This page is merely a collection of knowledge snippets I’ve gathered as I’ve learned more about the Japanese language.
hiragana = cursive, native
katakana = print, foreign
kanji = chinese
Clause format: Subject – object – verb/copula/predicate
Think of particles like mathematical operators.
| あ a Asahi morning sun |
い i Iroha ABCs |
う u Ueno |
え e Eigo English |
お o Osaka |
| ゔ v | ||||
| か ka ? prt Kawase exchange |
き ki Kitte postage stamp |
く ku Kurabu club |
け ke Keshiki landscape |
こ ko Kodomo child |
| が ga subject prt |
ぎ gi | ぐ gu | げ ge | ご go |
| さ sa Sakura cherry blossom |
し shi Shinbun newspaper |
す su Suzume sparrow |
せ se Sekai world |
そ so Soroban abacus |
| ざ za | じ ji/zhi | ず zu | ぜ ze | ぞ zo |
| た ta Tabako tobacco |
ち chi/tshi Chidori plover |
つっtsu Tsurukame crane+turtle |
て te Tegami message |
と to Tokyo |
| だ da | (ぢ ji/dzhi) | (づzu/dzu) | で de | ど do |
| な na Nagoya |
に ni Nihon Japan |
ぬ nu Numazu |
ね ne Nezumi mouse |
の no Nohara plain (geo.) |
| はha/wa Hagaki postcard topic prt |
ひ hi/hyi Hikoki aircraft |
ふ fu Fujisan Mount Fuji |
へ(h)e Heiwa peace |
ほ ho Hoken insurance |
| ば ba | び bi | ぶ bu | べ be | ぼ bo |
| ぱ pa | ぴ pi | ぷ pu | ぺ pe | ぽ po |
| ま ma Matchi matchstick |
み mi Mikasa |
む mu Musen radio |
め me Meiji |
も mo Momiji maple |
| やゃya Yamato |
ゆゅyu Yumiya bow and arrow |
よょyo Yoshino |
||
| ら ra Raijo radio |
り ri Ringo apple |
る ru Rusui caretaker |
れ re Renge lotus |
ろ ro Roma Rome |
| わ wa Warabi fern |
(ゐ wi) wido well |
(ゑ we) Kagi key |
を(w)o object prt Owari |
|
| んn Oshimai finish |
Hiragana Character Pedagogy
This is my own invention — a way to classify hiragana character shapes by similarity. I imagine that learning each set might help a new hiragana writer recall the correct shapes more easily. This assumption is totally unproven as of yet.
- の no -> め me -> ぬ nu -> あ a -> お o
- い i -> け ke -> せ se
- と to -> さ sa -> き ki -> を wo
- つ tsu -> う u -> ら ra -> ち chi
- て te -> そ so
- し shi -> も mo -> む mu -> す su
- よ yo -> は ha -> な na -> ま ma -> ほ ho
- や ya -> わ wa -> ね ne -> れ re -> ん n -> え e
- こ ko -> に ni -> た ta
- ろ ro -> る ru
Particles
This is taken from WIkipedia.
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bakari/bakkari/bakka/bakashi: just/only/full of
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(n) Tōkyō wa hito bakari da.
Tokyo is just full of people. -
(v-ta) Tabeta bakari da.
I just ate. -
(v-te) Kare wa tabete bakari iru.
He’s always eating.
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bakari ka: not only – may be accompanied by さえ sae (“but also”)
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(n) Sofu bakari ka, sōsofu sae ikite iru.
Not only is my grandfather living, but so is my great-grandfather.
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dake: only; a limit. Noun.
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(n) rōmaji dake no jisho
a romaji-only dictionary -
(v-v) Netai dake nereba ii.
You can sleep as much as you want [to sleep].
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da no: and, things like. Often negative. Used less often than to ka.
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(n,a,v) Nattō da no, shīfūdo da no, wasabi da no—nihonshoku ga nigate da.
Natto, seafood, wasabi—Japanese food isn’t my thing.
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de: can be used as “at” or “by means of”. When serving as the continuative TE form of a subordinate clause, de substitutes for da/desu, carries the meaning “is, and so…”, and takes on the tense of the final verb of the sentence. Originally an alteration of ni te, later treated as a conjugation of the copula da.
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(n-instrument) Jitensha de ikimashō.
Let’s go by bicycle. -
(n-location) Koko de yasumitai.
I want to rest here. -
(n-language) Nihongo de tegami o kaita.
I wrote the letter in Japanese. -
(TE form of copula: “is, and so…”) kimi ga suki de yokatta
You are loved (and so) I am glad. / I am glad that I love you.
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de mo: “even; or; but, however; also in”
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(n,prt:even) Uchū kara de mo Banri-no-Chōjō ga mieru.
Even from space you can see the Great Wall of China. -
(n:or something) Ocha de mo, ikaga?
Would you like tea or something? -
(n:also in) Nihon de mo eigo o benkyō suru
In Japan also, we study English. -
(start:but, however, even so) De mo, watashi wa sō omowanai
But I don’t think so.
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dokoro ka: anything but, far from
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(n) Kare wa keisatsukan dokoro ka, hanzaisha da.
He’s anything but a policeman; he’s a criminal.
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e: “to, in”; direction. written with へ rather than え, reflecting old kana usage.
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(n-direction) Nihon e yōkoso!
Welcome to Japan!
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Stuff I learned from Langfocus
- Japanese moras have either a high or low pitch
- High pitch represents the accent of a word
- Pitch can indicate a difference in meaning
- Word order is SOV.
- Copulas:
- だ (da) = casual form, only appears after nouns
- です (desu) = polite form, may also be used following adjectives
- Topic vs subject marker:
- Subject is the same simple concept as in English — a specific part of a sentence.
- Topic, however, is a higher-level concept as it pertains to what the sentence is truly about. The topic of a sentence may be different from the subject.
- Topic marker は (wa) is used with something that is already part of the conversation but needs to become the topic for this sentence. “Speaking of _topic_, __sentence about it__.”
- Subject marker が (ga) is used for something new being introduced to the conversation. I can also be used to emphasize or focus on a noun. You could call it a focus marker.
- However, it can also be used to mark objects of certain stative verbs.
- When the subject and topic are the same, は (wa) is used.
- から (kara) = from
- に (ni) = to
- の (no) = of, or ‘s (possessive)
- た (ta) = basic past tense suffix
- たい (tai) = want to suffix
- たくない (takunai) = don’t want to suffix. ku = connecting form, nai = negative
- たくなかった (takunakatta) = didn’t want to suffix. nakatta = past tense form of nai