{"id":6825,"date":"2021-01-14T07:26:22","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T07:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/?p=6825"},"modified":"2021-01-14T07:26:22","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T07:26:22","slug":"those-pesky-particles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/those-pesky-particles\/","title":{"rendered":"Those Pesky Particles!"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a non-native English speaker, my biggest foe is the article\u00a0<\/u>(\u51a0\u8a5e kanshi).\u00a0Yes, those \u201ca\u201d and \u201cthe\u201d devils.\u00a0When you ask native English speakers, they always say – if you refer to an item the first time, use \u201ca\u201d and after that \u201cthe\u201d.\u00a0 Well, life is not that simple especially in English that is full of exceptions\u00a0<\/u>(\u4f8b\u5916reigai).\u00a0I did learn about the articles in middle school (\u4e2d\u5b66 chugaku)\u2013 there were many uses, but real life is more complicated \u00a0<\/u>(\u3084\u3084\u3063\u3053\u3057\u3044\u3001\u8907\u96d1\u306a yayakkoshii, fukuzauna).<\/p>\n

\"\"

Image by Gerd Altmann<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

And I learned that we, the Japanese, have the equivalent to\u00a0<\/u>(\u301c\u306b\u76f8\u5f53\u3059\u308b\u301cni sotosuru) these pesky \u00a0<\/u>(\u5384\u4ecb\u306a yakkaina) articles.\u00a0 Allow me to introduce PARTICLES\u00a0<\/u>(\u52a9\u8a5e \u00a0joshi)!\u00a0 We, the native speakers, have no trouble but we have trouble explaining them.\u00a0That is because we learn them in everyday life as we grow up and not by rules and formulas.\u00a0 Yes, we do learn them at school, but we perfect them outside the school without trying.<\/p>\n

So what are the particles?They are short words that indicate relations of words within a sentence.\u00a0 Thanks to particles, Japanese sentence structures can be very flexible\u00a0<\/u>(\u81ea\u7531\u306b\u5909\u3048\u3089\u308c\u308b\u3001\u30d5\u30ec\u30ad\u30b7\u30d6\u30eb\u3001jiyu ni kaerareru).\u3000Look at the sentences below for an example.\u00a0 Particles are shown in RED.<\/p>\n

Sunny and Paige watched a movie together in Shibuya on Sunday.
\n\u30b5\u30cb\u30fc\u3055\u3093\u3068<\/span>\u30da\u30a4\u30b8\u3055\u3093\u306f<\/span>\u3000\u65e5\u66dc\u65e5\u306b<\/span>\u3000\u6e0b\u8c37\u3067<\/span>\u3000\u6620\u753b\u3092<\/span>\u3000\u898b\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/p>\n

(Sunny-san to Paige-san wa \u00a0 nichiyoubini\u00a0 \u00a0Shibuyade\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0eigawo \u00a0mimashita)<\/p>\n

\u65e5\u66dc\u65e5\u306b<\/span>\u3000\u30b5\u30cb\u30fc\u3055\u3093\u3068\u30da\u30a4\u30b8\u3055\u3093\u306f<\/span>\u3000\u6620\u753b\u3092<\/span>\u3000\u6e0b\u8c37\u3067<\/span>\u3000\u898b\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/p>\n

\u6e0b\u8c37\u3067<\/span>\u3000\u65e5\u66dc\u65e5\u306b<\/span>\u3000\u6620\u753b\u3092<\/span>\u3000\u30b5\u30cb\u30fc\u3055\u3093\u3068\u30da\u30a4\u30b8\u3055\u3093\u306f<\/span>\u3000\u898b\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/p>\n

\u6620\u753b\u3092<\/span>\u3000\u65e5\u66dc\u65e5\u306b<\/span>\u3000\u6e0b\u8c37\u3067<\/span>\u3000\u30b5\u30cb\u30fc\u3055\u3093\u3068\u30da\u30a4\u30b8\u3055\u3093\u306f<\/span>\u3000\u898b\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/p>\n

\u30b5\u30cb\u30fc\u3055\u3093\u3068\u30da\u30a4\u30b8\u3055\u3093\u306f<\/span>\u3000\u6e0b\u8c37\u3067<\/span>\u3000\u6620\u753b\u3092<\/span>\u3000\u65e5\u66dc\u65e5\u306b<\/span>\u3000\u898b\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/p>\n

