A dictionary of japanese particles

A dictionary of japanese particles Từ điển tiếng Nhật bằng ngôn ngữ Nhật - Anh

A DICTIONARY OF JAPANESE PARTICLES

Sue A Kawashima

KODANSHA INTERNATIONAL

Tokyo ® New York * London

To my students

PREFACE

Although there are many difficult grammatical points that a student

must master in learning the Japanese language, particles belong in a class by themselves Appearing in nearly every sentence, they are absolutely crucial to

a proper understanding of the intended meaning A student may possess a large vocabulary and a good grasp of verb conjugation, but without a firm command of particles, he or she cannot hope to construct consistently cor- rect sentences In choice and placement, particles can completely transform

the meaning of two sentences that are otherwise exactly the same

Throughout my teaching career I have felt that particles were the key to

learning Japanese Though not a linguist, I have many years of teaching expe- rience, and in this book I hope to have made good use of that experience by helping students come to a better understanding of particle usage If the stu-

dent benefits in any substantial way, I will feel my efforts have been rewarded

I wish to thank my students at Hunter College, who, by posing many thought-provoking questions, have contributed to the making of this book

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude t6 Tetsuo Kuramochi of

Kodansha International, who helped to bring about this incarnation of the

original edition, Particles Plus

Lastly, I am indebted for much of the translation herein to my daughter,

a professor of Japanese literature, who has edited all of my work

Sue A Kawashima

Spring, 1999

Previously published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Japan as Particles Plus

Distributed in the United States by Kodansha America, Inc., 575 Lexington Avenue, New York N.Y 10022, and in the United Kingdom and continental Europe by Kodansha Europe Ltd., 95 Aldwych, London WC2B 4JF Published

by Kodansha International Ltd., 17-14 Otowa 1-chome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo

112-8652, and Kodansha America, Inc

Copyright © 1999 by Sue A Kawashima

All rights reserved Printed in Japan

First edition, 1999

99000102 10987654321

DAKE | - SỈ nen HH nh nh nh nà 10

DANO ŠŒO : - nằm nh ni nh nh HH HH ni ni ng 14 DATTE Ÿ€ -= HH nh HH km nà 15

DE Co cecccttcteseeecseeeceneceerereseeeeeeeeenaseesseesseseneseees ene eeeeeneeees ees 17

DEMO C+ " , 26

DOKORO ¿?Œ Z2 : - sen nh nh nh he 20 DOKOROKA đc7ŒZ2ÿj* : -eề nén nỲnn nh HH HH HH mm ni km nà 20 DOMO đđ& - Ăn ỲỲ nen nỲ HH HH nh mm Hi mà 30

KA FY 46 KA-I AL\(C.P.) Peer eee eee eee ee ere eee eee eee eee eee eee eee ee eee eee eee eee eee eee 51

KARA #›b -ssẽẽẽỲỲỲỹỶŸ HH HH In ng 6000 0 000 000 0 0 000 0 00V hy ng 53

KARA-SHITE JD *5-L TCP.) -‡sẽẽHnmnẽenrrerre 65 KASHIRA JU corceceeeccetseececeeeeececeseeeesscecesceenseeesseeaserseseeeeees 66

KEREDOMO(KEREDO,KEDO,KEDOMO)

FALE BIFFLE, (FE (FEB) cree cee eee eee eee teen eeee cea eeeeneees 70

KIRI ‡šfO -<<-<S nh nn nh HH nh ng tt tin Hà ti nh, 73 KOSO c7‹ -s nen nen nh nh nh nh nh HH ki ni n Hi ni tà 75

KURAI(GURAI) <öL\(<öVL\) cerect erect etre eet et ee eteeereee eee eeeeees 10

NAGARA ZEN -“ỉẽíẽhhtmh ninh nh mm kh nh nh ki th nh ninh nh 110 NAGARA-MO #4#ÖÌS-b(C.P.) -ẽẽẽẽẽnrinnreerrrrrrre 11] NANTE Zo As ® ÒỎ 112

