All About Particles: A Handbook of Japanese Function Words (Properly Cut and Bookmarked)

147 Pages·2001·33.46 MB·English

by  Naoko Chino

t'
CONTENTS
-H- ril
'u(cid:631)民 Preface 7 19. Kurai (gurai) --llit
Z 1. Wa は 10 くらい( ぐらい) 75 t-i
げ !t-
IAL 2. Ga カf 13 20. Hodo ほど 77 ;-
L J:
Jr 3. Mo も 26 21. Bakari ばかり 78 -:
f j
pdT川 4. -Temo(-demo) 22. Dake だけ 81 lier
T ても( でも) 29 23. Shika しか 85 t-
: i-
J・ 5. Demo でも 30 24. Nomi のみ 86 -13
4 -1
76H 6. To と 33 25. Kiri きり 87 i:j
7. Towa とは 40 26. Node ので 88
44HR!V-川1 8. Ya や 41 27. Monode もので 89
SPereriveiso (凶19ly91p)u. blished under the same title in the Power Japanese L-a 9. Toka とか 42 28. Keredomo けれども 卯
、tF
Distributed in the United States by Kodansha America，In c.， ho場iF 10. Nado など 43 29. Tokoro de ところで 92
and in the United Kingdom and continental Europeby' Kodansha
EuropeLtd. 事ＮＭｾＮｉ＠、s 11. Ka か 45 30. Noni のに 93
PBuunblkiysohe・dk ub，yT Kookdyaon s1h12a- I8n6t5e2ma，atin odn Ka1 oLdtadn.s，h1a7 - A1m4e Orticoaw，aI n1 c-. chome， 12. De で 49 31. KIlSeni くせに 94
白 pyrightC 1991 by Naoko Chino. 13. Ni に 52 32. Monono ものの 95
All rights reserved. Printed in Japan.
ISBN-13: 97ふ-4-7700-2781-8 11， 14. E へ 60 33. Tokoro ga ところカf 96
←
ISBN・10: 7700-2781-8 15. Kara から 61 34. -Ba ば 97
First edition，19 91
First回 depaperback edition，20 01 16. Made まで 65 35. -Tara たら 1ω
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 15 14 13 12 11 10987
www.1uHuJnsha・intLcom 、:a事内坦庁、‘ 1178. .N0oをの 6782 3367.. NMaornaonなaらra ものなら 110023
川
ト
泌
事
』
t'
CONTENTS
-H- ril
'u(cid:631)民 Preface 7 19. Kurai (gurai) --llit
Z 1. Wa は 10 くらい( ぐらい) 75 t-i
げ !t-
IAL 2. Ga カf 13 20. Hodo ほど 77 ;-
L J:
Jr 3. Mo も 26 21. Bakari ばかり 78 -:
f j
pdT川 4. -Temo(-demo) 22. Dake だけ 81 lier
T ても( でも) 29 23. Shika しか 85 t-
: i-
J・ 5. Demo でも 30 24. Nomi のみ 86 -13
4 -1
76H 6. To と 33 25. Kiri きり 87 i:j
7. Towa とは 40 26. Node ので 88
44HR!V-川1 8. Ya や 41 27. Monode もので 89
SPereriveiso (凶19ly91p)u. blished under the same title in the Power Japanese L-a 9. Toka とか 42 28. Keredomo けれども 卯
、tF
Distributed in the United States by Kodansha America，In c.， ho場iF 10. Nado など 43 29. Tokoro de ところで 92
and in the United Kingdom and continental Europeby' Kodansha
EuropeLtd. 事ＮＭｾＮｉ＠、s 11. Ka か 45 30. Noni のに 93
PBuunblkiysohe・dk ub，yT Kookdyaon s1h12a- I8n6t5e2ma，atin odn Ka1 oLdtadn.s，h1a7 - A1m4e Orticoaw，aI n1 c-. chome， 12. De で 49 31. KIlSeni くせに 94
白 pyrightC 1991 by Naoko Chino. 13. Ni に 52 32. Monono ものの 95
All rights reserved. Printed in Japan.