\u65e5\u66dc\u65e5\u306b<\/span>\u3000\u30b5\u30cb\u30fc\u3055\u3093\u3068\u30da\u30a4\u30b8\u3055\u3093\u306f<\/span>\u3000\u6620\u753b\u3092<\/span>\u3000\u6e0b\u8c37\u3067<\/span>\u3000\u898b\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/p>\n

As you can see, an order of the words does not matter in Japanese as long as appropriate particles are used (of course, some word orders are more natural than others.) Thus, learning the particles is extremely important.<\/p>\n

In any culture or country, comedians use\u00a0stereotypes\u00a0<\/u>(\u30b9\u30c6\u30ec\u30aa\u30bf\u30a4\u30d7).\u00a0 Non-Japanese comedians often use our inability to distinguish R and L sounds, and the nervous mysterious laughs to mimic\u00a0<\/u>(\u771f\u4f3c\u3059\u308b, \u304b\u3089\u304b\u3046manesuru, karakau) Japanese.\u00a0 So what do the Japanese comedians do to imitate non-native Japanese speakers other than pronunciation and intonations?\u00a0 When they imitate non-native Japanese speakers, they use Japanese without particles.\u00a0I am sure they are not aware of such grammatical traits.<\/p>\n

\"\"

irasutoya.com<\/p><\/div>\n

I have seen beginner Japanese students struggle with\u00a0<\/u>(\u82e6\u52b4\u3059\u308bkurosuru) particles.\u00a0 It must be very frustrating, I know!\u00a0 I wanted to help because I did not want them to get so frustrated\u00a0<\/u>(\u30a4\u30e9\u30a4\u30e9\u3059\u308birairasuru) that they would lose interest.\u00a0 But just like the pesky English articles, there is no easy way. But if you can get the basic understandings down, you are already winning!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u306f<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>(ha) is pronounced as wa when used as a particle.\u00a0 It is the first particle that\u00a0most learners encounter.<\/p>\n

\"\"

irasutoya.com<\/p><\/div>\n

A \u306fB\u3067\u3059\u3002A is B, \u3000A=B
\n\u79c1\u306f\u3000\u5927\u5b66\u751f\u3067\u3059\u3002watashiha daigakuseidesu. \u00a0I am a college student.<\/p>\n

\u3053\u308c\u306f\u3000\u672c\u3067\u3059\u3002korewa hondesu. \u00a0This is a book.<\/p>\n

Simple, right? \u3000It is the same as \u201cThis is a pen.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

irasutoya.com<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u306e\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>connects two nouns.<\/p>\n

\u79c1<\/u>\u3000\u306e\u3000\u72ac<\/u>\u3000\uff08watashi no inu: my dog)
\nNoun1 \u00a0 Noun2
\n\u79c1\u3000\u306e\u3000\u307e\u3061\u3000(watashi no machi: my town)<\/p>\n

Noun 1 restricts and specifies, while Noun 2 is a main idea.<\/p>\n

\u79c1<\/u>\u3000\u306e\u3000\u72ac<\/u>\u3000\u306f\u3000\u3057\u3070\u72ac\u3067\u3059\u3002(watashi no inu wa shibainudesu: my dog is shibainu. )
\nN\uff11\u3000+\u3000N\uff12 \u00a0can be treated as a noun.<\/p>\n

\u3082<\/strong><\/span>\uff08mo)<\/p>\n

1) The second item shares a common attribute. \u00a0A\u306fC\u3067\u3059\u3002B\u3082C\u3067\u3059\u3002A is C, and B is C, too.
\n\u308a\u3093\u3054\u306f\u679c\u7269\u3067\u3059\u3002\u30d0\u30ca\u30ca\u3082<\/u>\u679c\u7269\u3067\u3059\u3002
\nAn apple is a fruit.\u00a0 Banana is a fruit, too.<\/p>\n

2)Two or more people perform the same activity.
\n\u30b5\u30cb\u30fc\u3055\u3093\u306f\u30b7\u30a2\u30c8\u30eb\u306b\u884c\u304d\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002\u30da\u30a4\u30b8\u3055\u3093\u3082<\/u>\u30b7\u30a2\u30c8\u30eb\u306b\u884c\u304d\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002
\nSunny went to Seattle.\u00a0 Paige went to Seattle, too.<\/p>\n

