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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