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List of all Particles

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Japanese particles, or joshi (助詞) in Japanese, are one of the most fundamental and unique aspects of the language's grammar. They are short, uninflected words that follow other words or phrases to show their grammatical function in a sentence.


Unlike in English, where word order largely determines the role of a word (e.g., "The cat chased the mouse"), Japanese uses particles to mark a word's function (e.g., "Cat-ga mouse-o chased"). This allows for a great deal of flexibility in word order, as the particles always clarify a word's role, regardless of its position in the sentence.


Here is a list of all the Japanese particles (which you could use as a mini dictionary). You can also download the list in the link below:



LIST OF JAPANESE PARTICLES

 

 

Particles

 が (ga) Connects two sentences with the meaning “but…”

 が (ga) Indicates the subject of a relative clause

 が (ga) Indicates the subject of subordinate clause when it is different from the subject of the main clause

 が (ga) Used to soften a statement or refusal

 か (ka) Indicates uncertainty about a state or reason

 か (ka) Indicates uncertainty about something

 か (ka) someone, something

 かしら (kashira) At the end of a sentence to express uncertainty, a request or a question and mainly used by women

 かな (kana) At the end of a sentence to express uncertainty, a request or a question and mainly used by men

 かないうちに (ka nai uchi ni) “no sooner had”, “hardly had”

 がはやいか (ga hayai ka) “as soon as”

 から (kara) Indicates a source such as a giver, a cause or material

 から (kara) Indicates a starting point in time or place

 から (kara) Used as a conjunction and indicates a cause or reason

 きり (kiri) Indicates the last time a certain incident occured

 くらい (kurai) Indicates an approximate amount

 けれども (keredomo) Connects 2 sentences meaning “but” or “although”

 けれども (keredomo) Indicates a desire

 けれども (keredomo) Indicates a preliminary remark

 こそ (koso) Emphasizes a reason or a cause

 こそ (koso) Emphasizes the word preceding it

 こと (koto) At the end of a sentence to indicate emotion, used by women

 さえ (sae) “even”, used to emphasize

 さえ (sae) “if only” or “as long as”

 し (shi) Used as a conjunction indicating a reason

 しか (shika) Used with a negative verb to indicate limits on conditions or quantities meaning “only”

 すら (sura) Emphasizes in the meaning of “even”

 ぜ (ze) At the end of a sentence to add for to sentence, used by men

 だけ (dake) “the more… the more…”

 だけ (dake) Indicates a limit on an action or state

 だけ (dake) Indicates a limit on things or amounts

 だけ (dake)  used to express “not only…but also”

 だけに (dake ni) Indicates a cause or reason

 だの (dano) Indicates a pair of opposite actions or states

 だの (dano)  Indicates two or more items or actions of a longer list (similar to toka とか)

 たら (tara) Used as a conjunction, indicates a supposition or condition

 たり (tari) Indicates actions or states that alternate

 たり (tari) List of two or more actions in no particular sequence

 で (de) Indicates a cause or a reason

 で (de) Indicates a limit or scope

 で (de) Indicates a state / condition of something

 で (de) Indicates the location of an action

 で (de) Indicates the time of completion or expiration of something

 で (de) Limits numbers

 でも (demo) Following a noun, means “or something like this”

 でも (demo) Indicates emphasis

 でも (demo) Indicates two or more items as an example of a larger list

 でも (demo) Together with an interrogative word it means “anything”, “anyone”, any time”

 ても (temo) Indicates an approximate limit with the meaning of “at the most”

 と (to) “about to do something”, “trying to do something”

 と (to) “even if…”, “whether… or not”

 と (to) Indicates a comparison

 と (to) Indicates a condition that results in an inevitable outcome

 と (to) Used when quoting someone

 と いう (to iu) Indicates the name of something

 とか (toka) “something like”

 とか (toka) Indicates that a list of two ore more things or actions is not exhaustive

 ところ (tokoro) Used as a conjunction to indicate a condition that brings about a discovery

 どころか (dokoro ka) “far from”, “not to mention”

 ところで (tokoro de) “even if”

 として (toshite) Indicates status, capacity or function

 として (toshite) Provides emphasis in a negative sentence

 とも (tomo) “no matter what”, “even if”

 とも (tomo) Indicates an approximate maximum or minimum

 とも (tomo) Indicates inclusion

 とも (tomo) Used with numbers and counters to mean “both” or “all”

 とも…とも (tomo… tomo) “can’t say whether… or…”

 ともあろうひと (tomo aroo hito) To express that someone did something not to be expected

 な (na) At the end of a sentence and used by men to confirm a statement

 なあ (naa) At the end of a sentence to express emotion, used by men

 ながら (nagara) “although”, “though”, “but”

 ながら (nagara) Indicates that an action is happening simultaneously

 など (nado) Expresses a humble attitude towards an item

 など (nado) Indicates examples

 など (nado) Used with や (ya) to partially list up multiple items

 なら (nara) Indicates a topics and is used as an alternative to wa (No.1)

 なり (nari) “anything”, “anyone”, “any time”

 なり (nari) “as soon as”

