Today we’ll cover in this course the end-of-sentence particles. We are going to see at least ten of them and since there are many, this topic will be divided into several very light parts so that you understand everything we are going to talk about.
The end-of-sentence particles, as their name suggests, will be placed at the very end of the sentence after the verb. Okay, there you remember that I told you so far that the verb always comes at the end of the sentence. Well, this time, the particles that we are going to see are placed at the very end of the sentence after the verb. And these are particles that will be used to support in different ways what we are saying, to express the attitude of the locutor, the one who speaks, towards the interlocutor, the one to whom we are speaking.
In this tutorial, I’ll just give you a list of end-of-sentence particles, each time with an example sentence to highlight the particle. These very simple sentences serve only to demonstrate what the final particle changes in the way the sentence is said.
In our western languages, we use symbols as punctuation in our sentences, in order to express feelings or sensations. According to the punctuation used within a sentence, we know what intonation we must make perceived through the voice.
Understand this well ! In Western languages, punctuation can be written and expressed through the intonation of the voice, but no punctuation mark has a sound. There is no specific sound for each punctuation mark.
This is where the main difference is from the Japanese language.
The Japanese sometimes use particles as punctuation and these particles have a sound that is unique to each of them.
Now let’s take a closer look at the particle よ. It is sometimes nicknamed « the Japanese exclamation point ». That said, it therefore serves to mark astonishment or to express a feeling in a very assertive way.
ぞ is a very familiar, even vulgar (masculine) variant of よ.
さ is a masculine variant with the same meaning as よ but a little less strong, especially used in Kanto (Tokyo). Important thing to know : if your sentence ends with the copula だ, then this will be replaced by the final particle さ.
ぜ, widely used by men as well, is a familiar variant of よ, used especially in Tokyo, and also allows understanding to be expressed in a very familiar way.
There is one more final difference between Western punctuation and Japanese punctuation, especially in writing.
In a western language, if you don’t write the exclamation point where it should be, it is impossible for the reader to understand that the sentence is exclamatory.
In the Japanese language, the marking of astonishment or the expression of a feeling in a very assertive way, through the particle よ or its variants is NOT an absolute obligation. This is especially true through Japanese comics, manga, where the western exclamation mark sometimes replaces the particle よ and its variants. Sometimes, it can be noticed the presence of the two symbols : the particle AND the exclamation mark which follows just after.
These are two consequences of Western influence.
Finally, there may be neither the presence of one nor the other, the context of the sentence, the shape of the bubble, the size and the font are enough to make the sentence exclamatory.
無理だよ。
むりだよ。
It’s impossible !
猪が来るだよ。
いのししがくるだよ。
Wild boars are coming !
四葉は歴史博物館にいるだぞ。
よつばはれきしはくぶつかんにいるだぞ。
Yotsuba is at the history museum !
純子と一八は森の真ん中にいるぞ。
じゅんこといっぱちはもりのまんなかにいるぞ。
Junko and Ippachi are in the middle of the forest !
大助は馬鹿さ。
だいすけはばかさ。
Daisuke is an idiot !
The particle ね expresses the expected agreement with the speaker, it corresponds to « isn’t it !? » (Or colloquially « huh !? »). It is above all an emphatic message, intended to verify that your interlocutor is listening to you.
The particle is most often used by women, with men using it sparingly. It can also be used alone.
For men, the particle ね can be considered very feminine… and not necessarily very suitable for them. If you are a man and want to look very manly, then don’t use it.
Here below an example :
四葉は歴史博物館にいるね。
よつばはれきしはくぶつかんにいるね。
Yotsuba is in the history museum, isn’t she ?
The particle な, of more masculine use, placed at the end of a sentence, allows you to underline an opinion, to make the remark to yourself. Usually used in a familiar register, it indicates emotion or emphasis.
For example :
明夫は馬鹿な・・・・・・
あきおはばかな・・・・・・
Akio is an idiot…
The final particle わ can be used to express agreement, to say that you agree. It is mainly used by women to give a little maternal side. Men use this particle much less often.
The final particle ぜ, seen above also expresses agreement but in a more familiar way than わ.
Some examples :
私もロックンロールを聞くわ。
わたしもロックンロールをきくわ。
I also listen to rock’n roll.
私もエレキギターを弾くわ。
わたしもエレキギターをひくわ。
I also play electric guitar.
With the final particle とも we can express the obvious.
For information, there is also the adverb 勿論 . モチロン with the same meaning.
For example :
海香は美少女だとも。
うみかはびしょうじょだくとも。
Of course, Umika is a beautiful young girl.
We will now see another end-of-sentence particle: the particle か. There is a lot to say about it so, read everything we have just seen beforehand, take the time to assimilate all these new particles and then continue reading.
The final particle か is used to ask a question. To transform an affirmative sentence into an interrogative sentence, all you have to do is place the particle か at the end of the sentence. Take a look at the following example below to better understand :
笑里は動物園にいる。
えみりはどうぶつえんにいる。
Emiri is at the zoo.
We have an affirmative sentence. We will transform it into an interrogative sentence. Watch, it’s very simple. We simply add the particle か at the end of the sentence :
笑里は動物園にいるか。
えみりはどうぶつえんにいるか。
Is Emiri at the zoo ?