ISBN-13: 97ふ-4-7700-2781-8 11， 14. E へ 60 33. Tokoro ga ところカf 96
←
ISBN・10: 7700-2781-8 15. Kara から 61 34. -Ba ば 97
First edition，19 91
First回 depaperback edition，20 01 16. Made まで 65 35. -Tara たら 1ω
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 15 14 13 12 11 10987
www.1uHuJnsha・intLcom 、:a事内坦庁、‘ 1178. .N0oをの 6782 3367.. NMaornaonなaらra ものなら 110023
川
ト
泌
事
』
38. Tokoro ところ 105 59. Na な 135
39. M onoo ものを 106 60. Sa さ 137 PREFACE
40. -Nagara なが6 107 6l. Koto こと 138
4l. -Tari たり 108 62. - Kke っけ 139
42. S hi し 110 63. -Tteba ってば 140
4"3. Tomo とも 111 64. -1い 140 Some things are easier to learn出叩 others. Take，fo r instance，
Japanese nouns，ve rbs，ad jectives，an d adverbs. Once you have a
44. Yara やら 114 65. Mono もの 141 litt1eg rammar under your belt，yo u can pick them up and squirrel
45. Dano だの 116 66. Ze ぜ 143 themawaywi血relativeease. For some reason，th ough，出isdoesn't
work with partic1es. They can'tbe looked up，pi nned down，or
ＴＶ ｾ＠ Nari なり 117 67. Zo ぞ 143
pigeonholed in the same way that their fel10ws can. Yet their cor-
47. -Tewa (-dewa) 68. Monoka ものか 144 rect usage is essential to speaking Japanese wi出any degree of
ては( では) 119 日uency.
69. Ni に 145
Whyar e partic1es so elusive? Because partic1es are next to mean-
48. Dokoro どころ 121
ingless as isolated entities. Ap artic1e，in fact，mi ght be defined as
49. Toshite として 122 ano n-conjugating part of speech，be aring an absolute mi ni mum
Index 146
50. Yori より 123 of independent meaning，wh ich atlaches itself to other parts of
speech and thereby places them in context. Thus，a s tatement
5l. Sae さえ 126 consisting of as ingle partic1ew ouldn't convey much meaning.
52. Sura すら 127 But the addition of another word would make aw orld of differ-
ence. A phrase like おかo ni (to Tokyo)，fo r instance，w ould
53. Koso こそ 127 communicate something，bu t not ni by itself. The rule of thumb
ight be:Ja panese partic1es have virtual1yn o meaning bereft of
叩
context.
Sentence-ending In血is book，1 pr opose to c1arify the functions of ac onsider-
Particles able number of partic1es，to describe their various usages，an d，
..y
most irnportant，to exemplify each and eve usage with sample
54. Ne ね 128 sentences. Only in白is way-through context- can thes tudent
55. Yo よ 131 truly come to grips with the Japanese partic1e.
Don'tbe surprised by certain of the partic1es taken up here.
56. Wa わ 132 福島守
For example，th ere is-b a，as in nomeba (if [you] drink).Yo u may
v、司
57. Kana かな 133 出i叫E出at -ba is not apa rtic1eat a，1l but an inflection of the verb
nomu. Grammatically speaking，h owever，-b a iso ne of asp ecies
58. Kashira かしら 134
of partic1e白紙 fol1ows conjugated verbs(i n出is case，n ome-).
38. Tokoro ところ 105 59. Na な 135
39. M onoo ものを 106 60. Sa さ 137 PREFACE
40. -Nagara なが6 107 6l. Koto こと 138
4l. -Tari たり 108 62. - Kke っけ 139
42. S hi し 110 63. -Tteba ってば 140
4"3. Tomo とも 111 64. -1い 140 Some things are easier to learn出叩 others. Take，fo r instance，
Japanese nouns，ve rbs，ad jectives，an d adverbs. Once you have a
44. Yara やら 114 65. Mono もの 141 litt1eg rammar under your belt，yo u can pick them up and squirrel
45. Dano だの 116 66. Ze ぜ 143 themawaywi血relativeease. For some reason，th ough，出isdoesn't
work with partic1es. They can'tbe looked up，pi nned down，or
ＴＶ ｾ＠ Nari なり 117 67. Zo ぞ 143
pigeonholed in the same way that their fel10ws can. Yet their cor-
47. -Tewa (-dewa) 68. Monoka ものか 144 rect usage is essential to speaking Japanese wi出any degree of
ては( では) 119 日uency.
69. Ni に 145
Whyar e partic1es so elusive? Because partic1es are next to mean-
48. Dokoro どころ 121
ingless as isolated entities. Ap artic1e，in fact，mi ght be defined as
49. Toshite として 122 ano n-conjugating part of speech，be aring an absolute mi ni mum
Index 146
50. Yori より 123 of independent meaning，wh ich atlaches itself to other parts of
speech and thereby places them in context. Thus，a s tatement
5l. Sae さえ 126 consisting of as ingle partic1ew ouldn't convey much meaning.
