The は/が examples at the bottom of that section might benefit from the same italicization as the the examples in-line with the explanation.
koichi
· 9 months ago
Heyo - thanks much! I'll take a look at it tonight!
Facebook User
· 9 months ago
No problem. And since I'm offering constructive criticism I should also say thanks. Once I figure out how to wear out a PDF on my computer the way I would a piece of paper, I plan on doing so with this.
taroroot
· 9 months ago
Thanks koichi! This'll help when explaining particles to my cousin.
GoddessCarlie
· 9 months ago
Awesome resource, thanks Koichi :)
Jamaipanese
· 9 months ago
instant save. You make it so simple, now I can finally tame the particle monster
koichi
· 9 months ago
punch it in the groin for me!
McAlpine
· 9 months ago
I suck at paricles. Thanks for the download!
koichi
· 9 months ago
Who doesn't? Best of luck with them!
DarinM
· 9 months ago
I've been study japanese for almost 2 years now and never got as good an explanation of は/が as that. Thanks! Really useful for people still just starting Japanese.
koichi
· 9 months ago
Really glad that it helps!
erika303
· 9 months ago
Nice cheat sheet! I'm sure it will come in handy after spring semester's ended, & I have to go back to independent studying :P Now I won't forget everything I've learned in class, over the summer!!! ..hopefully ^^;
kanmuri
· 9 months ago
Maybe I'm just crazy, but I feel that in most nominal sentences "ha" is used whereas in verbal sentence, "ga" is used. This is not a 100% all the time rule but it made a lot of things cleaer for me.
クリス
· 9 months ago
*ゼック*です。
Nick_Ku
· 9 months ago
Nice! Thanks Koichi!
Sakomi
· 9 months ago
Omg, thanks for sharing! 8D I always mess up this part on tests.
Stacey
· 9 months ago
Thank you very much! ^^ I'll get to it straight away...
elisabel
· 9 months ago
Hello Koichiさん,
I've been reading Tofugu for a while now, first time commenting. Just wanted to say thanks for making this blog, it's so useful and fun!
I'm one of those people that doesn't mind particles, but I was still a bit shaky on knowing when to use が versus は. My Japanese teacher said I have a strange tendency to use が too much but finally, here's a simple explanation! So, a heartfelt どうもありがとうございます！
Digger
· 9 months ago
THANK YOU.
Samantha
· 9 months ago
Thanks, Koichi! =D
By the way, whoever made the banner for this entry deserves a hug. I think it's adorable - the little frowny face made my day.
selena
· 9 months ago
Hiya, Been J-studying for far too long with far too little progress. This is really a nice cheat sheet. I once had to write a ten page paper on wa/ga (blast!) and I think one of the main things I came away with is that ga tends to be used more when introducing a new item into the conversation, and wa is used when the item is already familiar.
レイカ♥
· 9 months ago
you sir, are a hero.
agro
· 8 months ago
Great material koichi-san! I'll certainly pass it around to my friends. (You counter cheatsheet was also really handy ^^)
Explaining wa/ga is tricky. It's interesting that you chose to associate them with "is/are/am" (aka to be), since books/explanations that I've encountered correlates "to be" with da/desu in the example sentences you provided. (I'm on their camp btw :) )
I myself would translate it as... Hmm perhaps just leave it at "it indicates the subject" and remarks that it normally doesn't translate to anything in normal English? And (dot-) underline the subject in the English translation to give indication that wa/ga marks that very thing.. Having it non-translatable wouldn't be too mind blowing for the student IMO, since particles like wo also don't translate to anything in English. Also, on sentences like "watashi wa xbox wo kaimasu", we already can't assign "wa" to any English word there...
Or I'll perhaps use "as for..." a la Tae Kim (but the English certainly won't sound natural)
I'll be waiting for your next PDFs... :)
beka
· 8 months ago
Hi koichi ^^ dozo yoroshiku arigatou gozaimasu ^^ thanx for explaining the particles..i had some problems with them hehehe...
Thanx for sharing your knowledge ^^
Mata ne
Veronica
· 8 months ago
Yay! Thanks for the great link :D
aliene
· 8 months ago
this is good stuff...
