Japanese Grammar · Beginner’s Guide · JLPT N5
Japanese Particles: A Beginner’s Guide to the 10 You Actually Need
If you have started learning Japanese online, you have already hit them. They are everywhere. Tiny one or two-syllable words that pop up in every sentence and seem to do something different every single time.
These are particles. In Japanese, they are called 助詞 (joshi). They are the small connector words that tell you the role each noun plays in a sentence — who did what, where something happened, and when.
This guide covers the 10 particles a beginner actually needs. Not all 188 of them. Just the ones that show up in almost every sentence you will read or hear in your first year. Learn these and you can navigate most basic Japanese — and you will have a strong foundation for the JLPT N5 exam.
We go in order of importance. The earlier ones come up most often. Once you have these down, the rest are much easier to pick up.
👇 Tap any card to see the meaning and main use
What is a Japanese particle, really?
A particle is a tiny word that comes right after a noun, verb, or sentence. It tells the listener what role that word is playing in the sentence.
In English, word order does this job. “The dog bit the man” and “the man bit the dog” mean different things because of position. Japanese does it differently — Japanese uses particles instead. The same words can appear in almost any order, and the particles tell you who did what.
A simple example:
Here, が tells you “I” is the subject. を tells you “the dog” is the direct object. The verb goes at the end. You could flip the word order to inu wo watashi ga mimasu and it still means “I see the dog.” The particles never change. That is their entire job.
This is why particles are the single most important grammar concept you will learn — and why every JLPT N5 preparation course spends significant time on them.
The 10 particles every beginner needs
Here they are in order of how often you will see them.
⚠️ Pronunciation note: This particle is written with the hiragana for “ha” (は) but pronounced wa when used as a particle. This is a leftover from old spelling rules — just memorise it. You will see it constantly in introductions, preference statements, and basic descriptions.
The は vs が distinction is the single most confusing thing in beginner Japanese. We cover it in detail below — don’t worry about perfecting it right now.
⚠️ Written as を but pronounced “o” in modern Japanese — the “w” is silent in everyday speech. Whenever your verb does something to a thing (eat what? read what? buy what?), that “what” gets を.
If you want to remember に with one English word: “to”. To a place. To a time. To a person. The key difference from で (below) is that に marks the target, while で marks where an action happens.
Mastering Japanese particles is the gateway to reading and speaking real Japanese — and the foundation of every JLPT exam from N5 to N1.
The classic confusion: に vs で
This trips up almost every beginner. Both particles relate to location — but they mean different things.
| Particle | Use | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| に | Destination — where you are going to | 東京に行く | Go TO Tokyo |
| に | Existence location — where something exists | 公園にいます | I am IN the park (exist there) |
| で | Action location — where an action happens | 東京で食べる | Eat IN Tokyo (action there) |
| で | Means or method | 電車で来た | Came BY train |
The pattern is always X の Y where X modifies or owns Y. Once you see it in action, you will spot it constantly. The Jisho dictionary is a great free tool to check how の connects nouns in real sentences.
Note: と only connects nouns. To say “and” between verbs or sentences, Japanese uses different grammar patterns. But for joining two or more nouns, と is your word.
Notice the second sentence does not use は — it uses も in place of は. This replacement pattern is important. You will not see kare wa mo — that is wrong. Kare mo alone is correct.
That is literally it — same word order as a statement, with か on the end. Spoken Japanese sometimes drops か and uses rising intonation instead, but in writing and polite speech, か is the standard question marker.
Japan’s JLPT exam is taken by hundreds of thousands of learners worldwide each year — particles are tested at every single level from N5 to N1.
The big confusion: は vs が — explained simply
If you have spent any time on Japanese learning forums, you have seen this debate. When do you use は and when do you use が? Here is the simplest framework that gets you most of the way there.
| Particle | Marks | Type of info | Use when… |
|---|---|---|---|
| は | Topic | Known / general | Talking about something already known or introducing a general fact |
| が | Subject | New / specific | Introducing something new, answering “who?” or “what?”, or pointing something out |
Practical patterns to remember:
- When answering “Who?” → use が. 誰が来ましたか？田中さんが来ました。 (Who came? Tanaka came.)
- When describing a scene or pointing something out → use が. 雨が降っています。 (It’s raining.)
- When stating a general fact about a known topic → use は. 私は日本語を勉強しています。 (I am studying Japanese.)
Beginners do not need to be perfect at this. Even native speakers disagree on edge cases. What you need is enough comfort with both to read and write basic sentences. The nuance comes with exposure — and with structured practice in a live Japanese course.
Quick reference — all 10 particles at a glance
| Particle | Romaji | Core meaning | Main uses | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| は | wa | Topic marker | topic general facts | 私は学生です。 |
| が | ga | Subject marker | subject new info | 雨が降る。 |
| を | wo / o | Direct object | object what verb acts on | 寿司を食べる。 |
| に | ni | To / at / in | destination time indirect obj | 東京に行く。 |
| で | de | At / by / with | action location means | 電車で行く。 |
| の | no | Of / ‘s | possession description | 私の本。 |
| と | to | And / with | noun+noun accompaniment | 友達と話す。 |
| も | mo | Also / too | replaces は/が/を | 彼も学生。 |
| か | ka | Question | yes/no questions | 学生ですか。 |
| から | kara | From / because | starting point reason | 東京から来た。 |
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