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Do you know that nouns in Japanese have neither gender nor singular-plural forms? Let’s learn how to form simple Japanese sentences using nouns today!

 

Japanese Basic Word Order

The basic word order in Japanese is SOV (Subject + Object + Verb) – unlike the English and Chinese that use SVO word order. Compare the structure below:

 

English Word Order

Subject	Verb	Object
I	eat	tomatoes.

 

Japanese Word Order

Subject	Object	Verb
私は	トマトを	食べます。
Watashi wa	tomato o	tabemasu.
I	tomatoes	eat

 

Note:

In daily conversation, Japanese generally omit the pronouns (私は, I) if the subject of the sentence is clear.

As a particle, は is pronounced as ‘wa’ despite being written as ‘ha’.

 

は (wa) – The Topic Marker

Structure: Noun 1 + は + Noun 2 + です

Meaning: Noun 1 is Noun 2

 

The particle は (wa) indicates that Noun 1 is the topic as well as the subject of the sentence.

Subject	Particle	Object	Verb
私	は	弁護士	です。
Watashi	wa	bengoshi	desu.
I		a lawyer	Am
I am a lawyer.

 

Note:

です (desu), which is a polite speech marker, belongs to the verb ‘to be’ group.

 

も (mo) – Another Topic Marker

Structure: Noun 1 + も + Noun 2 + です

Meaning: Noun 1 is also Noun 2

 

The particle も (mo) is translated as ‘too/also’. It is used to show that the topic of the sentence is the same with the previous topic. For example, in the previous sentence, we stated that: “I am a lawyer”. Thus, if you want to form a new sentence with the same topic, use も (mo) instead of は (wa).

Subject	Particle	Object	Verb
ミラさん	も	弁護士	です。
Mira-san	mo	bengoshi	desu.
Ms. Mira	also	a lawyer	is
Ms. Mira is also a lawyer.

 

か (ka) – The Question Marker

Structure: Noun 1 + は + Noun 2 + です + か?

Meaning: Is Noun 1 a Noun 2?

 

You can change a sentence into a question by simply add the particle か (ka) at the end of the sentence. Learn more about asking questions in Japanese here.

Subject	Particle	Object	Verb	Question Marker
ミラさん	は	弁護士	です	か?
Mira-san	wa	bengoshi	desu	ka?
Ms. Mira		a lawyer	is	?
Is Ms. Mira a lawyer?

 

の (no) – The Noun Modifier

The particle の (no) is a noun modifier. It can be used to indicate possessions, just like English [‘s]. On the other hand, の (no) is often translated as ‘of’ as well.

 

Possession

Structure: Noun 1 + の + Noun 2 + は + Noun 3 + です

Meaning: Noun1’s Noun 2 is Noun 3

Subject	Object	Verb
私の友達は	弁護士	です。
Watashi no tomodachi wa	bengoshi	desu.
My friend	a lawyer	is
My friend is a lawyer.

 

‘Of’

Structure: Noun 1 + は + Noun 2 + の + Noun 3 + です

Meaning: Noun 1 is Noun 3 of Noun 2

Subject	Object	Verb
私は	日本の弁護士	です。
Watashi wa	Nihon no bengoshi	desu.
I	a Japanese lawyer (a lawyer of Japanese)	am
I am a Japanese lawyer.

 

と (to) – The Noun Linker

Structure: Noun 1 + と + Noun 2 + は + です

Meaning: Noun 1 and Noun 2 is Noun 3

 

The particle と (to) is used as the noun linker in Japanese. In other words, と (to) works as the conjunction ‘and’.

Subject	Object	Verb
私とミラさんは	弁護士	です。
Watashi to Mira-san wa	bengoshi	desu.
Ms. Mira and I	lawyers	are
Ms. Mira and I are lawyers.

 

Congratulations! You are one step closer to become fluent in Japanese!

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