Ta 42 S a aàaaỉa no 113 N-DE As-C(C.P.) 115

NO-DA(N-DA) D-72 (Av-72) (C.P.) vecteeceeeeereetceeeeeeceeeeseenaeeeees 158

NODE(N-DE) (@fŒ(@/-©@) -shhhhhhhhnhhhhhhhhhhht he 160

\I9@ 9.2 +(52 162 NO-DE ARU (@0-CŒ#2(C.P.) -ŸằằằŸằằằằằneehee 163

SA t# -ssnhenne hen nh n6 00 0 80008001 60 100880 1.0 4.0 s4 177

SHI L -= Ăn nh nỲ nh nh nh ki Hi Hot kh ng 180 SHIKA LU Dderrcererereecceceeeectceeeeseeencnseesseeseeseseeeeeeeeneneeeneeserene ones 182 SHIMO (pi cosee rec tcceceeteeeeeeeeeeneseseeenseseeeeeseeessseseeeseseeeusasesen es 183 SURA đ - nọ nhe nhện Hà Hà HH Hà mi ti tt Hà Hà nà nà Hà tà và 185 TARA ƒ - nọ nọ nh th th nh ki Hi ki ti Binh ni ti Ki mà tt tà ti mg 186 TAR] ƒcfQ -= nà Sàn nh tk Hà Hà Hà mi tt HH nà Hà Hà Hà nà nà 188 TATTE FED T ccccrttttettesseeceneeeenseessseseneeseesceeeesenecesetseneseenseees 189

TE TC - sọ nọ nh nh th nh nh ni ki nh ni Bi kim ti mi nh ti ti mg 190 TEBA [để -Sằ nà nành nh nh nh mm nh nh ni ni nhi nh nà nà 195 (©4959 x<<“<zm 196

TE-NE C-4AQ(C.P.) -‡ẽẽẽnrrnrrrnteeeeeeeneeeeeeeeeeee 198

9T 200

TO-ll đ-<-L\L\(C.P.) -s‡sẽẽhớhnnnnnhrnhnnrreeerreeereeeeereesee 210 TO-ITTA đ-L\Sƒ=(Œ.P.) -: -‡#ẻẻhhhnnrrrsennnsrnsnrrrrrrre 2II TO-ITTE đ¿đ-L\S€(C.P.) -: -‡‡s#hHnnnrnsrnrnnnrrrsrsrrrrrree 2II TO-IWA-ZU đ-L\ÐO-đ'(C.P.) crece ete eteeteeeeteeteeeeseeeeeseeecesneeeeenees 212 TOKA (cC7j -ss sọ nàn nh tà nền nh kh nà Hi ti ti 901 0 0 1v tà tinh 213

IẰ®).46)199 1=“ Tá na 215

TOKORO-E EL 2-^(C.P.) - sành hen 216 TOKOROGA dđcc7Z}Ì: - se ỈỈn nen nh nh nh nh hi im 216

TO-WA-IE đ [#-L\X(C.P.) -<Ÿ$ẽhhỈnỈnnenhenhhhehehkkớ 226 TO-YUU đ“-L\(C.P.) -snẽ hen nHn nhe hhkớ 227 TO-YUU-KOTO-WA đ¿-L\-c¿-l#t(C.P.) - 229

YA-INA-YA 3Ð-L\4-35(C.P.) -.ŸằẶŸ nề Ỹee nh eeeK« 247

YO đk-= -sẽẽe nh nh nh HH HH H9 c0 00001199 0:0:6:0 5 80000010 00 000 04 25] YORI đkfQ -< nen HH HH HH HH Hi HH in ni ng 233

ZE TE (CÁC ằỐốốằốằằằằ 257

22“ 258

ZUTSU FD See e eee e erence ence eee ence eee eset eee ene e eens ee eee ee neeeesecerecenses 259

MASTERING PARTICLES ° EXERCISES - - -.- - 261 ANSWER KEYS eằee 319

GLOSSARY (English-Japanese) «H09 906 69.6 0.8.0.6 0.8.9 5 0 8.6 9-0-6 0 0 6 9.4 0.4.6 6.8.9 0.9 0.6 8.0 6.80 6 800 6 8 8 6 0 0.6 9 0.6 329

