Verbs are arguably more important in the Japanese language than they are in English. Japanese sentences require verbs—which typically come at the very end of the sentence—but they do not always require subjects, like English sentences do. A complete Japanese…
Particles can be a difficult subject to master in any language. Particles subtly mark the word they follow and indicate the association between that word and the rest of the sentence. (Unlike in English, in Japanese, a particle never precedes…
Ga The Japanese particle “ga” is a very versatile particle that can act as a subject marker, an object marker, and even a conjunction. “Ga” usually calls attention to a word or clause. When used as a subject marker, “ga”…
Once you’ve mastered basic counting in Japanese, you’re ready to start studying Japanese counters. What are counters? In Japanese, there are words that indicate what kind of object is being counted. These words most often have no English translation. In…
Learning how to count in Japanese is a basic, essential skill for anyone who wishes to speak Japanese! If you visit a Japanese store or even a store in a nearby Japanese-speaking community in your home country, how will you…
You learned in the sentence structure lesson that Japanese sentences do not always require subjects, as the subjects are often implied in the context of the sentence. Personal pronouns as subjects are therefore often omitted from sentences. However, to make…
The Japanese language is structured quite differently from English. However, while it may take a little getting used to, basic Japanese sentence structure is simple to learn and eventually master—perhaps far more simple than English sentence structure! Subject + Object…
Kanji 漢字 is the third Japanese writing system you’ll need to study. Kanji became widely used in Japan during the 6th century CE, although it was originally imported from Chinasometime in the 1st century CE. Although most kanji remain virtually…
Katakana is the second of the two scripts exclusive to the Japanese language. Like hiragana, katakana consists of a total of 46 basic characters that each represent a basic Japanese syllable. Some of these characters can be modified and/or combined…
American Idol may have gotten North American audiences used to the idea of putting a person plucked from obscurity on a pedestal for his or her singing talent for a year or so before the idol (usually) fades back into…