{"id":106014,"date":"2023-03-24T19:26:58","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T23:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/japanese-sentence-structure-patterns\/"},"modified":"2025-02-26T05:02:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T10:02:22","slug":"japanese-sentence-structure-patterns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/japanese\/japanese-sentence-structure-patterns\/","title":{"rendered":"An Introduction to Japanese Sentence Structure"},"content":{"rendered":"

So you’ve learned some Japanese vocabulary<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, how do you string it into coherent sentences?<\/p>\n

You’ll need to learn about Japanese word order, correct particle usage and the omnipresent \u3067\u3059 (“desu”).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This quick introduction will help you figure out how to get started with Japanese sentence structure.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Japanese Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) Structure<\/h2>\n

Japanese sentences follow an SOV format.<\/p>\n

SOV means “subject-object-verb.” <\/strong>This means that the subject comes first, followed by object or objects, and the sentence ends with the verb. You’ll see lots of examples of this throughout this article.<\/p>\n

Let’s look at an example:<\/p>\n

\u30b8\u30f3\u30dc\u306f\u30ea\u30f3\u30b4\u3092\u98df\u3079\u308b\u3002
\n\u3058\u3093\u307c\u306f\u308a\u3093\u3054\u3092\u305f\u3079\u308b\u3002
\nJimbo \u2014 an apple \u2014 eats
\n(Jimbo eats an apple.)<\/p>\n

“Jimbo” is the subject, “eats” is the verb and “an apple” is the object. This sentence follows the SOV formula.<\/p>\n

The Japanese Copula, \u3067\u3059<\/h2>\n

If you’ve ever heard someone speak Japanese, be it in real life or on TV, you’ve almost certainly come across the Japanese word \u3067\u3059<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u3067\u3059 is one of the most basic terms<\/strong> in the Japanese language, literally meaning “to be” or “is.” Many think of it as just a formality marker, but it serves all sorts of functions.<\/p>\n

\u3067\u3059 is a copula,<\/strong> meaning that it connects the subject of the sentence with the predicate, thus creating a complete sentence. The most basic Japanese sentence structure is “A \u306f B \u3067\u3059” (A is B).<\/p>\n

My name is Amanda.
\n\u79c1\u306f\u30a2\u30de\u30f3\u30c0\u3067\u3059<\/strong>\u3002
\n\u308f\u305f\u3057\u306f\u3042\u307e\u3093\u3060\u3067\u3059<\/strong>\u3002<\/p>\n

He is American.
\n\u5f7c\u306f\u30a2\u30e1\u30ea\u30ab\u4eba\u3067\u3059<\/strong>\u3002
\n\u304b\u308c\u306f\u3042\u3081\u308a\u304b\u3058\u3093\u3067\u3059<\/strong>\u3002<\/p>\n

\u3067\u3059 also serves to mark the end of a sentence<\/strong>, taking the place of a verb. Also, \u3067\u3059 never comes at the end of sentences that have verbs ending in \u307e\u3059.<\/p>\n

Tom likes tea.
\n\u30c8\u30e0\u3055\u3093\u306f\u304a\u8336\u304c\u597d\u304d\u3067\u3059<\/strong>\u3002
\n\u3068\u3080\u3055\u3093\u306f\u304a\u3061\u3083\u304c\u3059\u304d\u3067\u3059<\/strong>\u3002<\/p>\n

Tom drinks tea.
\n\u30c8\u30e0\u3055\u3093\u306f\u304a\u8336\u3092\u98f2\u307f\u307e\u3059\u3067\u3059<\/strong>\u3002(Incorrect)
\n\u30c8\u30e0\u3055\u3093\u306f\u304a\u8336\u3092\u98f2\u307f\u307e\u3059<\/strong>\u3002(Correct)
\n\u3068\u3080\u3055\u3093\u306f\u304a\u3061\u3083\u3092\u306e\u307f\u307e\u3059<\/strong><\/p>\n

Past Tense with \u3067\u3057\u305f<\/h3>\n

When describing something that happened in the past, \u3067\u3059 turns into \u3067\u3057\u305f<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The exam was easy.
\n\u8a66\u9a13\u306f\u7c21\u5358\u3067\u3057\u305f<\/strong>\u3002
\n\u3057\u3051\u3093\u306f\u304b\u3093\u305f\u3093\u3067\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yesterday was my birthday.
\n\u6628\u65e5\u306f\u79c1\u306e\u8a95\u751f\u65e5\u3067\u3057\u305f<\/strong>\u3002
\n\u304d\u306e\u3046\u306f\u308f\u305f\u3057\u306e\u305f\u3093\u3058\u3087\u3046\u3073\u3067\u3057\u305f\u3002<\/strong><\/p>\n

Levels of Formality of \u3067\u3059<\/h3>\n

As with many words in Japanese, \u3067\u3059 comes in different levels of formality<\/strong>: \u3060, \u3067\u3059, \u3067\u3042\u308b and \u3067\u3054\u3056\u3044\u307e\u3059:<\/p>\n