Particles, particles, particles!

As my study of Japanese language continues, one of the most frustrating and bewildering aspects of Japanese are particles. Particles are tiny words that are used in Japanese to mark something else. They don’t have any direct translation, which is why they become so difficult for English speakers. But particles in Japanese have a lot of implicit meaning, and this can change depending on the nuance, or whatever words they are combined with.

Lately, I’ve been reading a good overview of common Japanese particles by Kodansha press which for some reason it’s listed as a “children’s classic”. I would argue the book is more suited for JLPT test level N3 or N2 in my opnion.

A good example described in the book of a complex and heavily used particle is “mo” も, which can mean any of the following:

• Also, too (usually what students learn first).
• When combined with a number, can mean “as many as, as much as” (e.g. 四万円もかかる – “Costs as much as 40,000 yen”).
• When combined with “te-form” of verb, means “even if” or “even though” (e.g. 日本へ行っても – “Even if you go to Japan…”).
• When combined with an interrogative (what, who, where) and a negative-verb, it can mean “no or nothing” (e.g. だれもこない – “Nobody is coming”).

You get the idea. That’s a pretty common particle, and particles like “ga” が or “ni” に are even more complicated and nuanced. However, because they are so fundamental to Japanese, it’s vitally important that you learn them, and learn them well. Otherwise, you can quickly misunderstand what someone said, or say something wrong or just confusing. Also, there are many examples of particles that are similar in usage, like “node” ので and “dakara” だから, but can imply a different or even undesirable nuance. In this case “dakara” in this case is more subjective, rough, or even accusing at times.

Speaking from experience, it’s hard to express myself right in Japanese as my basics are still pretty rough, so sometimes I want to say something simply but I used the wrong particle, or used a particle when I didn’t need to. There’s a difference between:

アイルランドに引っ越す前
airurando ni hikkosu mae
(Before I moved to Ireland, I did something..)

And:

アイルランドに引っ越す前に
airurando ni hikkosu mae ni
(Specifically before the action of moving to Ireland, I did something…)

These are the kinds of mistakes I often make, and am trying to overcome now, to avoid conveying the wrong nuance. Also, when listening, it’s important get the particle right, as in:

武田の寿司を食べられた。
takeda ga sushi wo taberareta.
Takeda’s sushi was eaten (by someone else, and that’s unfortunate).

武田に寿司を食べられた。
takeda ni sushi wo taberareta.
The sushi (possibly someone else’s) was eaten by Takeda.

These two sentences only differ by the particle used before Takeda, and if you’re not comfortable with particles and with listening to spoken Japanese, you (like me) could easily miss who did what and where.

Take my advice (since I have made these mistakes many, many times), really invest the time to master particles in Japanese and your life will be easier. There are plenty of good resources out there. I like the book linked above, but there are plenty of other good resources as well, including Tae Kim’s excellent website.

Good luck!