indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; (at sentence-end, falling tone) indicates a confident conclusion; (at sentence-end) indicates emotional emphasis; (at sentence-end, rising tone) indicates question
indicates sentence topic; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis
indicates direct object of action; indicates subject of causative expression; indicates an area traversed; indicates time (period) over which action takes place; indicates point of departure or separation of action; indicates object of desire, like, hate, etc.
at; in; at; when; by; with; and then
indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; regardless of; whether (or not)
at (place, time); in; to (direction, state); toward; for (purpose); because of (reason); for
man'yōgana; early Japanese syllabary composed of Chinese characters used phonetically
letter (of alphabet); character; writing
to write; to compose; to pen; to draw; to paint
to use (a thing, method, etc.); to make use of; to use (a person, animal, puppet, etc.); to employ; to use (time, money, etc.); to spend
hiragana; cursive Japanese syllabary used primarily for native Japanese words (esp. function words, inflections, etc.)
in this way; thus; such; uh...
(approximate) time; around; suitable time (or condition); time of year; season
to do; to carry out; to cause to become; to make (into); to serve as; to act as; to wear (clothes, a facial expression, etc.)
this; this one; this person; now; this point (in time); here; used to stress the subject of a sentence
century; era; of the century (e.g. fight of the century)
katakana; angular Japanese syllabary used primarily for loanwords
if; when; and; with; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.); promoted pawn; indicates a question
China; Chūgoku region (western part of Honshu comprising the prefectures of Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tottori and Shimane); central part of a country; main region; province of the second lowest rank (ritsuryo system)
too; also; both A and B; A as well as B; even; as much as
from (e.g. time, place, numerical quantity); since; from (originator); by; because; since; out of (constituent, part)
to be; to exist; to have; to be located; to be equipped with; to happen
called; named; as many as; as much as; all ...; every single ...
today; this day; these days; recently; nowadays
by means of; due to; because of; according to
to ask; to inquire; to blame (someone) for; to accuse of; to care about; to regard as important
Chinese classical writing; Chinese classics; writing composed entirely of kanji
based on; built on; made from
to; for; in order to; for; as for; regarding
to be able (in a position) to do; to be up to the task; to be ready; to be completed; to be made; to be built; to be good at
to make; to produce; to prepare (food); to brew (alcohol); to raise; to grow; to till
sound; noise; note; fame; Chinese-derived character reading
to start; to begin; to start up (a business, society, etc.); to open (e.g. a store); to start ...; to begin to ...
to take; to pick up; to pass; to hand; to get; to obtain; to adopt (a method, proposal, etc.)
to read; to recite (e.g. a sutra); to chant; to predict; to guess; to decipher; to count
book; volume; this; present; main; head
difficult; hard; impossible; unfeasible; fussy; particular; gloomy
one part; one portion; one section; one copy (e.g. of a document)
complex; complicated; intricate; mixed (feelings)
for example; for instance; e.g.