GLOSSARY (Japanese-English) ¬_ ÔÔÔÒỒÓỒÓ (d 339

INTRODUCTION

DEFINITION OF PARTICLES

|) A particle (834) joshi) in the Japanese language follows a word to:

A) show its relationship to other words in a sentence, and/or

therefore stay in the same form regardless of where they appear in a sentence

conjunctions and interjections of the English language; of these three, the majority of particles belong to the first category

means that in translating them into English, the word order should be changed

Example:

English phrase: “top of the desk”

Japanese phrase: tsukue no ue = “(the) desk of top”

WHEN TO USE PARTICLES

Consider the following sentence: “My mother and my father had dinner

at a restaurant iz Tokyo with a friend.”

This example contains three prepositions (at, in, with) and one conjunc- tion (and) However, the same sentence translated into Japanese is:

“Watashi vo haha to chichi wa tomodachi to issho ni tookyoo no resutoran de yuushoku o tabe-mashita.”

There are eight particles in the above example Note, then, two points:

jections with particles; there are particles that cannot be translated into English but still have vital functions in a Japanese sentence

2) Nouns are usually followed by particles

When you are just starting to learn Japanese, get into the habit of

course, there are exceptions to this rule:

A) Particles are normally not placed directly before a copula (desu, da, deshita, datta, etc.)

Example: “This is an apple.” = kore wa ringo desu

Note the absence of any particles before “desu,” even though rvingo (“apple”) is a noun

followed by particles, even though they are considered nouns

Example: “Please give me three of those.” = sore o mit-tsu kudasai Note that mit-tsu (“three”) is not followed by a particle, though it is

considered a noun

Particles also follow verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, though less fre- quently than nouns Learning when to use particles after verbs, adjectives,

and adverbs is really a matter of memorization

FUNCTIONS OF PARTICLES

As stated above, particles are vital in Japanese Consider the case of pronouns in English: “I,” “my,” and “me” are separate words that indepen- dently signify their functions in a sentence However, in Japanese, there is one word watashi that serves as the basic “stem” for the singular first- person pronoun, and the subjective, possessive, and objective cases are constructed in the following ways, through the use of particles:

“me” = watashi |ni|/watashi |o (wo)| bELIIZ|//bELI®

It’s clear, then, that only through the use of particles can the precise function of the stem “watashi” be identified

Let’s look at another set of examples The meaning of the English sentence “I eat fish” is straightforward: the subject is “I,” the verb “eat” is

a transitive verb that requires an object, which is “fish” in this case However, if we translate it into Japanese without particles, it would look like this:

As it stands, this group of words has no apparent meaning If we were to insert some possible particles after the two nouns, we can create sentences with vastly different meanings (particles are enclosed in squares):

ili

taberu ‘The fish eats me.”

taberu “The fish and I eat (something).”

therefore essential for you to grasp the usage of particles in order to master the Japanese language

FEATURES OF THIS BOOK

This book is designed for use by students of Japanese at almost all levels For the beginners, the most fundamental particles are shown in bold face, explained in detail, and accompanied by illustrations where appropri-

V

ate Since this book contains most particles in the Japanese language with their usages and examples, even intermediate- and advanced-level students can use it as a reference tool

(1) Only particles used in Modern Japanese are included Some archaic or very rarely-used particles have been omitted Certain combination particles (C.P.) called rengo (:#2%) which frequently occur are also explained in this book The combination particle (C.P.) combines particles and other words such as adverbs, copulas, etc

(2) Particles have squares around them every time they appear in an

patterns and phrases are not underlined, since they are considered one unit,

outline form, together with the closest approximate English equivalents where applicable Sample sentences using the particles follow their defini- tions

(3) Particles are listed in alphabetical order in dictionary form, and there

is a glossary at the back that lists the approximate English meanings and the corresponding particles Also, for quick reference, see the chart on the endpapers

(4) Although the Japanese sentences contain mostly Joo-yoo-Kanji (most commonly used standard Kanji), there are a few exceptions where other Kanji appear

