{"id":3526,"date":"2017-11-02T15:09:12","date_gmt":"2017-11-02T22:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lingq.com\/blog-new\/?p=3526"},"modified":"2025-05-19T11:28:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T18:28:49","slug":"japanese-sentence-structure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lingq.com\/blog\/japanese-sentence-structure\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese Sentence Structure Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

In English, there is a concrete grammatical structure. In a simple sentence, you have the subject, the verb, and the predicate. <\/span>
\nOf course, this changes as we get into more complicated sentences, but there are concrete rules that serve as a mold for any sentence. In the English language, if a sentence is lacking an integral part, it is a sentence fragment, and incorrect grammatically. <\/span><\/p>\n

Is Japanese sentence structure similar to English? <\/b><\/h2>\n

Japanese and English sentence structure are not at all similar. Many will say or teach that the structure of a Japanese sentence is a mixed-up version of the English sentence.\u00a0Whereas English goes subject-verb-predicate:<\/span>
\nMary (subject) ate (verb) chocolate (predicate).<\/b>
\nJapanese, they say, goes subject-predicate-verb:<\/span>
\n\u30dc\u30d6 (subject) \u306f\u30b1\u30fc\u30ad (object) \u3092\u98df\u3079\u308b(verb). <\/b>
\n\u30dc\u30d6 (bobu) would be the subject (Japanese version of Bob), \u30b1\u30fc\u30ad (ke-ki) the predicate or object (cake) and \u98df\u3079\u308b (taberu) would be the verb (eat). <\/span>
\nWhile it is true that subject-object-verb is the more common way to frame a sentence, it is not the only way to do it. You could just as easily put the predicate first, like \u30b1\u30fc\u30ad\u3092\u30dc\u30d6\u306f\u98df\u3079\u308b (ke-ki [cake] (w)o bobu [Bob] wa taberu [eat]). <\/span>
\nThere are many other ways of structuring sentences in Japanese. You could even ignore many parts of the sentence and have a complete sentence, because Japanese does not have a set sentence structure. This may be surprising, but it is easy to get used to. <\/span>
\nAll you need to have a complete sentence in Japanese is a verb. For instance, \u4fe1\u3058\u308b (shinjiru [believe]) would be a complete sentence. It would be unusual for a sentence to be just a verb like this. Usually, a Japanese verb will be in a different form with its stem as a base, but that\u2019s a different topic.<\/span>
\nFor now, let’s say it’s possible to have a verb in Japanese be a complete sentence. However, a sentence will usually have at least a subject. How do you mark a subject? This is done with particles. A particle will mark a word as a certain part of a sentence. These particles are what allow a Japanese sentence to not have any formal structure. <\/span><\/p>\n

Using particles <\/b><\/h2>\n

In Japanese, a particle is placed at the end of the word to which it signifies grammatical meaning. Let\u2019s go through a few of the more popular ones.
\nIf I wanted the subject to be me, I could say \u79c1\u306f (watashi wa), which means I (\u79c1) am marked as the subject (\u306f). The \u306f is the particle. It is the kana (sort of like a letter in the Japanese alphabet) pronounced \u201cha\u201d normally, but it is pronounced \u201cwa\u201d when used as a particle. If we take it with the earlier verb, and say \u00a0\u79c1\u306f\u4fe1\u3058\u308b (watashi wa shinjiru), then it would mean \u201cI believe\u201d. What I would be believing in would be made clear through context.<\/span>
\nTo understand what is being said in Japanese, it is often necessary to pick up on contextual clues. This may sound difficult coming from English, but it gets easier with time. For example, the phrase \u79c1\u306f\u4fe1\u3058\u308b (watashi wa shinjiru [I believe]) above doesn’t necessarily have to be in the present tense. There are verb conjugations that show that something happened in the past or is currently happening, but no common conjugation to show that something is happening in the future. A sentence like this, without the verb being conjugated at all, is not limited in tense: it can be in the past, present, or future tense. Once again, which tense is being used should be made clear through context. <\/span><\/p>\n

