Japanese A1 — Essentials Official

Japanese uses Subject-Object-Verb order with topic-comment structure

私はりんごを食べます。 (Watashi wa ringo o tabemasu.)

Japanese follows SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) word order, unlike English SVO. The basic pattern is: Topic は (wa) + Comment (the rest of the sentence). For example: 私は (watashi wa = as for me) + りんごを食べます (ringo o tabemasu = eat an apple). The topic is marked with は (wa) and sets the context for the sentence. The verb always comes at the end of the sentence. Modifiers (adjectives, adverbs) come before the word they modify. You can often omit the subject/topic when it is clear from context, e.g., りんごを食べます is perfectly natural.

Topic marker は (wa) vs subject marker が (ga) — when to use each

私は学生です。猫がいます。 (Watashi wa gakusei desu. Neko ga imasu.)

は (wa) marks the topic — what the sentence is about. It sets context and often translates as 'as for X'. が (ga) marks the grammatical subject — who or what performs the action or exists. Use は when introducing known/old information: 私は田中です (As for me, I am Tanaka). Use が when introducing new information or answering 'who/what': 誰が来ましたか？田中さんが来ました (Who came? Tanaka came). With existence verbs (ある/いる), the thing that exists takes が: 猫がいます (There is a cat). は can also show contrast: 魚は食べますが、肉は食べません (I eat fish, but I don't eat meat). が is used after question words: 何がありますか (What is there?).

Object marker を (o), direction/time に (ni), and location/means で (de)

図書館で本を読みます。三時に行きます。 (Toshokan de hon o yomimasu. Sanji ni ikimasu.)

を (o) marks the direct object — the thing the action is done to: 水を飲みます (I drink water). に (ni) has several uses: direction/destination (学校に行きます = I go to school), specific time (三時に = at 3 o'clock), location of existence (ここにあります = It is here), and indirect object/recipient (友達にあげます = I give to a friend). で (de) marks where an action takes place: 公園で遊びます (I play in the park). で also marks the means or method: バスで行きます (I go by bus), 日本語で話します (I speak in Japanese). Key distinction: に marks where something EXISTS, で marks where an ACTION happens. Example contrast: 学校にいます (I am at school — existence) vs 学校で勉強します (I study at school — action).

Polite sentence endings used in everyday formal speech

私は学生です。毎日勉強します。 (Watashi wa gakusei desu. Mainichi benkyou shimasu.)

です (desu) is the polite copula, used after nouns and na-adjectives: 学生です (I am a student), 静かです (It is quiet). ます (masu) is the polite verb ending, replacing the dictionary form: 食べる → 食べます (taberu → tabemasu). This is the standard politeness level for speaking with strangers, coworkers, and acquaintances. Past tense: です → でした (deshita), ます → ました (mashita). For i-adjectives, add です after the adjective: 大きいです (It is big). The plain/casual forms (だ/dictionary form) are used with close friends and family. Always use です/ます when in doubt — it is safe and respectful in nearly all situations.

How to make negative sentences in polite Japanese

食べません。学生じゃないです。 (Tabemasen. Gakusei ja nai desu.)

Verb negation (polite): change ます to ません. 食べます → 食べません (I don't eat). 行きます → 行きません (I don't go). Past negative: ます → ませんでした. 食べませんでした (I didn't eat). Noun/na-adjective negation: Noun + じゃないです (ja nai desu) or じゃありません (ja arimasen). 学生じゃないです (I'm not a student). Past: じゃなかったです (ja nakatta desu). 学生じゃなかったです (I wasn't a student). I-adjective negation: drop い, add くないです. 大きい → 大きくないです (It's not big). Exception: いい → よくないです (It's not good). じゃ is the casual contraction of では (dewa). Both じゃないです and ではありません are correct. Note: ありません is slightly more formal than ないです.

How to ask yes/no and information questions in Japanese

これは何ですか？日本人ですか？ (Kore wa nan desu ka? Nihonjin desu ka?)

Yes/no questions: add か (ka) to the end of a statement. 学生です → 学生ですか？ (Are you a student?). The word order does NOT change — just add か at the end. Information questions use question words + か: 何 (nani/nan = what), どこ (doko = where), いつ (itsu = when), 誰 (dare = who), なぜ/どうして (naze/doushite = why), どう (dou = how). The question word goes where the answer would be: これは何ですか？ → これは本です (What is this? → This is a book). In casual speech, か can be dropped and rising intonation alone marks a question: これ、何？ (What's this?). To answer yes/no: はい、そうです (Yes, that's right) / いいえ、違います (No, that's not right). どの (dono = which + noun) and どれ (dore = which one) are also common question words.

