Changes

The '''Japanese language''' (Kanji: 日本語; Hiragana: にほんご; ''nihongo'') incorporates two writing systems: [[Chinese characters]] known as ''[[kanji]]'' and a semi-alphabetic [[syllabary]] called ''[[kana]]''. Its grammar is similar to the [[Korean language]]. It is an [[SOV language]].

The '''Japanese language''' (Kanji: 日本語; Hiragana: にほんご; ''nihongo'') incorporates two writing systems: [[Chinese characters]] known as ''[[kanji]]'' and a pair of semi-alphabetic [[syllabaries|syllabary]] called ''[[kana]]''. Its grammar is similar to the [[Korean language]]. It is an [[SOV language]].

==Grammar==

==Grammar==

For instance:

For instance:

The particles "wa", "o" and "ni" all come AFTER the noun. The sentence above translates to "I gave fish to Harold"

 

The particles "wa", "o" and "ni" all come AFTER the noun. The sentence above translates to "I gave the fish to Harold"

The particle wa is the topic marker. This is a foreign concept to English speaking people. Take this sentence, "Zou wa hana ga nagai desu." The topic is "zou", elephant. The particle ga shows that "hana", nose, is the subject of the sentence. The sentence roughly translates to "As for elephants, their noses are long." There is added confusion though. In the sentence "Watashi wa Ichiro desu" you would expect it to translate to "As for myself, am Ichiro" when in truth it means "I am Ichiro".

The particle wa is the topic marker. This is a foreign concept to English speaking people. Take this sentence, "Zou wa hana ga nagai desu." The topic is "zou", elephant. The particle ga shows that "hana", nose, is the subject of the sentence. The sentence roughly translates to "As for elephants, their noses are long." There is added confusion though. In the sentence "Watashi wa Ichiro desu" you would expect it to translate to "As for myself, am Ichiro" when in truth it means "I am Ichiro".

*Wa: Topic (Boku '''wa'''Ichiro da)

*は Wa: Topic (Boku '''wa'''Ichiro da)　[written as ha]

*Ga: Subject (Zou wa hana '''ga''' nagai desu)

*が Ga: Subject (Zou wa hana '''ga''' nagai desu)

*O: Direct Object (chiizu '''o''' taberu)

*を O: Direct Object (chiizu '''o''' taberu)　[written as wo]

*Ni: Indirect Object (Tanaka-san '''ni''' hanasu)

*に Ni: Indirect Object (Tanaka-san '''ni''' hanasu)

*E: Destination Indicator (Tokyo '''e'''!)

*へ E: Destination Indicator (Tokyo '''e'''!) [written as he]

*De: Action Indicator (Niigata '''de'''wa sakana o taberu)

*で De: Action Indicator (Niigata '''de'''wa sakana o taberu)

*No: Possession Indicator (Watashi '''no''' kamera)

*の No: Possession Indicator (Watashi '''no''' kamera)

*To: Connector (Ashita boushi '''to''' undou gutsu o motte kite kudasai)

*と To: Connector (Ashita boushi '''to''' undou gutsu o motte kite kudasai) [used for complete lists e.g: "The four gospels are Matthew to Mark to Luke to John."]

*Ya: Connector (Gakkou ga hajimattara, pen '''ya''' nooto '''ya''' jisho ga hitsuyo desu)

*や Ya: Connector (Gakkou ga hajimattara, pen '''ya''' nooto '''ya''' jisho ga hitsuyo desu) [used for incomplete lists e.g: "The four gospels include Matthew ya Mark."]

*Mo: Includer (Watashi '''mo''' miru!)

*も Mo: Includer (Watashi '''mo''' miru!)

*Ka: Question marker (Ima wa nan ji desu '''ka''')

*か Ka: Question marker (Ima wa nan ji desu '''ka''')