Guide to Japanese

Particles used with verbs

In this section, we will learn some new particles essential for using verbs. We will learn how to specify the direct object of a verb and the location where a verb takes place whether it’s physical or abstract.

The direct object を particle

Vocabulary

魚(さかな)
fish
食べる(た・べる) ru-verb
to eat
ジュース(jyu u su)
juice
飲む(の・む) u-verb
to drink
街(まち)
town
ぶらぶら
wandering; aimlessly
歩く(ある・く) u-verb
to walk
高速(こう・そく)
high-speed
道路(どう・ろ)
route
走る(はし・る) u-verb
to run
毎日(まい・にち)
everyday
日本語(に・ほん・ご)
Japanese (language)
勉強(べん・きょう)
study
する exception
to do
メールアドレス(me e ru a do re su)
email address
登録(とう・ろく)
register

The first particle we will learn is the object particle because it is a very straightforward particle. The を character is attached to the end of a word to signify that that word is the direct object of the verb. This character is essentially never used anywhere else. That is why the katakana equivalent ヲ is almost never used since particles are always written in hiragana. The を character, while technically pronounced as /wo/ essentially sounds like /o/ in real speech. Here are some examples of the direct object particle in action.

Examples

  1. 魚(さかな)を食べる(た・べる)。
    Eat fish.

  2. ジュース(jyu u su)を飲(の)んだ。
    Drank juice.

Unlike the direct object we’re familiar with in English, places can also be the direct object of motion verbs such as 歩(ある)く and 走(はし)る. Since the motion verb is done to the location, the concept of direct object is the same in Japanese. However, as you can see by the next examples, it often translates to something different in English due to the slight difference of the concept of direct object.

  1. 街(まち)をぶらぶら歩く(ある・く)。
    Aimlessly walk through town. (Lit: Aimlessly walk town)

  2. 高速(こう・そく)道路(どう・ろ)を走る(はし・る)。
    Run through expressway. (Lit: Run expressway)

When you use する with a noun, the を particle is optional and you can treat the whole [noun + する] as one verb.

  1. 毎日(まい・にち)、日本語(に・ほん・ご)を勉強(べん・きょう)する。
    Study Japanese everyday.

  2. メールアドレス(me e ru a do re su)を登録(とう・ろく)した。
    Registered email address.

The target に particle

Vocabulary

日本(に・ほん)
Japan
行く(い・く) u-verb
to go
家(1) うち; 2) いえ)
one’s own home;
house
帰る(かえ・る) u-verb
to go home
部屋(へ・や)
room
来る(く・る) exception
to come
アメリカ(a me ri ka)
America
宿題(しゅく・だい)
homework
今日(きょう)
today
明日(あした)
tomorrow
猫(ねこ)
cat
いる ru-verb
to exist (animate)
いす
chair
台所(だい・どころ)
kitchen
ある u-verb
to exist (inanimate)
いい i-adj
good
友達(とも・だち)
friend
会う(あう) u-verb
to meet
医者(い・しゃ)
doctor
なる u-verb
to become
先週(せん・しゅう)
last week
図書館(と・しょ・かん)
library
来年(らい・ねん)
next year

The に particle can specify a target of a verb. This is different from the を particle in which the verb does something to the direct object. With the に particle, the verb does something toward the word associated with the に particle. For example, the target of any motion verb is specified by the に particle.

Examples

  1. ボブ(bo bu)は日本(に・ほん)に行(いき)った。
    Bob went to Japan.

  2. 家(うち)に帰(かえ)らない。
    Not go back home.

  3. 部屋(へ・や)にくる。
    Come to room.

As you can see in the last example, the target particle always targets “to” rather than “from”. If you wanted to say, “come from” for example, you would need to use から, which means “from”. If you used に, it would instead mean “come to“. から is also often paired with まで, which means “up to”.

  1. アリス(a ri su)は、アメリカ(a me ri ka)からきた。
    Alice came from America.

