![]() にほんの くるまĪmerican universities (universities in the U.S.)Īlthough again, the most general English translation does not include a preposition. In other cases, no takes the place of different English prepositions. So while “of” is a possible translation of no, it’s not always the best translation. And while “mahou no hon” could be “a book of magic” (filled with spells) or “a magic book” (itself enchanted), the “of” interpretation for no does not exist in every case. Mahou (magic) is a noun, but it’s being used like the adjective magical, which doesn’t exist in Japanese. And often, the English equivalent of isn’t even a noun. You would generally only say “game of baseball” in English in the sense of “the game of baseball” (as opposed to “the game of basketball”), which has a very different meaning. So Japanese uses no where English uses unchanged nouns as modifiers. When you have multiple no modifiers in a row (which we’ll look at below), it’s best not to assume that each no is a reverse “of”, because all to often, the English equivalent doesn’t use the preposition. In this first usage, no is often translated as “of”, but while “of” does indeed translate to no in Japanese, this is a confusing way to think of the particle because the order is exactly the opposite of English. In many cases, no substitutes for English prepositions like “of”, for adjectival forms of nouns, and where you would simply stick two nouns together in English. So its possessive quality is really only one of several related uses. In general, the particle no can turn any noun into a modifier, whether or not the thing in question actually “owns” anything. There are several ways to say “I have” in Japanese, which you’ll learn about when we get to verbs. It’s worth noting that there are also verbs that are possesive in nature, just like “to have” or “to own” in English. This +no pair can also be used as a subject or topic. だれのくるまですか。Īnd as in English, you can omit the actual item that is possessed. ![]() Next, question words can also be used with no. So if you’re talking to Tanaka about her book, it’s “Tanaka-san no hon”. わたしのĪgain, you generally should not use anata no for “your”. Possessive pronouns are created in exactly the same way as other possessives. ![]() When we get to more difficult cases below, always thinking of no as will help you interpret them correctly. This is extremely important – unlike in English, the last noun is always what the entire noun phrase “is”. So, “Kimura-san no kuruma” is a kuruma, “otoko no seikaku” is seikaku, and “neko no mimi” are mimi. Basically, the no is attached to the preceding noun and turns it into a modifier. In this case it works essentially like possesive in English, and this is a good way to think of it. Nouns, Pronouns, and Plurals “No” as a PossessiveĪs a possessive, no comes between two nouns, after the “possessor” and before the “possessee”. ![]() It’s used as the Japanese possessive particle, showing ownership, and more generally, as way to turn any noun into a modifier. Definitely leave me some feedback though, if you have any, since I’ll probably be whipping together a 2.0 version at some point and I’m sure improvements can be made.The particle の “no” is extremely versatile. So here it is, download this Japanese Particles Cheatsheet, use it in your class (teachers), share it with friends, Japanese learning colleagues, whatever. It’s definitely not full of information, and I wouldn’t recommend using it to learn Japanese particles outright, but you can use it to help you tell one particle from another, especially if you’re just beginning Japanese (は and が particles can cause some problems, right!?), then that’s perfect. It’s a one page document that lays out all the main particles, explains their meaning, and shows some examples. I made things easy, cut out the fat, and simplified everything as much as possible, and I think for the most part it worked for people! In the process of doing that, I thought up the idea of making a Japanese Particles Cheatsheet. I figure if someone like me, who lacks a technical understanding of all grammar (in English, especially), can understand particles, then so should everyone else. Yesterday I taught a couple of courses on Japanese particles over at eduFire, and did everything I could to make particles easy and understandable. Tolerate? Sure, there are a few, but most people aren’t fans, and most teachers don’t make things too easy. I haven’t come across too many people that enjoy Japanese particles. Japanese particles can be fun, if by fun you mean eye gouges and hair pulls. ![]()
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