Grammar– category –
Japanese grammar for English speakers. Particles, verb conjugation, sentence patterns, conditionals, and nuanced expressions organized by JLPT level N5 to N1. Browse by level: N4/N5, N2/N3, N1/N2. By topic: Particles, Verb Conjugation, Conditionals, Sentence Patterns. Full overview at the Japanese Grammar Hub.
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Expressing Ability in Japanese
Imagine your Japanese tutor asks: "Can you read kanji?" You know the answer — but do you know how to say it in Japanese? There are actually three main ways to express ability in Japanese, and each one carries slightly different nuance. M... -
Japanese Conjunctions
Picture this: you are chatting with a Japanese friend and you want to say "I studied hard. But I failed the exam." You know the two sentences in Japanese — but how do you connect them? That small linking word, the conjunction, is doing a... -
Japanese Na-Adjectives Complete Guide
You open your Japanese textbook and learn that 好き（すき）means "like" and 有名（ゆうめい）means "famous." Then you try to use them in a sentence — and everything goes wrong. You write 有名い instead of 有名な, or you forget to add な b... -
Expressing Want in Japanese
Picture this: you're in a Japanese convenience store and you want to ask for a bag. You try to say something, but suddenly you freeze — do you use ほしい or たい? And what if you want someone else to do something for you? Japanese has th... -
Japanese Compound Verbs
You know the word 食べる（たべる）— "to eat." You know 読む（よむ）— "to read." But what about when you want to say you started eating, kept reading, or finally finished writing? In Japanese, these nuances are built right into the verb i... -
Japanese Te Iru Uses
You learned that ている means "is doing." Then a native speaker said 結婚（けっこん）している and your brain froze — because 結婚する means "to get married," not "to be married." What is going on? Here is the truth: ている is one of the ... -
Japanese Particles Complete Guide
You are reading a Japanese sentence and everything makes sense — until you hit a tiny, one- or two-character word that seems to have no direct English equivalent. That little word is a particle (助詞・じょし), and it is one of the most i... -
Japanese Comparisons
You're standing at a ramen counter with a friend. Two bowls are on the menu — spicy miso and rich tonkotsu. Your friend asks: "Which one is better?" In English, that's easy. But how do you say it in Japanese? And more importantly, how do... -
Japanese Imperative Form: Commands, Requests, and How to Sound Natural
Imagine you're watching your favourite anime. A coach shouts at his team: 行け！ ("Go!"). A villain sneers: 黙れ！ ("Shut up!"). A friend texts you: 早く来てください ("Please come quickly"). All three sentences are commands — but they fe... -
Japanese Question Words
You have learned how to say "I eat sushi" or "She goes to Tokyo." But what happens the moment you want to ask a question? Questions are where real conversation starts — and if you cannot form them naturally, every interaction hits a...
