Unlocking the Basics: Building Sentences in Japanese
Japanese might seem like a mystery at first glance—but once you understand the patterns, it becomes a language of clarity and elegance. In this lesson, we'll uncover one of the most essential sentence structures: AはBです (A wa B desu). Along the way, you'll meet some of the most common particles, learn practical nouns, and pick up a few cultural gems that make learning Japanese even more fun.
Japanese Sentence Structure: AはBです (A wa B desu)
One of the first things you'll notice about Japanese is its unique sentence structure. Unlike English, where the order is typically Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), Japanese often follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) pattern. However, the basic structure we'll focus on today is:
AはBです (A wa B desu)
which translates to A is B. This structure is fundamental for making simple statements in Japanese.
💡 Fun Fact:
In Japanese, "desu" (です) is a polite way of saying "is," "are," or "am" when used as a copula to link a subject to a predicate. It adds politeness to sentences and is similar to using "to be" in English. In casual speech, です is often dropped.
We have already seen this structure in the Introductions lesson, where we used it to say who we are. For example, if you wanted to say "I am a student," you would say:
わたしはがくせいです (Watashi wa gakusei desu)
Here, わたし (watashi) means "I", は (wa) is the topic marker particle which tells the listener that the sentence is about the object that came before. がくせい (gakusei) means "student". The sentence ends with です (desu), which adds politeness. The sentence means "I am a student." or "As for me, student."
Below are examples of the AはBです (A wa B desu) structure:
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| わたしはせんせいです | Watashi wa sensei desu | I am a teacher. |
| これはほんです。 | Kore wa hon desu | This is a book. |
| あれはとそかんです | Are wa toshokan desu | That over there is a library. |
Japanese Sentence Structure: AがBです (A ga B desu)
Once you're comfortable with AはBです for making simple statements, you'll start to see another common pattern in Japanese:
AがBです (A ga B desu)
This structure also means "A is B," but with an important difference: the particle が (ga) highlights or identifies something specific. While は introduces a known topic or general statement, が is used when you're pointing something out, introducing new information, or answering a question.
For example, if someone asks, 「としょかんはどこですか？」(toshiokan wa doko desu ka) ("Where is the library?"), a natural response would be:
あそこがとしょかんです (Asoko ga toshokan desu)
Here, あそこ (asoko) means "over there," and が (ga) emphasizes that the library is specifically over there. It's like saying, "That over there is the library."
This sentence uses が because the speaker is identifying the specific place that is the library in response to a question. You'll often see this form in answers, introductions, or when you're presenting something new or important to the listener.
🧷 Particles: は (wa), が (ga), の (no), and か (ka)
Particles are small words that indicate the grammatical function of a word in a sentence. In Japanese, particles are essential for understanding the relationships between words. The particles we will discuss in this lesson are は (wa), が (ga)の (no), and か (ka).
は (wa) - The Topic Marker
The particle は (wa) is used to indicate the topic of the sentence. It tells the listener what the sentence is about. For example, in the sentence わたしはがくせいです (Watashi wa gakusei desu), は (wa) marks わたし (watashi)as the topic, meaning "As for me" or "I am".
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| わたしはにほんじんです | Watashi wa nihonjin desu | I am Japanese. |
| かれはエンジニアです | Kare wa enjinia desu | He is an engineer. |
| ねこはかわいいです | Neko wa kawaii desu | Cats are cute. |
が (ga) - The Subject Marker
The particle が (ga) is used to mark the subject of a sentence, especially when you are identifying, introducing, or emphasizing something specific. While は (wa) marks the general topic of the sentence, が highlights what or who is doing or being something, often in response to a question or when pointing something out for the first time.
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| ねこがいます | Neko ga imasu | There is a cat. |
| かれがせんせいです | Kare ga sensei desu | He is the teacher. |
| これがわたしのかばんです | Kore ga watashi no kaban desu | This is my bag. |
の (no) - The Possessive Marker
The particle の (no) is used to indicate possession or to link nouns together. It can be thought of as the English apostrophe 's or the word "of". For example, in the phrase わたしのほん (watashi no hon), の (no)indicates that the book belongs to me, translating to "my book".
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| わたしのかばんです | Watashi no kaban desu | This is my bag. |
| かれのじてんしゃです | Kare no jitensha desu | This is (his) bicycle. |
| かのじょのいえです | Kanojo no ie desu | This is (her) house. |
か (ka) - The Question Marker
The particle か (ka) is used to turn a statement into a question. It is similar to the question mark in English, but it is placed at the end of the sentence. For example, in the sentence あなたはがくせいですか (Anata wa gakusei desu ka),か (ka) indicates that the speaker is asking if the listener is a student, translating to "Are you a student?".
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| あなたはがくせいですか | Anata wa gakusei desu ka | Are you a student? |
| これはほんですか | Kore wa hon desu ka | Is this a book? |
| あれはとしょかんですか | Are wa toshokan desu ka | Is that a library (over there)? |
🈶 Why Kanji Matters: Avoiding Particle Confusion
As you begin reading and writing more Japanese, you'll notice that kanji helps separate words and clarify meaning—especially when it comes to particles like は (wa). Since Japanese is written without spaces between words, it's easy to misread a particle as being part of the word that comes before it. For example, in the sentence "ははははははとわらう" it is difficult to tell where the word ends and the particle begins. However, when written in kanji, it becomes clear: "母はハハハと笑う" (Haha wa hahaha to warau) which translates to "The Mother laughs, hahaha."
However, for now it is perfectly fine to use the hiragana with these particles. As you progress in your studies, you will learn more about kanji and how it can help you read and write Japanese more effectively.