Japanese particles explained: は vs が, を, に, で, へ, の and も

TUREFF• •0

Particles are the small words that come after a noun and tell you what it is doing in the sentence. English uses word order and prepositions for this; Japanese uses particles, which is why word order in Japanese can be fairly free. Get these seven right and most beginner sentences make sense.

は (wa): the topic

は marks what the sentence is about. Think "as for X…". It is written with the hiragana for "ha" but pronounced "wa".

わたしはがくせいです。 Watashi wa gakusei desu. As for me, I am a student.
きょうはあついです。 Kyou wa atsui desu. Today, it's hot.

が (ga): the subject

が marks the thing doing the action or having the quality, often when it is new information or the focus.

ねこがいます。 Neko ga imasu. There is a cat.
だれがきましたか。 Dare ga kimashita ka. Who came?
たなかさんがきました。 Tanaka-san ga kimashita. Tanaka came (it was Tanaka).

は vs が, simply

New information or a question word uses が. Question words like だれ (who) and なに (what) take が, never は, as the subject. And the answer usually keeps が.
Known topic uses は. Once something is established, you talk about it with は.
は can contrast. ビールはのみます。 I drink beer (but maybe not other things).
Some patterns always use が: likes and dislikes (すしがすきです, I like sushi), abilities (にほんごができます, I can do Japanese), wants (みずがほしい, I want water) and existence (いぬがいます, there is a dog).
Both together: わたしはすしがすきです. As for me, sushi is liked: I like sushi.

You will get these wrong for a while, and people will still understand you. Listening to lots of natural Japanese is what builds the instinct.

を (o): the object

を marks the thing an action is done to. Written "wo", said "o".

パンをたべます。 Pan o tabemasu. I eat bread.
えいがをみました。 Eiga o mimashita. I watched a film.

に (ni): target, time, place of existence

に points at something:

Destination: がっこうにいきます。 I go to school.
Specific time: 7じにおきます。 I get up at seven.
Where something is: へやにねこがいます。 There is a cat in the room.
Recipient: ともだちにてがみをかきます。 I write a letter to a friend.

で (de): where an action happens, and by what means

Place of action: としょかんでべんきょうします。 I study at the library.
Means: でんしゃでいきます。 I go by train. はしでたべます。 I eat with chopsticks.

The classic confusion: に is where something is, で is where something is done. へやにいます (I am in the room) but へやでねます (I sleep in the room).

へ (e): direction

へ marks direction towards a place. Written "he", said "e".

にほんへいきます。 I go to Japan.

For destinations, へ and に are often interchangeable; へ stresses the direction, に the arrival point.

の (no): connecting nouns

の links two nouns, usually showing possession or description.

わたしのほん. My book.
にほんごのせんせい. A Japanese teacher (a teacher of Japanese).
とうきょうのともだち. A friend from Tokyo.

も (mo): also

も means "too" or "also" and replaces は, が or を.

わたしもがくせいです。 I am also a student.
コーヒーものみます。 I drink coffee too.

With に and で it is added after them: ここでも, here too.

Quick practice

Fill in the particle, then check:

わたし__ コーヒー__ のみます。 (は, を)
えき__ ともだち__ あいます。 (で, に)
だれ__ きましたか。 (が)
これはわたし__ かさです。 (の)

Which particle still confuses you? Post a sentence you are unsure about in the comments and we can work through it.