52. Sura すら 127 But the addition of another word would make aw orld of differ-
ence. A phrase like おかo ni (to Tokyo)，fo r instance，w ould
53. Koso こそ 127 communicate something，bu t not ni by itself. The rule of thumb
ight be:Ja panese partic1es have virtual1yn o meaning bereft of
叩
context.
Sentence-ending In血is book，1 pr opose to c1arify the functions of ac onsider-
Particles able number of partic1es，to describe their various usages，an d，
..y
most irnportant，to exemplify each and eve usage with sample
54. Ne ね 128 sentences. Only in白is way-through context- can thes tudent
55. Yo よ 131 truly come to grips with the Japanese partic1e.
Don'tbe surprised by certain of the partic1es taken up here.
56. Wa わ 132 福島守
For example，th ere is-b a，as in nomeba (if [you] drink).Yo u may
v、司
57. Kana かな 133 出i叫E出at -ba is not apa rtic1eat a，1l but an inflection of the verb
nomu. Grammatically speaking，h owever，-b a iso ne of asp ecies
58. Kashira かしら 134
of partic1e白紙 fol1ows conjugated verbs(i n出is case，n ome-).
11
!
1
8 Preface

1
Since -ba and others of its tribe are not only true particles but l
exhibit am 凶tiplicityof usage well worth your attention，1 h ave ，
chosen to include them.
AII About Particles
An effort has been made to present the particles in order of
frequency-the more common first; the less，la ter. An attempt
has also been made to group particles by meaning. Neither the
ordering nor the grouping，ho wever，is entirely consistent，si nce
the two systems are now and then at loggerheads. A f urther com-
plication is that some of the more basic particles have usages
belonging more properly to an intermediate or advanced level of
stuCdyr.o s(sA lrle ufesraegnecse sat atrhee sper otvwiod eledv ewlhse arree smiamirlkareidti weis tehx iasstt ebreistkws.e)e n 141isll1』
wbtcnfdhioireoer旺ettt sehw eweptoreh irteuieunntlwnegte o e w epcpivaqneaaer.urr tn ittia vaicInaialcnnledu ssel p.lpnag aiartagrTrls htthy tibi i icpecnslcceu e hlaswstaau kahrmnsyes，ge a p esnatyeo rohntif bteins r ec tedel hmb eoe出asena s.ar iefaentcr awieloiqnnlntuguyehe mnaoo eltcuri r atkiaone ns ，utcor 出seeemr rpeptecllyaao aimcamynier ps ebaog aerduintsvidouwisntaneoehlgenselsnssry， ‘114aubiJP611141141111911u!什川11p
For those who wish to test their proficiency through exercises
or who want more sample sentences，se e myG aikokuゴinno tama
no joshi (外国人のための助調) published in Tokyo by Musashino
Shoin ( 武蔵野書院) .
Finally，I出ankSuzuki Shigeyoshi and Michael Brase，my edi-
tors at Kodansha International，fo r their help. Mys incere thanks
also go to Jay Thomas，w ho did most of the translation白血e
body of the book and 0能redm叩 yvaluable suggestions. With-
out the cooperation of these three，th is book would never have
come into being.
11
!
1
8 Preface

1
Since -ba and others of its tribe are not only true particles but l
exhibit am 凶tiplicityof usage well worth your attention，1 h ave ，
chosen to include them.
AII About Particles
An effort has been made to present the particles in order of
frequency-the more common first; the less，la ter. An attempt
has also been made to group particles by meaning. Neither the
ordering nor the grouping，ho wever，is entirely consistent，si nce
the two systems are now and then at loggerheads. A f urther com-
plication is that some of the more basic particles have usages
belonging more properly to an intermediate or advanced level of
stuCdyr.o s(sA lrle ufesraegnecse sat atrhee sper otvwiod eledv ewlhse arree smiamirlkareidti weis tehx iasstt ebreistkws.e)e n 141isll1』
wbtcnfdhioireoer旺ettt sehw eweptoreh irteuieunntlwnegte o e w epcpivaqneaaer.urr tn ittia vaicInaialcnnledu ssel p.lpnag aiartagrTrls htthy tibi i icpecnslcceu e hlaswstaau kahrmnsyes，ge a p esnatyeo rohntif bteins r ec tedel hmb eoe出asena s.ar iefaentcr awieloiqnnlntuguyehe mnaoo eltcuri r atkiaone ns ，utcor 出seeemr rpeptecllyaao aimcamynier ps ebaog aerduintsvidouwisntaneoehlgenselsnssry， ‘114aubiJP611141141111911u!什川11p
For those who wish to test their proficiency through exercises
or who want more sample sentences，se e myG aikokuゴinno tama
no joshi (外国人のための助調) published in Tokyo by Musashino
Shoin ( 武蔵野書院) .
