Grammar Question

[Modoka]

I have a question. I noticed that the symbol for the wa in “Watashi” is different from the wa when it’s by itself. And the symbol for wa by itself it also the symbol for ha. Can anyone tell me what’s up with that?

[Psy]

Common question. "wa" in the grammatical sense is always written "ha." "e" in the grammatical sense is always written "he." "o" in the grammatical sense is always written "wo." As for why-- I've asked many and have never been given a clear explanation. It's just the way it goes.

[Modoka]

Do u know what u would use when using "ga"?

And what other grammar words stuff do u know that is written differently?

[QuackingShoe]

Those are the only exceptions, and the reason is that it's a simple relic from previous Japanese writing and pronunciation standards (and a result of language drift). Many of the kana were different or had multiple pronunciations in the past, etc. You can see some of the specifics at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_kana_usage if you're interested.

Oh, SORTOF an exception is the whole じ/ぢ,ず/づ thing. It's honestly pretty straightforward, but check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiragana

Let's all just be glad for those exceptions. If they were written わ、お、え、 Japanese would be a much uglier looking language

[markystar]

Let's all just be glad for those exceptions. If they were written わ、お、え、 Japanese would be a much uglier looking language

hahahahaha. you're totally right.


as for the question about the particles, when you're new to the language these 3 exceptions seem kind of perplexing, especially when you know your looking up (at least) a 2000 kanji mountain. but in no time you'll adjust. getting used to this won't take much effort.

and you'll be surprised how few exceptions to the rules there are in japanese!

ganbatte kudasaaaaaaaaaaaaaai!