Learn about the modifying particle
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| Hi, everyone. |
| Welcome to the Ultimate Japanese Particle Guide. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn the particle... |
| の (no) |
| This particle is often referred to as the modifying particle, because we use it between two nouns to indicate that the first noun modifies the second noun. |
| One of the main usages of の (no) is the one that shows possession. |
| It’s like the possessive or the word “of" in English. |
| Let's see how it functions in a sentence. How do you say "Risa’s," as in "belongs to Risa"? |
| リサの (Risa no) |
| So then how would you say, for example, “Risa’s pen”? |
| リサのペン (Risa no pen) |
| Great. So then how would you say “Alisha’s?” |
| アリーシャの (Arīsha no) and “Alisha’s computer” is アリーシャのコンピューター (Arīsha no konpyūtā). |
| So how about “my”? |
| 私 (watashi) means “I" or "me,” so 私の (watashi no) is “my.” |
| For example, how do you say "This is my computer." |
| これは私のコンピューターです。(Kore wa watashi no konpyūtā desu.) |
| Please note that リサの (Risa no), アリーシャの (Arīsha no), can mean "Risa's (one)," "Alisha's (one)," too. |
| 私の (watashi no) also can mean “mine.” |
| Good point. When it's obvious what the first noun possesses, the second noun can be left out. |
| For example how do you say "This is mine." |
| これは私のです。(Kore wa watashi no desu.) |
| Let's take a look at a few more examples. |
| これはアリーシャさんの鞄ですか。 (Kore wa Arīsha-san no kaban desu ka.) |
| “Is this your bag, Alisha?” |
| ゴッホの絵が好きです。 (Gohho no e ga suki desu.) |
| "I like Van Gogh's paintings." |
| 太郎の話は嘘です。 (Tarō no hanashi wa uso desu.) |
| “Taro's story is a lie.” |
| From a broader perspective, this particle marks the category, origin, material, or any attribute of the noun that follows. |
| Let's see some examples. |
| 英語の先生 (Eigo no sensei) |
| This literally means "teacher of English," so "English teacher" let's see a sample sentence. |
| 彼は英語の先生です。(Kare wa Eigo no sensei desu.) |
| Literally, it means "He is a teacher of English." |
| さくらの花 (Sakura no hana) |
| This literally means "flower of cherry," so "cherry blossom" let's see a sample sentence. |
| さくらの花が咲きました。 (Sakura no hana ga sakimashita.) |
| "The cherry blossom bloomed." |
| Note that this particle can be used multiple times. For example, "My friend's name is Yuko" is... |
| 私の友だちの名前は裕子です。(Watashi no tomodachi no namae wa Yūko desu.) |
| Let's take a look at a few more examples with the same particle used as a category marker. |
| 日本の車が好きです。(Nihon no kuruma ga suki desu.) |
| "I like Japanese cars." |
| 今週の日曜日、暇ですか。(Konshū no nichi-yōbi, hima desu ka.) |
| “Are you free this Sunday?” |
| 田中さんの考えは面白いです。(Tanaka-san no kangae wa omoshiroi desu.) |
| “Mr. Tanaka's idea is interesting.” |
| Now, let's use what you learned in this lesson. |
| We learned how to say "This is my computer." |
| これは私のコンピューターです。(Kore wa watashi no konpyūtā desu.) |
| In this sentence, the particle の (no) marks possession. The structure is... |
| [owner] |
| の (no) |
| [belonging] |
| Now let's try with "This is Suzuki's book." |
| The word for "book" is... |
| 本 (hon) |
| “This is a book” is... |
| これは本です。(Kore wa hon desu.) |
| Try to say "This is Suzuki's book" in Japanese. [pause] |
| The answer is... |
| これは鈴木さんの本です。(Kore wa Suzuki-san no hon desu.) |
| Did you get it right? |
| In this sentence, the particle の (no) indicates possession. |
| Let's try one more. We learned how to say "He is an English teacher." |
| 彼は英語の先生です。(Kare wa Eigo no sensei desu.) |
| Here the particle の (no) marks the category of the noun that follows, "teacher." The structure is... |
| [category] |
| の (no) |
| [noun] |
| Now let's try with "She is a math teacher." |
| Here are the words you need for "math" and "she." |
| 数学 (sūgaku) |
| 彼女 (kanojo) |
| Try to say "She is a math teacher" in Japanese. |
| The answer is... |
| 彼女は数学の先生です。(Kanojo wa sūgaku no sensei desu.) |
| Well done! In this case, the particle marks a category, math. |
| In this lesson, you learned about the particle... |
| の |
| In the next lesson, you'll learn about the particle... |
| と |
| See you in the next lesson. Bye! |
| Bye~ |
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