Finally，I出ankSuzuki Shigeyoshi and Michael Brase，my edi-
tors at Kodansha International，fo r their help. Mys incere thanks
also go to Jay Thomas，w ho did most of the translation白血e
body of the book and 0能redm叩 yvaluable suggestions. With-
out the cooperation of these three，th is book would never have
come into being.
10 WA
WA 11
回l WAI
あさっては日曜日ですね。
は
違います。明日が日曜日ですよ。
Note: Wah as several usages，bu t its basic function is to set off ato pic (e.g.， Asatte wa nichiyobi desu ne.
of conversation) from the rest of the sentence，wh ich talks about the topic.
Chigaimasu・Ashitaga nichiyobi desu yo.
Technically，w a does not indicate case (subject，ob ject，et cふHowever，in
The day after tomorrow is Sunday，isn 't it.
practical terms，it often (but not always) comes a食紅白esubject of the sen-
tence. See also ωwa(#7)and ・tewa(#47). You're wrong there. Tomorrow js Sunday.
1. Indicates that information is being presented about some-
3. In theconstruction N + w a N +g 仏， waindicates at opic (出e
thing that isalready known or出.at has been identified.
first noun) about which anωpect or quality (the second noun)
is explained.
あそこに赤い本がありますね。あれは漢字の本です。
Asoko ni akai hon ga arimasu ne. Are wak anji no hon desu. 象は鼻が長いです。
Over there is a r ed book，ri ght. It'sa k anji book. / S ee the red Zo wa hana ga nagai desu.
book over there? That' sa k anji book.
The elephantー itsnose is long./ E lephants have long noses.
あの大学は、四谷駅の近くにあります。
竹本さんは性格が優しいです。
Ano daigaku w仏 Yotsuya-eki no chikaku ni arimasu.
Takemoto-san was eikaku ga yasashii desu.
That university-it's n ear Yotsuya Station. / T hat university is a
As for Takemoto，h er personality is gentle. / T akemoto has
near Yotsuya Station.
gentle nature.
2. Indicates at opic，wh ich is白enidentified or explained.
• 4. Used to show contrast between two items or ideas，bo th of
明日は日曜日です。 6 which aresignifiedby wa.
会
Ashita wa nichiyobi desu. ま
'， 漢字は難しいですが、日本語の文法はあまり難しくないん
As for tomorrow，it' s Sunday. /T omorrow is Sunday.
です。
鯨は魚ではありません。 aiJhf Kanji wa muzukashii desu g ，a Nihon-go no bunpo wa amari muzu-
kashiku nai-n desu.
Kujira was akana de wa arimasen.
As for the whale，it is not af ish. /T hew hale is not af ish. Kanjia問 difficult，but Japanese grammar is not very difficult.
Note: If ga replaces wa in these sentences，th e noun which it follows is no 北海道の冬は寒いですが、東京は暖かいです。
ル
longer being presented as ato pic but as the subject of the predicate (see g偽， Hokkaido no yuwas amui desu ga，To kyo waa tatakai desu.
#2，1- 2). The switch from topic (wa) to definite subject (ga) lays stress on 百leHokkaido winter is cold，bu t [由e] Tokyo [winter] is warm. /
the latter. For example: It's cold in Hokkaido h the winter，butwarm in Tokyo-
10 WA
WA 11
回l WAI
あさっては日曜日ですね。
は
違います。明日が日曜日ですよ。
Note: Wah as several usages，bu t its basic function is to set off ato pic (e.g.， Asatte wa nichiyobi desu ne.
of conversation) from the rest of the sentence，wh ich talks about the topic.
Chigaimasu・Ashitaga nichiyobi desu yo.
Technically，w a does not indicate case (subject，ob ject，et cふHowever，in
The day after tomorrow is Sunday，isn 't it.
practical terms，it often (but not always) comes a食紅白esubject of the sen-
tence. See also ωwa(#7)and ・tewa(#47). You're wrong there. Tomorrow js Sunday.
1. Indicates that information is being presented about some-
3. In theconstruction N + w a N +g 仏， waindicates at opic (出e
thing that isalready known or出.at has been identified.
first noun) about which anωpect or quality (the second noun)
is explained.
あそこに赤い本がありますね。あれは漢字の本です。
Asoko ni akai hon ga arimasu ne. Are wak anji no hon desu. 象は鼻が長いです。
Over there is a r ed book，ri ght. It'sa k anji book. / S ee the red Zo wa hana ga nagai desu.
book over there? That' sa k anji book.