Identifying subjects<\/b><\/h2>\n

One way of identifying the subject is with the particle \u306f (wa), but another particle that serves a similar purpose is \u304c (ga). The differences between\u00a0\u304c and\u00a0\u306f are somewhat complicated, but for our purposes \u304c also can identify the subject of a sentence. Another particle, \u3092 (wo), is effectively \u00a0the same as \u304c, but it has a more limited use in clauses with transitive verbs. So, one can say \u79c1\u304c\u884c\u304f (watashi ga iku) to say I (\u79c1) am (\u304c) going (\u884c\u304f).
\nThough there is no set sentence structure in Japanese, a common one is to identify the subject with \u306f and then what would in English be the predicate with \u304c and then put the verb after it. For instance, \u79c1\u306f\u3042\u306e\u5e03\u56e3\u304c\u6b32\u3057\u3044 (watashi wa ano futon ga hoshii [I want that futon]). In English, I (\u79c1) want (\u6b32\u3057\u3044) that (\u3042\u306e) futon (\u5e03\u56e3). However, one could just as easily say \u3042\u306e\u5e03\u56e3\u304c\u6b32\u3057\u3044, \u79c1\u306f (ano futon ga hoshii, watashi wa [That futon want I]) or other such things, as there isn’t a fixed structure.<\/span>
\nOf course, if the context makes it clear that the subject is yourself, then you can omit the subject altogether, and say something like \u3042\u306e\u5e03\u56e3\u304c\u6b32\u3057\u3044 (ano futon ga hoshii [____ want that futon]). Alternatively, if what would be the predicate in English is clear through context (i.e., say you’re pointing to the futon you want), you can just say \u79c1\u306f\u6b32\u3057\u3044 (watashi wa hoshii [I want]). Or, if both the subject and what would be the predicate in English are clear enough through context, you can also just as easily say \u6b32\u3057\u3044 (hoshii [want]). I hope this demonstrates how reliant upon context Japanese is while relating the lack of formal structure in the language. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Learn<\/a><\/h2>\n

How to use linking verbs<\/b><\/h2>\n

If I say \u201cMy name is Bob\u201d, then the action is not clear. The verb \u201cis\u201d isn\u2019t an action verb in this case, but a linking verb.
\nSimilarly, you can say \u79c1\u306e\u540d\u524d\u306f\u30dc\u30d6 (watashi no namae wa bobu), which means my (\u79c1\u306e) name (\u540d\u524d) is (\u306f) Bob (\u30dc\u30d6). The \u306e particle is placed after a noun to denote that it is the possessor in a situation. So, \u201cmy\u201d could be translated as \u79c1\u306e (watashi no). <\/span>
\nWhat is important is that it would appear that the linking verb is the particle \u306f (wa). While this is a perfectly acceptable sentence, it would be misleading to say that \u306f is equal to \u201cis\u201d. For instance, the tense of my sentence in English is dependent upon the tense of the verb, in this case \u201cis\u201d. The same is true in Japanese. However, there is no way to change the particle \u306f to indicate a different tense.<\/span>
\nTo do this in a sentence like this, we use a verb at the end, \u3067\u3042\u308b (de aru). This denotes being. However, this isn’t really used in this way too much anymore, and you’d hear or read<\/a> this a lot more often in works of fiction than in real life, as it is a fairly dated way of saying it. Instead, it is replaced with \u3060 (da), or more formally \u3067\u3059 (desu). <\/span>
\nTo change the tense, you’d simply change the tense of these endings. So, for instance, the past tense of \u3060 (da) is \u3060\u3063\u305f (datta), so if you wanted to say \u201cMy name <\/span>was<\/span><\/i> Bob\u201d, then you could say \u79c1\u306e\u540d\u524d\u306f\u30dc\u30d6\u3060\u3063\u305f (watashi no namae wa bobu datta [my name was Bob]). If you wanted to say this in a more polite manner, you could use the past form of \u3067\u3059 (desu), which is \u3067\u3057\u305f (deshita). \u79c1\u306e\u540d\u524d\u306f\u30dc\u30d6\u3067\u3057\u305f (watashi no namae wa bobu deshita [my name was Bob]). The past tense of \u3067\u3042\u308b is \u3067\u3042\u3063\u305f (de atta), for the curious. You put \u3060 (da), \u3067\u3059 (desu), or less commonly \u3067\u3042\u308b (de aru) in whatever tense is needed at the end of a sentence to denote the tense of the sentence. Knowing this, if one was so inclined, he could simply say \u30dc\u30d6\u3067\u3059 (bobu desu [It is Bob]) to say that his name is Bob, provided that the context makes it clear that it is his name being talked about. Japanese is very context-heavy! <\/span><\/p>\n