We now have an interrogative sentence. Note that we raise our intonation slightly at the end of the sentence as if to ask a question.
Of course, you could definitely use a western question mark instead of the particle か, which simply gives :
笑里は動物園にいる?
えみりはどうぶつえんにいる?
Is Emiri at the zoo ?
In a familiar register and when the affirmative sentence ends with the copula だ, the particle か replaces the copula だ. Example below :
大助は馬鹿だ。
だいすけはばかだ。
Daisuke is an idiot !
We transform the affirmative sentence into question :
大助は馬鹿か。
だいすけはばかか。
Is Daisuke an idiot ?
We can also use the western question mark :
大助は馬鹿?
だいすけはばか?
Is Daisuke an idiot ?
So far, we are only asking total questions – we also say « closed questions », maybe this term will speak to you a little more –, which means that the question is about the whole sentence. We can only answer with « yes » or « no ».
In a course which will come a little later, we will learn to make partial interrogations which make it possible to ask a question on a precise element of the sentence. We will see in particular the great questioners : Where ? When? Who ? Why ? How? There is so much to say on the subject and that is why we will cover all of this in a separate course.
Coming back to our sheep, we can also ask the question in the negative. We haven’t seen the negative form yet, but to give you an example, let’s take a sentence from above :
笑里は動物園にいるか。
えみりはどうぶつえんにいるか。
Is Emiri at the zoo ?
If we want to ask the question in the negative, we will say :
笑里は動物園にいないか。
えみりはどうぶつえんにいないか。
Isn’t Emiri at the zoo ?
From there, I must draw your attention to one point. Depending on the question you are asked, whether it is a closed affirmative question or a closed negative question, you must be careful what you are going to answer.
If someone ask you :
笑里は動物園にいるか。
えみりはどうぶつえんにいるか。
Is Emiri at the zoo ?
If you answer はい, that means : Yes, she is.
If you answer いいえ, that means : No, she’s not.
If someone ask you :
笑里は動物園にいないか。
えみりはどうぶつえんにいないか。
Isn’t Emiri at the zoo ?
If you answer はい, that means : Yes, she’s not.
If you answer いいえ, that means : No, there she is.
On this last point, Japanese is the reverse of English. In English, we would have answered either by : « No, she’s not. » or by « Yes, she is. ».
So, be very careful with what you answer so that your answer is clear.
We can also answer the question by repeating the affirmative sentence of the question :
ルカは公園にいるか。
ルカはこうえんにいるか。
Is Luca at the park ?
So you answer :
ルカは公園にいる。
ルカはこうえんにいる。
Luca is at the park.
We can even remove the topic. Since the topic of the sentence in the answer is the same as in the question, there is no need to repeat it :
公園にいる。
こうえんにいる。
[Speaking of Lucas] He’s at the park.
We can even use the verb alone :
いる。
[Speaking of Lucas] There it is.
The final particle かしら is used to express uncertainty. It serves to soften a question or a doubt that one addresses to oneself. It is always placed at the end of a sentence and is translated as « I wonder ».
The final particle かしら also replaces the copula だ.
It is generally used by women, so use sparingly if you are a man.
As an example :
笑里は動物園にいるかしら。
えみりはどうぶつえんにいるかしら。
I wonder if Emiri is at the zoo.
We’re almost done with the final particles. We have one more thing to see : the final combined particles. Because it is possible to have several final particles one after the other, generally two, and in this case the meaning of the particles is adding up.
For example, it is possible to combine the particle よ nicknamed « the Japanese exclamation point » which marks astonishment or is used to express a feeling in a very assertive way and the particle ね which is used to express the expected agreement with the speaker.
Another example, it is possible to combine the particle わ to express the agreement, to say that we agree, and the particle よ which is used to express astonishment, amazement or to express a feeling very assertively.
A last example, it is possible to combine the particle か which is used to ask a question and the particle な which is used to make a remark, so the combination かな is used to make a remark to oneself. This is the male version of かしら.
Good ! We have seen the main end-of-sentence particles. There are still a few more to see but, now is not the time to bother with this.
The end-of-sentence particles are something very specific to the Japanese language and it is not necessarily easy to explain this in a course to English speakers or anyone who speaks a native European language. As we have seen, these particles mainly translate emotions, for example the final particle よ which is often transcribed by an exclamation point. Like what, it’s quite special.
The only solution I can offer you to train you to recognize these particles at the end of a sentence orally as well as to better understand the different contexts in which they are used, is of course to read manga, to watch anime or even to play video games, with the subtitles. And so, with practice, you will succeed.
That being said, I am giving you your exercises, as always, some theme and version. And in the sentences that I give you to translate into Japanese, read them carefully in order to guess which final particle is best suited to translate as faithfully as possible the feeling expressed in the sentence.
As usual, reread this lesson and the previous lesson and practice writing the examples and exercises sentences. Do not hesitate to repeat the exercises if you have made any mistakes.
For the rest, don’t forget the vocabulary words below.
I wish you much courage and we will see you in the next course.
猪 .
いのしし . the wild boar
美少女 .
ビショウジョ . the beautiful young girl
歴史博物館 .
レキシハクブツカン . the History museum
森の真ん中 .
もりのまんなか . in the middle of the forest
馬鹿 .
バカ . the idiot
弾く .
ひく . to play (an instrument)
Introduction