(5) Some sample sentences contain some compounds that are slightly advanced, but most of the sample sentences rely on basic vocabulary so that they are easy to understand, even for beginning-level students

(6) All Kanji (Chinese characters) are accompanied by furigana (phonetic readings in hiragana) over them so that the student can immediately recog- nize their pronunciation

(7) Grammar is explained in a way that English-speaking students can understand clearly; consequently, the method differs from the way grammar

is taught to native Japanese speakers

(8) Question marks appear much less frequently in a Japanese question than in English However, in order to clearly indicate interrogative sen- tences, they are followed by question marks

(9) There are exercises at the back of the book that are designed to familiarize the beginning-level student with the most fundamental particles

An answer key is also provided

(10) The Romanization system of this book basically follows the Hepburn system as shown in the chart below

sax ++ shL ¥Y su? 2% set + so VY

taz# 9% chid F tsum Y teT TF _ tor l

Vil

ra5 7 T1! }) ruá Jb rer vb ros UU

wad F — — — o(wo)# 7

(a) Long vowels are indicated by two vowels placed one after the other

Example: Tokyo Tookyoo

The second vowel will remind the beginning-level student that there should be a hiragana character there that stands in for the long vowel sound

Example: To o kyo o (Tokyo); e e ga (movie)

(b) Two identical vowels that are placed right next to each other are separated by hyphens, in order to avoid confusion with the long vowel sound

Example: kinoo (yesterday)

mono-o (particle “mono” + another particle “o”) (c) Some words are divided by hyphens to indicate the separate syllables,

or the separate units, that compose the word, so that it is easier to identify these elements visually

Examples: % ') 3 3 Á,: : - ari-masen (there is/are not)

#72 3Ÿ 2 HH benkyoo-suru (to study)

AE FR] orescence iki-jibiki (a walking dictionary)

8H rrtmrree omoi-dasu (to remenber)

TỐ thn th kh kh nhu nh on-na (a woman)

®^A'#twrrtrtrttt tabe-tai (to want to eat)

ðE đ 2t Vvesrrrrrrre yoma-nai (do not read) (d) The honorific prefixes “o” and “go” are considered as being part of the word, and therefore are not set off by a hyphen

1X

lma „_dekakere |ba| maniai-masu yo

If you leave now, yoư]ll make it in time

Kon-na pen demo ;„.yokere |ba| doozo

If only it would rain, there’s sure to be a bountiful harvest

the clause or phrase that follows

English approximation: “when (something happens) ” (instead of “if ”

Koorogi ga , naki-dase |ba| aki mo ma-jikai

Yuuyake ni , nare |ba| yokujitsu wa tenki ni naru

When there’s a vivid sunset, the next day will be clear

l

1X,” indicates the topic which is to be discussed in the phrase or clause that follows

English approximation: the nuance is similar to “speaking of (topic) ,” “in

Osushi , nara |ba|} ano mise ga oishii desu yo

Uwasa ni , yore |ba|, kanojo wa koibito to wakareta rashii

t 4A5398% zhu KA & 3s

HRARS SANIT], ZOBUEROARI GW) BEAL IK

In looking at the public opinion polls, it seems that the politician’s popularity has fallen quite a bit

Taberu mono mo , nakere |ba

There isn’t anything to eat, or anywhere to live (i.e There’s neither food nor shelter.)

Kanojo wa piano mo , hike |ba

She’s a multi-talented person who can play the piano and paint as well

nari-masen # |} ‡vl## 5 ?+v/#??) 3+,” to indicate that something has

to be done or that a standard must be observed

English approximation: “must do (something).”

nar-B) FRATHMEUWTALND Sow, & FAR t}vs#€ rk

Hito to no yakusoku wa ,,,.mamoranakere |baj naranai

One has to keep promises one makes to others

English approximation: “let us say .” or “so to speak.”