Adjectives in Japanese<\/b><\/h2>\n

In Japanese, there are two types of adjectives: -i adjectives and na adjectives. The first type ends in -i. While not all adjectives that end in -i are -i adjectives, all -i adjectives do end in -i. <\/span>
\nThen you have na adjectives. These types of adjectives need you to put \u306a (na) after them to establish they are adjectives. An example of an -i adjective is \u8f9b\u3044 (karai), which means spicy. If you want to describe something as spicy, you simply put the adjective in front of the noun. \u8f9b\u3044\u713c\u304d\u305d\u3070 (karai yakisoba) would mean spicy yakisoba. An example of a \u306a adjective would be \u7dba\u9e97 (kirei, it is often spelled with kana instead of kanji, like \u304d\u308c\u3044 or \u30ad\u30ec\u30a4, but the pronunciation stays the same). It means pretty. If I wanted to describe the ocean as pretty, I could say \u7dba\u9e97\u306a\u6d77 (kirei na umi), which means \u201cpretty ocean\u201d.<\/span>
\nThe adjective in Japanese should be placed before the noun. Similarly, any description in Japanese should be placed before the noun it describes. In English, we say \u201cThe man who ran here\u201d as a way to describe the man. There is no equivalent \u201cwho\u201d in Japanese. Instead, you’d say something like, \u3053\u3053\u306b\u8d70\u3063\u305f\u7537 (koko ni hashitta otoko [the man who ran here]). \u3053\u3053 (koko) means here, \u306b (ni) is a particle that indicates the location of a place, and \u8d70\u3063\u305f (hashitta) is the past tense of the verb \u8d70\u308b (hashiru), which means to run. This describes the man, or \u7537 (otoko). \u00a0Similarly, all descriptions are used in a like manner, which helps create more complex sentences. <\/span><\/p>\n

How to Ask Questions<\/b><\/h2>\n

So far, we’ve only looked at statements. But there is another type of English sentence that is fairly common: questions. How can we pose a question in Japanese? While there are question words in Japanese, they aren’t at all necessary to pose a question. You can simply say a normal statement except include a rising intonation. In writing, you can simply put a question mark. However, there is a much more solid way to indicate a question. In polite speech, to indicate a question, you simply add \u304b (ka) to the end. For instance, \u00a0\u540d\u524d\u306f\u30dc\u30d6\u3067\u3059\u304b? (namae wa bobu desu ka) would be \u201cIs (your) name Bob?\u201d in English.
\nHowever, in normal speech, do not ever expect to ask a question with the casual \u3060 that was taught earlier. In such casual speech, putting the \u304b at the end of a sentence often just implies doubt, and can sound sarcastic or rhetorical. Instead, you can simply use that inquisitive tone mentioned earlier or you could use that along with the character \u306e at the end of a sentence. \u540d\u524d\u306f\u30dc\u30d6\u306e? (namae wa bobu no) would be like \u201cIs (your) name Bob?\u201d in English. For a more action verb – like sentence, you could ask \u884c\u304f\u306e? (Iku no) to ask if someone is going somewhere (remember, context) in a casual way. The formal way to do that for this particular verb would be \u884c\u304d\u307e\u3059 (ikimasu [go]), so one can simply ask \u884c\u304d\u307e\u3059\u304b? (ikimasu ka [Going?]) to ask the same question in a polite manner.
\nThis has been a very brief overlook of Japanese sentence structure. I hope that this will help all who are curious about Japanese grammar<\/a>! For more general tips on learning Japanese, check out this post by polyglot Steve Kaufmann<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Learn<\/a><\/p>\n

Learn Japanese Faster Using LingQ<\/h2>\n

Immersing yourself in Japanese doesn\u2019t require you to travel abroad or sign up for an expensive language program.
\nHowever, it can be a bit tiresome to find interesting content, go back and forth between sites, use different dictionaries to look up words, and so on.
\nThat\u2019s why there\u2019s LingQ. A language app that helps you discover and learn from content you love.
\nYou can import videos, podcasts, and much more and turn them into interactive lessons. Its the best way to learn Japanese online<\/a>!
\nKeep all your favorite Japanese content stored in one place, easily look up new words, save vocabulary, and review. Check out our guide to importing content into LingQ<\/a> for more information.
\nLingQ is available for desktop as well as Android<\/a> and iOS<\/a>. Gain access to thousands of hours of audio and transcripts and begin your journey to fluency today.
\n\"Learn<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Caiman Cotton is a freelance Japanese translator who has some experience in patent translation. He hopes one day to be fluent in (Ecclesiastical) Latin.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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