1 Parts of speech in Japanese
Table Of Content
What is parts of speech in Japanese ?
Before delving into grammar, let's first get acquainted with the parts of speech in Japanese. This can help accurately understand the meanings of these specialized terms in subsequent studies. Although learning these specialized terms may seem a bit complex or challenging at the beginning, mastering them is crucial for laying a solid language foundation. Moreover, as we delve deeper into advanced studies in the future, this foundational knowledge will prove immensely helpful.
The classification of words in Japanese is called "Parts of Speech" (品詞). Parts of Speech are mainly divided into ten types, hence also known as the "Ten Major Parts of Speech". The ten major parts of speech are "verb, adjective, adjectival noun, noun, adverb, adnominal, conjunction, interjection, auxiliary verb, and particle." These parts of speech have differences such as independent words, dependent words, inflectional, and non-inflectional, and the following will provide a more detailed explanation of their classification.
| Name | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Verb (動詞) | Words that express actions, states, or existence. |
| Noun (名詞) | Words that represent people, places, things, or ideas. |
| Adjective (形容詞) | Words that describe nouns and end in "い" |
| Adjectival noun(形容動詞) | Words that can function as an adjective by taking the particle 〜な -na. (In comparison, regular nouns can function adjectivally by taking the particle 〜の -no, which is analyzed as the genitive case.) |
| Adverb (副詞) | Words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, indicating manner, place, time, degree, or frequency. |
| Adnominal (連体詞) | Words that express appearance or quality, and when modifying a noun, it is called a prenominal modifier |
| Conjunction (接續詞) | Words that serves to connect context. |
| Interjection (感動詞) | Words that express emotions, exclamations, or responses. |
| Auxiliary verb(助動詞) | Words that mainly used to assist in connecting verbs. (However, some connect to other parts of speech.) |
| Particles(助詞) | Words that connect two different words or sentences and establish a relationship or add meaning. |
What are 体言(たいげん)and 用言(ようげん)?
用言(ようげん) refers to words with inflection, meaning they undergo changes in grammar, similar to how English has changes like "have → having." In Japanese, vocabulary changes include seven types of verb changes (Note 1), and five types of adjective changes, etc. These changes are marked as "V1, V2, V3…," or "A1, A2, A3…," indicating the order of verb or adjective changes. For example, "V5" represents the hypothetical form of the fifth verb change, and "Na3" represents the terminal form of the third adjectival verb change. These "inflectional forms" will be explained one by one in subsequent lessons. On the other hand, 体言(たいげん) refers to words without inflection, meaning they don't undergo changes, typically referring to nouns.
Note 1: According to Japanese national grammar, verbs are classified into six types, but there are actually seven types of inflectional changes. To facilitate beginners' understanding and mastery, Japanese verbs will be subdivided into seven basic changes on this platform, and it will be explained in subsequent lessons how the six changes are combined and classified.
Ten Major Parts of Speech Example Sentences
Here are examples of each part of speech. These Japanese sentences will be taught one by one in subsequent grammar lessons.
| Parts of Speech | Example Sentence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (動詞) | 食べる | eat |
| Noun (名詞) | それは猫です。 | That is a cat. |
| Adjective (形容詞) | 大きい | big |
| Adjectival noun(形容動詞) | 静か | quiet |
| Adverb (副詞) | とても、すぐ、もっと | very,immediately,more |
| Adnominal (連体詞) | この | this |
| Conjunction (接續詞) | そして、でも | Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses. |
| Interjection (感動詞) | ああ | expresses a sigh, realization, or some other emotional response. |
| Auxiliary verb(助動詞) | たい | want to(do) |
| Particles(助詞) | は、が | Particles are small words that indicate grammatical relationships between words or phrases in a sentence. |
Explanations
Adjectival Noun (形容動詞): Adjectival nouns also describe qualities or states of nouns, but they end differently from regular adjectives. In this example, "静か" describes the quality of quietness. Adverb (副詞):
Adverb (副詞): Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, typically indicating manner, degree, or frequency. In this example, "速く" modifies an action by indicating its speed.
Adnominal (連體詞): Explanation: Adnominals modify nouns, indicating their specific properties or relationships. In this example, "この" modifies a noun by specifying its proximity as "this."
Conjunction (接續詞): Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses to form a coherent sentence or discourse. In this example, "そして" connects two sentences or phrases to indicate a sequence of events.
Interjection (感動詞): Interjections express emotions, reactions, or exclamations. In this example, "ああ" expresses a sigh, realization, or some other emotional response.
Auxiliary Verb (助動詞): Auxiliary verbs assist main verbs in indicating tense, politeness, or other grammatical aspects.
Particle (助詞): Particles are small words that indicate grammatical relationships between words or phrases in a sentence. In this example, "が" marks the subject of the sentence or emphasizes a particular element.