  2. 宿題(しゅく・だい)を今日(きょう)から明日(あした)までする。
    Will do homework from today to tomorrow.

The idea of a target in Japanese is very general and is not restricted to motion verbs. For example, the location of an object is defined as the target of the verb for existence （ある and いる）. Time is also a common target. Here are some examples of non-motion verbs and their targets

  1. 猫(ねこ)は部屋(へ・や)にいる。
    Cat is in room.

  2. いすが台所(だい・どころ)にあった。
    Chair was in the kitchen.

  3. いい友達(とも・だち)に会(あ)った。
    Met good friend.

  4. ジム(ji mu)は医者(い・しゃ)になる。
    Jim will become doctor.

  5. 先週(せん・しゅう)に図書館(と・しょ・かん)に行(いき)った。
    Went to library last week.

Note: Don’t forget to use ある for inanimate objects such as the chair and いる for animate objects such as the cat.

While the に particle is not always required to indicate time, there is a slight difference in meaning between using the target particle and not using anything at all. In the following examples, the target particle makes the date a specific target emphasizing that the friend will go to Japan at that time. Without the particle, there is no special emphasis.

  1. 友達(とも・だち)は、来年(らい・ねん)、日本(に・ほん)に行く(い・く)。
    Next year, friend go to Japan.

  2. 友達(とも・だち)は、来年(らい・ねん)に日本(に・ほん)に行く(い・く)。
    Friend go to Japan next year.

The directional へ particle

Vocabulary

日本(に・ほん)
Japan
行く(い・く) u-verb
to go
家(1) うち; 2) いえ)
one’s own home;
house
帰る(かえ・る) u-verb
to go home
部屋(へ・や)
room
来る(く・る) exception
to come
医者(い・しゃ)
doctor
なる u-verb
to become
勝ち(か・ち)
victory
向かう(むか・う) u-verb
to face; to go towards

While へ is normally pronounced /he/, when it is being used as a particle, it is always pronounced /e/ （え）. The primary difference between the に and へ particle is that に goes to a target as the final, intended destination (both physical or abstract). The へ particle, on the other hand, is used to express the fact that one is setting out towards the direction of the target. As a result, it is only used with directional motion verbs. It also does not guarantee whether the target is the final intended destination, only that one is heading towards that direction. In other words, the に particle sticks to the destination while the へ particle is fuzzy about where one is ultimately headed. For example, if we choose to replace に with へ in the first three examples of the previous section, the nuance changes slightly.

Examples

  1. ボブ(bo bu)は日本(に・ほん)へ行(いき)った。
    Bob headed towards Japan.

  2. 家(うち)へ帰(かえ)らない。
    Not go home toward house.

  3. 部屋(へ・や)へくる。
    Come towards room.

Note that we cannot use the へ particle with verbs that have no physical direction. For example, the following is incorrect.

  • 医者(い・しゃ)へなる。
    (Grammatically incorrect version of 医者(い・しゃ)になる.)

This does not mean to say that へ cannot set out towards an abstract concept. In fact, because of the fuzzy directional meaning of this particle, the へ particle can also be used to talk about setting out towards certain future goals or expectations.

  • 勝ち(か・ち)へ向(む)かう。
    Go towards victory.

The contextual で particle

Vocabulary

映画館(えい・が・かん)
movie theatre
見る(み・る) ru-verb
to see
バス(ba su)
bus
帰る(かえ・る) u-verb
to go home
レストラン(re su to ra n)
restaurant
昼ご飯(ひる・ご・はん)
lunch
食べる(た・べる) ru-verb
to eat
何(なに／なん)
what
暇(ひま)
free 　(as in not busy)

The で particle will allow us to specify the context in which the action is performed. For example, if a person ate a fish, where did he eat it? If a person went to school, by what means did she go? With what will you eat the soup? All of these questions can be answered with the で particle. Here are some examples.

Examples

  1. 映画館{映画館(えい・が・かん)}で見(み)た。
    Saw at movie theater.

