Next up, role-marking particles.
If you don’t know any of these yet, you’ll probably pick them up by the end of the volume, even if still at a superficial level for some of them.
But first, it’s worth mentioning a big difference between English and Japanese sentences.
Subject vs Topic Prominence
English is a subject-prominent language. The focus of the sentence is on who or what is performing an action (in a verb-type sentence).
Consider the following sentences:
- “John is going to the store.”
- “My boss will be out on vacation next week.”
- “The lake is beautiful in the summer.”
Every sentence prominently features the subject.
If you remove the subject, you get a sentence that either assumes the speaker is the subject, or relies on a prior sentence for context, or makes no sense:
- “Going to the store.”
- “Will be out on vacation next week.”
- “Beautiful in the summer.”
Japanese is a topic-prominent language. The focus is on what the sentence is about (the topic).
This focus gives Japanese sentences a typical “topic–comment” structure.
は and the Topic–Comment Structure
Consider the following scene from 「恋に恋するユカリちゃん」. It’s around the time students start switching from wearing their long-sleeved winter uniforms to their short-sleeved summer uniforms.
Yukari looks around to see which of her classmates have already made the change. She notices Takagi:
Yukari: “(For) Takagi-chan (it’s) already her summer uniform.”
She then looks over at Nishikata:
Yukari: 「あ、 西片君は 冬服なんだ。」 “Ah, for Nishikata-kun, is that it’s the winter uniform.”
Let’s simplify Yukari’s response for learning purposes:
Yukari: 「西片君は 冬服だ。」 “For Nishikata-kun, is the winter uniform.”
Here, the topic–comment structure can be seen clearly:
The particle は marks a noun as the topic of the sentence. Here, the topic is 西片君 (Nishikata-kun).
After the topic has been established, a comment is made about the topic.
The comment here is 冬服だ (“is winter uniform”).
This sentence can be a bit difficult to understand for a native English speaker because there is no subject. If you try to treat the topic as if it’s the subject, you get the following:
“Nishikata-kun is a winter uniform.”
That’s complete nonsense. (Or the makings of a popular Japanese light novel series that will get an anime adaptation.)
A more proper translation is:
“As for Nishikata-kun, it’s the winter uniform.”
The text “as for” is a tool used in English to change the topic. The prior topic being commented on was Takagi, but now a comment is being made about Nishikata.
But what about the subject? Native English speakers expect a subject, and I have indeed interjected a subject into this translation. Here, the subject is “it”.
What is “it”?
Well, “it” can be almost anything.
Perhaps that's why these guys were so vexed by...it.
The Japanese sentence doesn’t state the subject, which is equivalent to using “it” in English. You’re expected to know the subject from the greater context of the dialogue.
In this case, the subject is the uniform being worn today. If we add the subject into the sentence, it becomes:
“(For) Takagi-chan, (the uniform she’s wearing today) is already the summer uniform.”
“As for Nishikata-kun, (the uniform he’s wearing today) is the winter uniform.”
Here are more examples of は and the topic–comment structure:
In a confession scene from 日々蝶々...
A boy builds up the courage to confess to the prettiest girl in school:
Boy: “I’ve always been attracted to you!! Please go out with me!”
Seeing this gives others the courage to do the same:
One boy says:
「オレは西山です」 “As for me, Nishiyama.”
Topic: オレ
Comment: 西山です
The subject is unspoken as it’s clear from context. He’s not saying his dog is Nishiyama. He’s not saying his friend is Nishiyama. He’s not saying he’s in Mr. Nishiyama’s class. (Although in a different context, any one of these could be correct for this same sentence!)
Bonus: Whereas は changes the topic to make a new comment on, も changes the topic while reusing the same comment that applies to a prior topic. Here, after the first boy says he is attracted to the girl, another boy uses も when saying he (also) likes the girl, and would like to go out with her.
During an introduction in 魔法騎士レイアース...
Three girls from Tokyo are suddenly transported to a fantastic world. Once they’ve settled from the experience, one of the girls suggests they begin with introductions.
「わたしは 鳳凰寺 風」
Topic: わたし “I”
Comment: 鳳凰寺 風 “(is) Hououji Fuu”
Here, she is establishing herself as the topic she will be commenting on. The comment is her name. The subject is not spoken, but context makes it clear that this is her name she’s giving, not the name of her favorite anime character.
Next, she says:
「十四歳 中学二年生です」
Topic: (unspecified)
Comment: 十四歳 中学二年生です “14 years old; second year of middle school”
Since the topic is not stated here, it’s understood that it’s the same topic from before (わたし).
Finally, she says:
「血液型はＡ型で射手座です」
Topic: 血液型 “blood type”
Comment: Ａ型で “is type A, and”
Comment: 射手座です “is Sagittarius”
Here she changes the topic from herself (わたし) to her blood type (血液型). (Don’t ask me why her astrological sign gets lumped in with the blood type topic!)
After Makoto spends time chasing a wild phesant in ふらいんぐうぃっち...