A) z*127+—xl‡, AKL AIIFIBROBBOLIVNLANTT 2 EA FA

Harowiin wa, ,,.tatoe |ba} nihon no obon no yoo na mono desu

Kare wa, „ạ.iwa |ba| iki-Jibiki no yoo na mono da

He 1s, so to speak, like a living dictionary

English approximation: “the reason being ” or “because ”

ga keshiki 0 juubun tanoshimeru kara

If (you) have the time, (you) should go by train, because (you) will

be able to fully enjoy the scenery that way

Hito ni ijiwaru o shi-nai hoo ga ii ,,.Naze nara |ba| itsuka jibun

ni modotte-kuru kara da

One shouldn’t do mean things to others, because some day, (your deeds) might be returned to you

BAKARI [<A‘)

1 Indicates a limit

1) Shows that something is always limited to a particular action, place, or thing Similar to “dake #!+” or “nomi 24.”

English approximation: “always just doing (something),” or “doing only one

thing all the time”

mitsuke nasai yo

Why don’t you stop playing around all the time and look for a job

A) 202a—-2EMYC MIAAKBSBAT SES IDITLE,

Hearing that news, he could only panic

Lora TWA BeUe 3 23 à #2

3) Inthe pattern “bakari ni !Ÿ2› ) tz.”

English approximation: the nuance is “solely due to (one cause), matters

took a turn for the worse.”

It was only because (I) just happened to be at the scene of the crime that (I) got dragged into the case

2 Indicates a degree of things

preceded by a number or quantity

English approximation: “approximately”

Ryokoo no hiyoo wa zenbu de ,, gojuu-man en | bakari} kakatta

I will be away for about ten days

2) Following a verb, shows that the action is/was about to be carried out English approximation: “just about to do (something)”

denwa ga kakatte ki-mashita

I had finished cooking the meal and was about to eat it when there was a phone call

The sky looks like it’s about to rain

had just been completed

English approximation: “have/has just done (something)”

A) bKELISH one) lO BRE EO TAELK

mashita

I tried using Japanese that I had just learned

B) sok #NA[ES DBO, EAT OCHEAATUOTL BOK

3 Inthe pattern “bakari ka l‡#2*) 2*,” (also see p 12 4.)

English approximation: “not only (Something), but also (Something) ”

SE vare

A) BAILA) [D/O EHR»

Not only my head but my throat hurts, too

tye & +3Ù® &

BLEAICFSZEIR,

made shite ii ten o toroo to suru soo da

I hear that student not only butters up professors, but even cheats

to get good grades

4 In the patterns “ bakari de (wa) naku mo ~l#2›? €(13)#‹~b‡,"

“bakari Ja naku mo ~l#2*?) Ư «œ#' 4 ~ È.” (also see p 12)

English approximation: “not only (a noun, an adjective, a verb) but also

(a noun, an adjective, a verb)”

Bre c BAL c BEY

LCOFRIT IA, FHA VA

Kono tesage wa, dezain ga gil

Not only am I thirsty, but I’m also hungry

de naku, onaka mo suita

5 In the pattern “bakashi [%4*L,” a variant of “bakari [£4 ,” used casually

not very much

English approximation: “(only) about ”

Ano hito wa, ichi-nichi-juu , osake |bakashi| nonde-iru

If (you) keep eating only sweets like that, (you)’ll get cavities

completed

English approximation: “just”

furansu-go no tesuto da

We’ve just had a Japanese test, but we have a French test next

English approximation: “only” or “just”

Koko ni aru no wa furui , shinbun |dake| desu

What’s available here is only some old newspapers

wee BABESCRABA Hired

tanken o keekaku-shite-iru-n desu

This is just between you and me, but I’m planning an antarctic expedition

2 Placed after the potential form of verbs “ ru ~4,” “ rercu ~~” 4” and “ rareru ~5%"4,” refers to a degree of something, with the implica- tion that that degree cannot be surpassed

English approximation: “as much as ”

Let’s try to do as much as (we) can

3 In the pattern “ ba dake ~IX~HU,”

English approximation: “the more (something), the .”

The faster you do it, the more advantageous it is

4 Inthe pattern “ dake de (ja) naku mo ~EI} T(U ee) ai ~ db.”

English approximation: “not only but (also) .”

DAKE-NI = (F- (< Combination particle

A combination of the particles “dake 1+” and “ni |<,” Often takes the form “dake atte FltTH 7 T.”

