanings. For example, the kara in sore kara means “from” in reference to a starting point in time or place.
- Ha o migakimashita. Sore kara, nemashita.（歯を磨きました。それから、寝ました。）= I brushed my teeth. After that, I went to bed. (Literally: From that point, I went to bed.)
Japanese conjugations that act as conjunctions
A few conjunctions in English that connect clauses (such as “and”) are actually done with verb and adjective conjugations in Japanese. To use these conjunctions, you’ll need to know three different conjugations:
| Japanese | Romanization | Pronunciation | English |
| ～て、～ | ~te, ~ | teh | and |
| ～ても、～ | ~temo, ~ | teh-moh | even if |
| ～たら、～ | ~tara, ~ | tah-rah | if; when |
| ～ば、～ | ~ba, ~ | bah | if |
- You’ll use te-form for “and” and “even if” when connecting two clauses or adjectives.
- Densha ni notte, Nyū Yōku ni itta.（電車に乗って、ニューヨークに行った。）= I got on a train and went to New York.
- Ame ga futtemo, iku.（雨が降っても、行く。）= Even if it rains, I’ll go.
- You’ll use Japanese past tense (short form) for “if” or “when” (attaching ra to the end of the usual past tense conjugation).
- Otōsan ga kaettara, bangohan o tabemasu.（お父さんが帰ったら、晩ご飯を食べます。）= When my dad gets home, we’ll eat dinner.
- You’ll use the ba-form (the conditional form) for situations where the first clause (with the ba-form conjugation) is a condition that must be met for the second clause to pass.
- Basu de ikeba, juuichiji made ni tsukimasu.（バスで行けば、十一時までに着きます。）= If you go by bus, you’ll arrive by 11:00.
How to use conjunctions in Japanese
How you use Japanese conjunctions in a sentence depends on what kind of conjunction it is, but there are a few general tips to keep in mind:
- Most conjunctions go between clauses (after verbs, per Japanese word order) or at the beginning of a sentence.
- You can use commas after conjunctions between clauses or at the beginning of a sentence, but they’re an example of optional Japanese punctuation. If it helps you convey your meaning by breaking up a sentence visually with a comma, go ahead and use it.
- Use conjunctions if they add clarity to what you’re saying, but you don’t need to use them in every sentence. If you wouldn’t use a conjunction in English, you probably don’t need one in Japanese.
- Many Japanese conjunctions have similar meanings and may even have the same English translation. The nuance will usually not be enough to make your intended meaning unclear, but keep an eye out for synonyms. When in doubt, look it up!
Key takeaways about Japanese conjunctions
Conjunctions in Japanese grammar are essential for holding a complete conversation or writing a full paragraph. Remember these three things about Japanese conjunctions and you’ll be ready to improve the flow of your spoken and written Japanese.
- Japanese conjunctions connect individual words to each other, a clause to another clause, and a sentence to the one that follows it.
- Commas are optional when writing conjunctions, but you can use them to create a pause for effect.
- Several Japanese words may translate to the same word in English, so check that the word you’re using is connecting the right pieces.
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