Chinatsu asks if catching a phesant is part of Makoto’s training as a witch.
Makoto: 「いえ これは ただ捕まえたいだけです」 “No, regarding this, (I) just wanted to catch one is all.”
Topic: これ “this”
Comment: ただ捕まえたいだけです “just wanted to catch one is all”
Makoto: 「魔女は関係無いです」 “Regarding witches, (it) is unrelated.”
Topic: 魔女 “witch(es)”
Comment: 関係無いです “is without relation”
が Marks the Subject
In the prior section, I showed sentences with a topic and comment, but the comment did not include a subject in it. In those examples, the subject was expected to be known based on context, similar to when someone uses “he” or “it” as the subject of an English sentence.
The subject of a Japanese sentence is the one performing an action (in a verb-type sentence), being described (in an adjective-type sentence), or being defined (in a noun-type sentence).
You will recognize when a noun is specifically the subject because it will have the particle が attached to it.
The teacher reminds her class in レンタルおにいちゃん...
Teacher: 「来週は授業参観があります」 “Next week is parents’ day.”
Topic: 来週 (next week)
Comment: 授業参観があります (is parents’ day)
Here, the subect is 「授業参観」(parents’ day). This is a verb-type sentence, with the verb あります. This verb (from ある) refers to existence or being.
While at the mall in レンタルおにいちゃん...
Kanami asks Makoto what kinds of things he likes. He pulls out his phone so she can hear the music he likes to listen to when he notices something.
Makoto: 「今日が新曲の発売日だ」 “Today is the new album’s release date.”
The topic is not stated because it’s still regarding the music Makoto likes. The subject of the sentence is 今日 (today). Because this is a noun-type sentence, 今日 is being defined as 新曲の発売日 (new album’s release date).
On a mysterious island in ARIA...
Akari finds herself lost in the rain. Before she knows it, the rain has disappeared.
Akari: 「あ？ 雨が上がってる」 “Huh? The rain has stopped.”
The subject 雨 (rain) is doing the action of 上がってる (stopping).
を Marks the Direct Object
In the context English grammar, consider the following sentence:
“John gave flowers to Mary.”
Here are the parts of speech:
- Subject: John
- Verb: gave
- Direct Object: flowers
- Indirect Object: Mary
The direct object is what receives the action of a verb. In the example above, the flowers are receiving the action of giving, so they are the direct object.
In Japanese, the direct object is marked by を. When you see を, you know there’s a verb that is doing something with that direct object.
In a scene from ひよ恋, Reina is looking to get a group picture, but needs someone to handle the camera.
Tanaka: 「僕がシャッターを押そう」 “I’ll press the shutter.”
Subject: 僕 “I”
Direct Object: シャッター “(camera) shutter”
Verb: 押そう “will press”
Upon visiting zoo to ensure the animals are being fed in 三ツ星カラーズ...
…Kotoha and her friends realize the zoo is feeding the animals so little that the tiger ate a person.
The girls run around looking for help, finding a zoo worker.
Kotoha: 「トラが人を食べてたぞ」 “The tiger was eating a person!”
Subject: トラ “tiger”
Direct Object: 人 “person”
Verb: 食べてた “was eating”
Extra credit: Do you recall what ぞ means when it appears at the end of a sentence?
It's dinner time in からかい上手の（元）高木さん when...
Nishikata sees his wife added green pepper into the hamburger, something their young daughter Chii hasn’t noticed.
Wife: 「食べてくれないと、嫌いになっちゃうなー。」 “If (subject) doesn’t eat (direct object), (subject) will end up hating it.”
With the subject and direct object unspoken, it’s ambiguous what she’s saying.
Wife: 「ちーがピーマンを。」
Subect: ちー “(their daughter) Chii”
Direct Object: ピーマン “green peppers”
When Conan finds himself closed in room with a murderer in 名探偵コナン...
…his friends call the police, but Inspector Megure doesn’t believe them. As Genta pleads with the inspector, Ayumi notices she can hear the murderer through the radio badges they’re wearing.
Ayumi: 「げ、元太君 受話器！ 受話器！！」 “Genta-kun, the receiver! The receiver!!”
Murder: 「そうだ 私だ」 “That’s right. It was me.”
She holds the receiver against her badge.
Murderer: 「私が兄を…」
Murderer: 「ぶっ殺したのさあぁぁ！！！」
“I killed my brother!”
Subject: 私 “I”
Direct Object: 兄 “(older) brother”
Verb: ぶっ殺した “killed”
Right in the title of 好きな子がめがねを忘れた...
…is another good example.
「好きな子がめがねを忘れた」 “The girl I like forgot her glasses.”
Subject: 好きな子 (the girl I like)
Direct Object: めがね (glasses)
Verb: 忘れた (forgot)
There are plenty more particles to know, but this much is probably way more than enough to digest for one weekend.
Remember, you don’t have to learn, understand, and remember them all at once. Even just getting exposure to them now may make them easier to get to know later.