I have a whole particle dicitonary but I never really use it. Who has time to flip through a BOOK to find something when you're talking or in class? =_="
spdrcd
· 8 months ago
すごくありがと、コイチさんと塗布具の皆さん。
Pinkgloom
· 8 months ago
Thanks for the upload, glad to see I'm not the only person who hates particles
Chimiko
· 8 months ago
Particles are really difficult.. >.> Sometimes, even when you know the difference, it's really hard to tell the meaning cause you've heard them use interchangeably all the time. It's really confusing.
Thanks Koichi-sensei~!
Nya
· 8 months ago
Thank you! Like everyone else the one particle that I always have trouble with is が, So thanks this will be very helpful!
C.
· 6 months ago
ありがとうございました！ I studied Japanese for one year (2007) & am currently refreshing my memory of what i learned.
Elly
· 6 months ago
Great chart! I like the simple, casual descriptions. I am probably the only person on the planet who is "hooked on particles" and I love me a good textbook description, but stuff should be made simple and quick for practical purposes, too.
Also, nerd note, it's really nicely typeset...
Facebook User
· 5 months ago
LOL, My teacher passed this sheet out in class the other day!
koichi
· 5 months ago
Good! I'm glad it's helping people!! :)
marinebarbie
· 4 months ago
let me just say you are amazing! my husbands friend (aka my roommate) just moved his girlfriend here from japan shes learning English so its hard for me to understand her with never studying Japanese a day in my life ( also my attention span when i don't understand something is all over the place quicker then the conversation started lol) but im finding this sight full of some useful information i love how you break everything down and you make it so much fun. so really thank you for all the time and dedication you put into this page!
estrellita
· 3 months ago
hello!! excelent sheet!! but can u plz reupload it to another page? cause it has already reached the download limit =( try plz saving the file to mediafire, savefile or smth like that plzzzz=))))
Dahlia
· 3 months ago
Can not download :( It says Download Limit Exceeded *sobz*
rayk
· 3 months ago
Can you reupload this to something like rapidshare or megaupload as that current download has been exceeded. Thanks!
rayk
· 3 months ago
Actually found this through google and reuploaded to rapidshare, hope you don't mind!
All Comments
I've been reading Tofugu for a while now, first time commenting. Just wanted to say thanks for making this blog, it's so useful and fun!
I'm one of those people that doesn't mind particles, but I was still a bit shaky on knowing when to use が versus は. My Japanese teacher said I have a strange tendency to use が too much but finally, here's a simple explanation! So, a heartfelt どうもありがとうございます！
By the way, whoever made the banner for this entry deserves a hug. I think it's adorable - the little frowny face made my day.
Been J-studying for far too long with far too little progress. This is really a nice cheat sheet. I once had to write a ten page paper on wa/ga (blast!) and I think one of the main things I came away with is that ga tends to be used more when introducing a new item into the conversation, and wa is used when the item is already familiar.
Explaining wa/ga is tricky. It's interesting that you chose to associate them with "is/are/am" (aka to be), since books/explanations that I've encountered correlates "to be" with da/desu in the example sentences you provided. (I'm on their camp btw :) )
I myself would translate it as... Hmm perhaps just leave it at "it indicates the subject" and remarks that it normally doesn't translate to anything in normal English? And (dot-) underline the subject in the English translation to give indication that wa/ga marks that very thing.. Having it non-translatable wouldn't be too mind blowing for the student IMO, since particles like wo also don't translate to anything in English. Also, on sentences like "watashi wa xbox wo kaimasu", we already can't assign "wa" to any English word there...
Or I'll perhaps use "as for..." a la Tae Kim (but the English certainly won't sound natural)
I'll be waiting for your next PDFs... :)
dozo yoroshiku
arigatou gozaimasu ^^
thanx for explaining the particles..i had some problems with them hehehe...
Thanx for sharing your knowledge ^^
Mata ne
I have a whole particle dicitonary but I never really use it. Who has time to flip through a BOOK to find something when you're talking or in class? =_="
Thanks Koichi-sensei~!
Like everyone else the one particle that I always have trouble with is が, So thanks this will be very helpful!
Also, nerd note, it's really nicely typeset...
try plz saving the file to mediafire, savefile or smth like that plzzzz=))))
http://rapidshare.com/files/283236645/japanese-...