Watch out for particles other than \u306f, \u304c, \u3092.\u00a0 They can be used with<\/strong> \u3082rather than being replaced by it.<\/p>\n

\u79c1\u306f\u4eac\u90fd\u306b\u884c\u304d\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002\u5927\u962a\u306b\u3082<\/u>\u884c\u304d\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002
\nI went to Kyoto.\u00a0 I went to Osaka, too.<\/p>\n

\u79c1\u306f\u30ab\u30d5\u30a7\u3067\u30b3\u30fc\u30d2\u30fc\u3092\u98f2\u307f\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002\u3046\u3061\u3067\u3082<\/u>\u98f2\u307f\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002
\nI had coffee at a caf\u00e9.\u00a0 I had it at home, too.<\/p>\n

\u30b5\u30cb\u30fc\u3055\u3093\u306f\u30cb\u30e5\u30fc\u30e8\u30fc\u30af\u306b\u884c\u304d\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002\u30c0\u30e9\u30b9\u3078\u3082<\/u>\u884c\u304d\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002
\nSunny went to New York. \u00a0He went to Dallas, too.<\/p>\n

\u3092<\/strong><\/span>\uff1adirect object – things that are directly involved in, or affected by, the event.
\n\u30b3\u30fc\u30d2\u30fc\u3092\u98f2\u307f\u307e\u3059\u3002(ko-hi-o nomimasu, I drink coffee.)
\n\u6620\u753b\u3092\u898b\u307e\u3057\u305f\u3002(eigao mimashita. I saw a movie.)<\/p>\n

\u3067<\/strong><\/span>: \u00a0place of action. Where the event described by the verb takes place.
\n\u56f3\u66f8\u9928\u3067<\/strong>\u672c\u3092\u3088\u307f\u307e\u3059\u3002(toshokan de hon o yomimasu, I read a book at a library.)<\/p>\n

\u306b<\/strong><\/span>:
\n\uff11\uff09Goal of Movement, interchangeable with \u3078 (pronounced as \u2018e\u2019)
\n\u5b66\u6821\u306b<\/strong>\u884c\u304d\u307e\u3059\u3002\u5b66\u6821\u3078\u884c\u304d\u307e\u3059\u3002\uff08gakkoni ikimasu, gakkoue inimasu, I go to school.)<\/p>\n

\uff12\uff09the time at which an event takes place
\n\u5341\u4e8c\u6642\u306b\u5bdd\u307e\u3059\u3002
\n\u65e5\u66dc\u65e5\u306b\u884c\u304d\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/p>\n

Here are some occasions you do not use \u306b.
\n\u6bce\u65e5\u98df\u3079\u307e\u3059\u3002
\n\u4eca\u65e5\u884c\u304d\u307e\u3059\u3002
\n\u4eca\u6669\u306b\u30c6\u30ec\u30d3\u3092\u898b\u307e\u3059\u3002
\n\u3044\u3064\u6765\u307e\u3059\u304b\u3002
\n\u9031\u672b\uff08\u306b\uff09\u884c\u304d\u307e\u3059\u3002<\/p>\n

\u3078<\/strong><\/span>\u3000pronounced as \u2018e\u2019\uff1aGoal of Movement, interchangeable with \u306b<\/p>\n

I just scratched the very surface of the world of particles from a beginner textbook.\u00a0 You cannot avoid the particles, so my advice to you is to invest your time to understand basics, and do many \u201cfill in the blank\u201d type of questions.\u00a0 And do not get frustrated and discouraged!\u00a0 Learning a foreign language is difficult but so rewarding.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

As a non-native English speaker, my biggest foe is the article\u00a0(\u51a0\u8a5e kanshi).\u00a0Yes, those \u201ca\u201d and \u201cthe\u201d devils.\u00a0When you ask native English speakers, they always say – if you refer to an item the first time, use \u201ca\u201d and after that \u201cthe\u201d.\u00a0 Well, life is not that simple especially in English that is full of exceptions\u00a0(\u4f8b\u5916reigai).\u00a0I…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":6826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6,505759],"tags":[2760],"class_list":["post-6825","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grammar","category-vocabulary","tag-japanese-particles"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6825"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6836,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6825\/revisions\/6836"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}