Yoku , benkyoo-shita |dake nij, ii seeseki de gookaku-shita

Since I studied hard, (as expected) I passed with good grades

tb 3 tà PALI S ECE Be BEF

Koko wa yuumee na , kankoo-chi |dake ni|, mainichi takusan

Koko wa sekidoo ni gg chikai |dake ni], sugoku atsui ne

Since this place is close to the equator, it’s terribly hot, isn’t it?

2 Indicates that something did not proceed as expected, with the implica- tion that it was an unexpected surprise

English approximation: “since ( was not expected) .”

Kare ni wa moo ae-nai daroo to , akiramete-ita |dake nil|,

denwa ga kakatte-kita toki ni wa, totemo ureshikatta

13

fukkoo-buri ni wa me o miharu mono ga atta

Since the damages caused by the hurricane were extensive, that town’s rate of rebuilding was quite something to behold

scared me, saying things like “it’s dangerous to walk alone” and

“subways are frightening.”

Even in the summer, there are chilly days

2 Lists things in order to show that each thing is the same as the other,

in a “ datte datte ~7#2 7# 2 TC” (or, variation: “ tatte tatte ~7

2 *C~7:s 2 £”) pattern Note that for this usage, “datte 7?Z5 €C” can aÌso

take the form “tatte i> T,.”

English approximation: “whether it’s (something) or (something) .”

It’s the same price, whether you buy it in Osaka or Tokyo

1) To qualify anything in its category as valid in the clause that follows

Anyone should be able to understand something like that

the interrogative pronoun wants to be something or does something

n, Dare |datte| binboo wa iya da

WV,

Son-na koto wa, , itsu |datte| shitaku-nai

I never want to do something like that

disapproval) after quoting something someone else has said

English approximation: “he/she said that .’

F<

A) BILBARLAE) Tose L Elo t bt `

Yoku aki-nai wa ne,

She said, “I’ve got a date with him again tonight.” They’re not bored with each other, those two (i.e it’s a wonder that they’re not)

DE €

FUNDAMENTALS OF “DE rc”

1 Placed after a noun of location, indicates it is where an action takes/ took place It is static Note that the particles “ni |<” or “e ~\” indicate the direction of the action Compare the following:

17

Ofiisu|de|denwa o kakeru

Watashi wa ,, daigaku |de| nihon-go o benkyoo-shite-i-masu

approximation: “in” “among”

APR Ces WoEITALS aL

“Hài, 77^#|€Œ€|-#:š(&®* 33

Miyata-san wa „ kurasu-juu |de| ichiban

`

‹ ; 6

Kono ạ naka |de| dare ga neko no kubi ni

"ý =

Among us, who’s going to go hang a bell

on the cat’s neck?

the pattern “ de mo demo, ~tTt ~T#,” lists locations

English approximation: “in/at (location) and in/at (location) .”

~

\—

Here and over there children are playing

cee x2 34 co £‹ca^2

BỊ +#o#4ã[cltm[€Clb##2-##L,

Kotoshi no natsu wa , umi |de| mo , yama |de| mo jiko ga

zokuhatsu-shita

This summer, accidents occurred one after another both at the ocean and in the mountains

“de wa Tli” and “de mo Ct” patterns

English approximation: “in” “at”

hayatta soo da

In the 1940’s, this sort of song was supposedly popular

Even now (at present), that custom is still carried out

2) Indicates the age of a person

Kare wa _ ,, rokujus-sai |de| taishoku-shita

He retired at age sixty

aid ttỞỦp3 # ău› Wola

My mother got married at age twenty-five

English approximation: “in (amount of time)”

Kono shigoto wa na nijup-pun |de| deki-masu ka?

Can you do this job in twenty minutes?

LPIMA Boost

Moo , ni-shuukan |de| natsu-yasumi ni nari-masu

Summer vacation is coming in two weeks

U20) WBULIDA băm) wubb aA

English approximation: “do (something) by using (something)”

I talked with my father on (liter-

ally: by using) the phone

Wash your hands thoroughly with soap

yubi o sukoshi kitte shimai-mashita

I cut my finger a little on glass