Japanese counter words for counting objects, starting with the general つ counter

りんごを三つください。 (Ringo o mittsu kudasai.)

Japanese requires counter words when counting — you cannot just use bare numbers with nouns. The つ (tsu) counter is the general-purpose counter for objects (1-10 only): 一つ (hitotsu), 二つ (futatsu), 三つ (mittsu), 四つ (yottsu), 五つ (itsutsu), 六つ (muttsu), 七つ (nanatsu), 八つ (yattsu), 九つ (kokonotsu), 十 (too). Use つ when you don't know the specific counter, or for abstract things. Common specific counters: 人 (nin) for people, 匹 (hiki) for small animals, 本 (hon) for long objects, 枚 (mai) for flat objects, 杯 (hai) for cups/glasses, 個 (ko) for small round objects, 台 (dai) for machines/vehicles. Counter words go after the number: 三人 (sannin = 3 people), 二匹 (nihiki = 2 animals). Some counters cause sound changes: 一本 = ippon (not ichihon), 三杯 = sanbai (not sanhai). For people: 一人 (hitori), 二人 (futari) are irregular; from 三人 (sannin) onward, use sino-Japanese numbers + 人.

The の particle connects a possessor to something possessed, similar to 's or of in English

これは私の本です。先生の車は大きいです。 (Kore wa watashi no hon desu. Sensei no kuruma wa ookii desu.)

の (no) connects two nouns: possessor + の + possessed. 私の本 (watashi no hon) = my book. Works for any noun relationship: 先生の車 (sensei no kuruma) = teacher's car, 日本の食べ物 (nihon no tabemono) = Japanese food. Can chain multiple の: 日本の東京の学校 (nihon no toukyou no gakkou) = a school in Tokyo, Japan. Drop the possessed noun if understood from context: これは私のです (kore wa watashi no desu) = This is mine. の also means 'one' as a pronoun: 赤いのをください (akai no o kudasai) = Please give me the red one. Do not confuse possessive の with the explanatory のです (no desu) pattern, which adds emphasis or explanation to a statement.

Four-way system of demonstrative words based on distance from speaker and listener

この本は面白いです。それは何ですか？ (Kono hon wa omoshiroi desu. Sore wa nan desu ka?)

こ (ko) = near the speaker: この (kono) + noun = this, これ (kore) = this thing, ここ (koko) = here. そ (so) = near the listener: その (sono) + noun = that, それ (sore) = that thing, そこ (soko) = there. あ (a) = far from both speaker and listener: あの (ano) + noun = that over there, あれ (are) = that thing over there, あそこ (asoko) = over there. ど (do) = question word: どの (dono) + noun = which, どれ (dore) = which one, どこ (doko) = where. この/その/あの/どの (kono/sono/ano/dono) must be followed by a noun. これ/それ/あれ/どれ (kore/sore/are/dore) stand alone. In conversation, そ (so) words also refer to something just mentioned: それはいいですね (sore wa ii desu ne) = That's good (referring to what was just said).

Two verbs for expressing existence or presence, chosen based on whether the subject is animate or inanimate

テーブルの上に本があります。庭に猫がいます。 (Teeburu no ue ni hon ga arimasu. Niwa ni neko ga imasu.)

あります (arimasu) = exists, for inanimate objects and plants: 本があります (hon ga arimasu) = There is a book. います (imasu) = exists, for people and animals: 猫がいます (neko ga imasu) = There is a cat. Location pattern: place + に (ni) + subject + が (ga) + あります/います. テーブルの上に本があります (teeburu no ue ni hon ga arimasu) = There is a book on the table. Negative forms: ありません (arimasen) = does not exist (inanimate), いません (imasen) = does not exist (animate). To ask about existence: 近くにコンビニがありますか (chikaku ni konbini ga arimasu ka) = Is there a convenience store nearby? Common location words: 上 (ue) = on/above, 下 (shita) = under/below, 中 (naka) = inside, 前 (mae) = in front, 後ろ (ushiro) = behind, 隣 (tonari) = next to.