Make basic sentences in Japanese

Learn how to make basic sentences in Japanese using the particle wa. This is the first step in understanding the grammar of Japanese.

Key Topics Covered

To say things in Japanese, one of the most common words is は (wa), a small language construct that kind of glues together what you are talking about with what is happening in the sentence. The meaning of the particle は (wa) could be most closely described as “concerning…” or “regarding…”. But in many cases it is simply translated to “is”. Let’s look at some examples.

Basic Topic Pattern – ‥は‥です

This basic pattern introduces a topic [t] and states something about it. The word before は marks the topic of the sentence. This is followed by an adjective [adj] or noun [n]. Note that the adjective can be both an -i and -na adjective in it’s basic form, that is, you should remove “na” from a na-adjective when using this sentence pattern.

Examples

わたし　は　アメリカじん　です。
watashi wa amerika-jin desu
I am an American. (Lit.: Regarding me, I’m American.)

すし　は　おいしい　です。
sushi wa oishii desu.
Sushi is tasty. (Lit: Regarding sushi, it’s tasty.)

しんかんせん　は　たかい　です。
shinkansen wa takai desu.
Shinkansen (a bullet train) is expensive. (Lit: Regarding a bullet train, it’s expensive.)

こちら　は　たなかさん　です。
kochira wa Tanaka-san desu.
This is mr. Tanaka. (Lit: Regarding this person, he is Mr. Tanaka.)

とうきょう　は　おもしろい　です。
Toukyou wa omoshiroi desu.
Tokyo is interesting/fun. (Lit: Regarding Tokyo, it’s fun/interesting)

とうきょう　は　たいくつ　です。
Toukyou wa taikutsu desu.
Tokyo is boring. (Lit: Regarding Tokyo, it’s boring.)

Vocabulary

Exercise

Please translate the following sentences using the pattern and vocabulary above. It may help if you write it down on a paper or in notepad. The answers are found below the questions.

And here are the answers, first in hiragana, then in romaji.

• 1）わたし　は　おもしろい　です。 2）アメリカ　は　たかい　です。　3）しんかんせん　は　たいくつ　です。　4）こちら　は　たなかさん　です。　5）たなかさん　は　おもしろい　です。　6）わたし　は　スミス　です。
• 1) watashi wa omoshiroi desu. 2) amerika wa takai desu. 3) shinkansen wa taikutsu desu. 4) kochira wa tanakasan desu. 5) tanakasan wa omoshiroi desu. 6) watashi wa sumisu desu.

Pattern With Topic and Subject – ‥は‥が‥です

In some situations, you may want to introduce a topic that concerns a specific subject [s], it can be done through the following pattern. This pattern is more complex, and will be covered in a later lesson, but it is good to be aware of it.

When the adjectives express your preference or your feelings rather than simple facts, the noun to the adjectives has the particle, が (ga). But this is more difficult for beginners, so for now, just memorize and use this sentence pattern when you want to talk about your preferences using すき (suki).

Example

わたし　は　あか　が　すき　です。
Watashi wa aka ga suki desu.
I like red.

Making a Question

To make a question, the same sentence structure is used. You just add the particle か (ka) to the end of the sentence. The answer for such a question is supposed to have the same particle は (wa) unless it is replaced intentionally to get a different meaning.

Examples

これ　は　なん　です か。
kore wa nan desu ka?
What is this? (Lit: Regarding this, what is it?)

どようび　は　しごと　です　か。
doyoubi wa shigoto desu ka?
Are (you) working on Saturday? (Lit: regarding Saturday, is it work?)

A: （あなた　の）　くるま　は　あかい　です　か？
B: いいえ、あおい　です。
A: (anata no) kuruma wa akai desu ka?
B: iie, aoi desu.
A: Is (your) car red?
B: No, it is blue.

A: ニューヨーク　は　さむい　です　か。
B: いいえ、あつい　です。
A: Nyuuyooku wa samui desu ka?
B: Iie, atsui desu.
A: Is New York cold? (Lit: Regarding New York, it’s cold?)
B: No, it is hot.

Vocabulary

Exercises

Exercise 1

Using the pattern and vocabulary presented above, please translate the following sentences.

1. What is Shinkansen?
2. Is Tokyo expensive?
3. Is Shinkansen cold? (is it cold in Shinkansen?)
4. No, Shinkansen is hot. (No, it’s hot in Shinkansen)

And here are the answers, first in hiragana and then in romaji.

• 1）しんかんせん　は　なん　です　か？　2）とうきょう　は　たかい　です　か？　3）しんかんせん　は　さむい　です　か？　4）いいえ、しんかんせん　は　あつい　です。
• 1) shinkansen wa nan desu ka?  2) toukyou wa takai desu ka?  3) shinkansen wa samui desu ka?  4) iie, shinkansen wa atsui desu.

Notes

• When writing the particle は (wa) in Japanese, the character usually pronounced ha is actually used, even though the topic marker is pronounced WA.