 に (ni) Connects two or more items to indicate a matching or a contrast

 に (ni) Indicates a person who gives something or who provides a service

 に (ni) Indicates a point of arrival

 に (ni) Indicates an entering motion

 に (ni) Indicates the one acting or the one acted upon

 に (ni) Joins two or more nouns to indicate a list of items

 にしては (ni shite wa) Indicates a generally agreed upon standard

 にとって (ni totte) Indicates an effect or value of a person or thing

 ね (ne) At the end of a sentence to indicate a reason or cause

 ね (ne) At the end of a sentence to soften a request or suggestion

 ねえ (nee) At the end of a sentence to indicate emotion

 の (no) At the end of a sentence to express a question or soften a command, used by women

 の (no) Indicates a modified pronoun

 の (no) Used to nominalize verbs & sentences

 のに (noni) “although”, “in spite of the fact that”

 のに (noni) Indicates a purpose or function

 のみ (nomi) used to express “not only…but also”

 ば (ba) Used as a conjunction to express a probable results

 ば (ba) Used to enumerate two or more actions or states

 は (wa) + が (ga) Indicates the relation between an object / subjects and a verb or adjective

 は (wa) Emphasizes contrasting elements

 ばかり(bakari) Indicates an approximate amount

 ばかりでなく(bakari de naku) “not only… but also”

 ばかりに (bakari ni) Emphasizes a reason or cause

 ほど (hodo) Indicates a comparison in a negative sentence

 ほど (hodo) Indicates an approximate amount

 までもない (made mo nai) “there is no need to…”

 も (mo) “nothing”, nobody”, nowhere” if used with an interrogative word

 も (mo) both…and…, neither…nor… (with negative verb)

 も (mo) Emphasizes in a positive or negative way

 も (mo) means “too”, “either”, “also”

 もの (mono) At the end of a sentence to express a reason or excuse

 ものか (monoka) At the end of a sentence to express a negative determination, used by men

 ものの (mono no) “but” or “although”

 や (ya) At the end of a sentence to soften a statement, request or suggestion, used by men

 や (ya) Used to connect and partially list up multiple items

 やいなや (ya ina ya) “as soon as”

 やら (yara) Indicates two or more items of a longer list

 やら (yara) Indicates uncertainty

 よ (yo) At the end of a sentence to articulate a request or suggestion

 より (yori) Indicates a starting point in time or place but more formal than kara (20)

 わ (wa) At the end of a sentence to soften a statement, used by women

 を (wo/o) Indicates a point of departure

 を (wo/o) Indicates a route of a movement/motion

 を (wo/o) Used with an verb expressing emotions, it indicates the cause of this emotion

 をする (wo/o suru) Expresses an occupation or position

  ほど (hodo) “the more… the more…”

が (ga) “even if”, “whether… or not”

か (ka) Indicates a choice or alternative

から (kara) conjunction meaning “after” or “since”

きり (kiri) Indicates a limit to an amount

くらい (kurai) Expresses an extent of an action or condition similar to ぐらい gurai

くらい (kurai) Indicates a comparison

こと (koto) At the end of a sentence to express a suggestion or invitation, used by women

さ (sa) At the end of a sentence to indicate slight emphasis, used by men

し (shi) Used as a conjunction, indicating two or more actions or states

しかない (shika nai) used with a verb meaning “to have no choice but to”

ぞ (zo) At the end of a sentence to add force to a sentence or to express a question to oneself

だけ (dake) “as… as…”

たら (tara) At the end of a sentence to indicate a suggestion or proposal

たら (tara) Used as a conjunction to indicate that one action takes place before the action described in the main sentence

で (de) Indicates a means or material

ても (temo) a conjunction meaning “even if”

ても (temo) Together with an interrogative word it means “no matter what/where/who”

ても (temo) Used with a set of contrasting verbs and adjectives

と (to) Emphasizes a number in a negative sentence

ところ (tokoro) Indicates that an action takes place, just took place or is about to take place

とも (tomo) At the end of a sentence to express an assertion

な (na) At the end of a sentence to express a prohibition, used by men

なあ (naa) At the end of a sentence to express a desire

ながら (nagara) Used with numbers and counters to mean “both” or “all”

など (nado) “something to the effect”

なら (nara) Used as a conjunction and indicates a supposition or condition

なり (nari) “either…”, “whether…or”

に (ni) Used together with a verb to express a purpose

に (ni) Used with a verb to indicate a change or choice

について (ni tsuite) “about”, “concerning” something or someone

ね (ne) At the end of a sentence to confirm a statement

の (no) Indicates the subject of a relative clause

ので (node) Indicates a strong reason

のです (no desu) Asks for an explanation or reason

のみ (nomi) Indicates a limit (similar to だけ dake)

は (wa) Indicates that a number is the higher or lowest limit

ばいい (ba) “all you have to do…”

ばかり (bakari) Indicates an action was just completed

ばかり (bakari) Indicates that an item, state or action is a single one

ばかり (bakari) Indicates the only action left to do

ほど (hodo) Indicates the extend of an action or condition

まで (made) “even”, used to emphasize

まで (made) Indicates a limit on time, space or quantity

やら (yara) At the end of a sentence to indicate a rhetorical question with a negative implication

よ (yo) At the end of a sentence to state a strong conviction

より (yori) Indicates a comparison

より (yori) Indicates superlative


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