  2. バス(ba su)で帰る(かえ・る)。
    Go home by bus.

  3. レストラン(re su to ra n)で昼ご飯(ひる・ご・はん)を食(た)べた。
    Ate lunch at restaurant.

It may help to think of で as meaning “by way of”. This way, the same meaning will kind of translate into what the sentence means. The examples will then read: “Saw by way of movie theater”, “Go home by way of bus”, and “Ate lunch by way of restaurant.”

Using で with 何(なに)

The word for “what” （何(なに)） is quite annoying because while it’s usually read as なに, sometimes it is read as なん depending on how it’s used. And since it’s always written in Kanji, you can’t tell which it is. I would suggest sticking with なに until someone corrects you for when it should be なん. With the で particle, it is read as なに as well. (Hold the mouse cursor over the word to check the reading.)

  1. 何(なに)できた？
    Came by the way of what?

  2. バス(ba su)できた。
    Came by the way of bus.

Here’s the confusing part. There is a colloquial version of the word “why” that is used much more often than the less colloquial version どうして or the more forceful なぜ. It is also written as 何(なん)で but it is read as なんで. This is a completely separate word and has nothing to do with the で particle.

  1. 何(なん)できた？
    Why did you come?

  2. 暇(ひま)だから。
    Because I am free (as in have nothing to do).

The から here meaning “because” is different from the から we just learned and will be covered later in the compound sentence section. Basically the point is that the two sentences, while written the same way, are read differently and mean completely different things. Don’t worry. This causes less confusion than you think because 95% of the time, the latter is used rather than the former. And even when なにで is intended, the context will leave no mistake on which one is being used. Even in this short example snippet, you can tell which it is by looking at the answer to the question.

When location is the topic

Vocabulary

学校(がっ・こう)
school
行く(い・く) u-verb
to go
図書館(と・しょ・かん)
library
どこ
where
イタリア(i ta ri a)
Italy
レストラン(re su to ra n)
restaurant
どう
how

There are times when the location of an action is also the topic of a sentence. You can attach the topic particle （は and も） to the three particles that indicate location （に、へ、で） when the location is the topic. We’ll see how location might become the topic in the following examples.

Example 1

ボブ(bo bu) Bob
学校(がっ・こう)に行(い)った？
(Did you) go to school?
アリス(a ri su) Alice
行(い)かなかった。
Didn’t go.
ボブ(bo bu) Bob
図書館(と・しょ・かん)には？
What about library?
アリス(a ri su) Alice
図書館(と・しょ・かん)にも行(い)かなかった。
Also didn’t go to library.

In this example, Bob brings up a new topic (library) and so the location becomes the topic. The sentence is actually an abbreviated version of 図書館(と・しょ・かん)には行(い)った？ which you can ascertain from the context.

Example 2

ボブ(bo bu) Bob
どこで食べる(た・べる)？
Eat where?
アリス(a ri su) Alice
イタリア(i ta ri a)レストラン(re su to ra n)ではどう？
How about Italian restaurant?

Bob asks, “Where shall we eat?” and Alice suggests an Italian restaurant. A sentence like, “How about…” usually brings up a new topic because the person is suggesting something new. In this case, the location (restaurant) is being suggested so it becomes the topic.

When direct object is the topic

Vocabulary

日本語(に・ほん・ご)
Japanese (language)
習う(なら・う) u-verb
to learn

The direct object particle is different from particles related to location in that you cannot use any other particles at the same time. For example, going by the previous section, you might have guessed that you can say をは to express a direct object that is also the topic but this is not the case. A topic can be a direct object without using the を particle. In fact, putting the を particle in will make it wrong.

Examples

  1. 日本語(に・ほん・ご)を習う(なら・う)。
    Learn Japanese.

  2. 日本語(に・ほん・ご)は、習う(なら・う)。
    About Japanese, (will) learn it.

Please take care to not make this mistake.

  • 日本語(に・ほん・ご)をは、習う(なら・う)。
    (This is incorrect.)