Learn Japanese language JLPT, JNAT

27/12/2025

27/12/2025

27/12/2025

Japanese alphabet

27/12/2025

27/12/2025

゚

27/11/2025

Greetings

Japanese people greet each other by bowing, which shows respect, care, and gratitude. Knowing the basic Japanese words that accompany a bow when you greet someone are also essential in Japanese culture. For more examples and cultural tips, explore Japanese greetings and farewells.

27/11/2025

27/11/2025

Japanese particles are function words used to give context to other words. They make a sentence clearer, but they don’t change like verbs or nouns (which can be conjugated or become plural).

English, by and large, uses word order rather than particles to provide context. For example, putting the subject first – think, “Birds eat fish”. Word order tells you what you need to know in that sentence. But we do have some particles.

In Japanese, however, particles are very important. They play a big part in telling you what someone’s talking about, and can function like conjunctions and prepositions – like “in”, “and”, “with”’ or “to”.

In fact, the right particles can make the difference between telling someone you’d love some sushi and recounting a distressing experience:

*“I eat a fish.”
Watashi wa sakana o tabemasu.
わたし は さかな を たべます。
I (←subject) fish (← object) eat
“A fish eats me.”
Watashi o sakana wa tabemasu.
わたし を さかな は たべます。
I (← object) fish (←subject) eat
In this case, swapping は (wa) and を (o) creates a big change in meaning.

Fortunately, we’re here to teach you the difference between the basic Japanese particles you need to know.