The elephantー itsnose is long./ E lephants have long noses.
あの大学は、四谷駅の近くにあります。
竹本さんは性格が優しいです。
Ano daigaku w仏 Yotsuya-eki no chikaku ni arimasu.
Takemoto-san was eikaku ga yasashii desu.
That university-it's n ear Yotsuya Station. / T hat university is a
As for Takemoto，h er personality is gentle. / T akemoto has
near Yotsuya Station.
gentle nature.
2. Indicates at opic，wh ich is白enidentified or explained.
• 4. Used to show contrast between two items or ideas，bo th of
明日は日曜日です。 6 which aresignifiedby wa.
会
Ashita wa nichiyobi desu. ま
'， 漢字は難しいですが、日本語の文法はあまり難しくないん
As for tomorrow，it' s Sunday. /T omorrow is Sunday.
です。
鯨は魚ではありません。 aiJhf Kanji wa muzukashii desu g ，a Nihon-go no bunpo wa amari muzu-
kashiku nai-n desu.
Kujira was akana de wa arimasen.
As for the whale，it is not af ish. /T hew hale is not af ish. Kanjia問 difficult，but Japanese grammar is not very difficult.
Note: If ga replaces wa in these sentences，th e noun which it follows is no 北海道の冬は寒いですが、東京は暖かいです。
ル
longer being presented as ato pic but as the subject of the predicate (see g偽， Hokkaido no yuwas amui desu ga，To kyo waa tatakai desu.
#2，1- 2). The switch from topic (wa) to definite subject (ga) lays stress on 百leHokkaido winter is cold，bu t [由e] Tokyo [winter] is warm. /
the latter. For example: It's cold in Hokkaido h the winter，butwarm in Tokyo-
‘'‘
GA 13
12 WA
R
Note: In some cases，on ly one item or idea is explicitly mentioned. For お茶は飲みましたが、時間がなかったので食事はしません
example，in the following sentence，th e impJication is白紙白eperson might でした。
go to ac heaper restaurant. Ocha wa nomimashita ga，ji kan ga.nak atta no de shokuji wa shi-
masen deshita.
高いから、あのレストランには行きません。 1h ad some tea，bu t since there wasn't much time，1 d idn't eat
Takai kara，an o resutoran ni wai kimasen. (have am eal).
Because it's expensive，1 w on't go to白at restaurant. I 1 a mn ot
going to thatrestaurant because it'st oo expensive.
Note: In its contrastive function，wa comes after other particles (e.g.，ni wa， 園l
de wa). Two important exceptions are when it replaces ga and 0，as in the GAI が
next example.
1. Indicat白 血subject of血esentence or，wi 血certain
，
バターを買いましたか。 verbs anda djectives the object.
マーガリンは買いましたが、バターは買いませんでした。
1. Indicates existence; used with such verbs as aru，go zaimasu，iru，
Bata 0 kaimashita ka.
irassharu.
Magarin wa kaimashita ga，ba ta wa kaim.asendeshita.
Didy ou buy some butter? あそこに私のボールペンがありますか。
1b ought some margarine，bu t 1d idn't buy組 ybutter.1 1b ought Asoko ni watashi no borupen ga arimasu ka.
some margarine，bu t not any butter. Is myb all-point pen over白ere?
あそこに郵便局があります。
5. In the forms V-te wa iru (first example below) and V-masu
base followed by wa and suru (second and third examples)，附 b Asoko ni yubin匂'okuga arimasu.
長
indicates emphasis. See also ・tewa(#47). There's ap ost 0伍ceover出ere.
コンピュータを持つてはいますが、まだ使って( は) いません。 私の会社には、女の人が50人以上います。
Konpyuta 0 motte wai masuμ mada tsuka的 (wa) imasen. Watashi no kaisha ni wa，on na no hito ga goju-nin ijo imasu.
1o wn ac omputぽ [1do own ac omputerl ，bu t 1h aven't used it yet. There are more than飴 ywomen血mycompany.
あの人を知つてはいますが、あまり話したことはありません。
Note: Wa can replace ga in such sentences when (first example below) some-
Ano hito 0s hitte wa imasu ga，am ari hanashita koto waa rimasen. 白血gis being contrasted (my ball-point pen，sa y，in contrast to myp encil)
1k now hi m，bu t 1h aven't spoken to hi m much. or when (second example) information is being presented about as ubject
already identified. See wa (#1，no s.1， 4).