One of the best ways to approach translating a Japanese sentence into English is by breaking it down to its component parts. We start by isolating the subject from the direct object from the verb. Then, we swap out the words for their Japanese counterparts, add the appropriate particles, and reorder the sentence structure as needed.
As we learned in Chapter 3, the particles ‘に’ and ‘へ’ can both mean ‘to’ or ‘toward.’ ‘へ,’ however, is more commonly found in formal and written language.
The verbs for ‘to go’ and ‘to come’ in Japanese (‘いく’ and ‘くる’) work slightly different in Japanese than they do in English. We use ‘いく’ to express that someone or thing is moving toward the listener, while we use ‘くる’ to express that someone or thing is moving toward the speaker. Therefore, it is grammatically correct in English to say ‘I’m coming toward you’ but grammatically incorrect to say the same in Japanese. If you want to learn more about this, check out page 94 of your Genki I textbook.
We can denote that Mr. Tanaka is the topic of the sentence with the particle ‘は’ and that the library is the location to which he is going with the particle ‘に.’ As is common in Japanese, we will end the sentence with the verb; in this case, the present affirmative form of the verb ‘to go.’
田中さんは図書館に行きます。
たなかさんはとしょかんにいきます。

We can denote that Mr. Tanaka is the topic of the sentence with the particle ‘は’ and that the library is the location to which he is going with the particle ‘に.’ As is common in Japanese, we will end the sentence with the verb; in this case, the present affirmative form of the verb ‘to go.’
田中さんは図書館に行きます。
たなかさんはとしょかんにいきます。

One of the best ways to approach translating a Japanese sentence into English is by breaking it down to its component parts. We start by isolating the subject from the direct object from the verb. Then, we swap out the words for their Japanese counterparts, add the appropriate particles, and reorder the sentence structure as needed.
As we learned in Chapter 3, the particles ‘に’ and ‘へ’ can both mean ‘to’ or ‘toward.’ ‘へ,’ however, is more commonly found in formal and written language.
The verbs for ‘to go’ and ‘to come’ in Japanese (‘いく’ and ‘くる’) work slightly different in Japanese than they do in English. We use ‘いく’ to express that someone or thing is moving toward the listener, while we use ‘くる’ to express that someone or thing is moving toward the speaker. Therefore, it is grammatically correct in English to say ‘I’m coming toward you’ but grammatically incorrect to say the same in Japanese. If you want to learn more about this, check out page 94 of your Genki I textbook.
We can denote that our friend is the topic of the sentence with the particle ‘は’ and that Japan is the location to which they are going with the particle ‘に.’ As is common in Japanese, we will end the sentence with the verb; in this case, the present affirmative form of the verb ‘to come.’
私の友だちは日本に来ます。
わたしのともだちはにほんにきます。

We can denote that our friend is the topic of the sentence with the particle ‘は’ and that Japan is the location to which they are going with the particle ‘に.’ As is common in Japanese, we will end the sentence with the verb; in this case, the present affirmative form of the verb ‘to come.’
私の友だちは日本に来ます。
わたしのともだちはにほんにきます。

One of the best ways to approach translating a Japanese sentence into English is by breaking it down to its component parts. We start by isolating the subject from the direct object from the verb. Then, we swap out the words for their Japanese counterparts, add the appropriate particles, and reorder the sentence structure as needed.
The particle ‘で’ has fewer applications than the particle ‘に,’ for example, but it does have more uses than just the one we learned in Chapter 3. We’ll cover these uses in later chapters, but just know that if you see the particle ‘で’ referring to something other than a place, it might be a correct usage that you have not yet learned.
Many Japanese words have multiple versions that mean the same thing but express different levels of politeness. For example, the word ‘家’ can be said as ‘いえ’ (the most basic, straightforward word that refers to the building of a ‘house’) or it can be said as ‘うち’ (a more casual word for ‘house’ that refers to the place where one makes a home). Note that it is not uncommon to see ‘うち’ spelled in hiragana, even though it formally uses the ‘家’ kanji. Choosing the right word for the right situation is important not only to sound natural but also to show the correct amount of respect and deference.
We can denote that Mr. Suzuki is the topic of the sentence with the particle ‘は,’ that the object being acted upon is music with the particle ‘を,’ and that he is doing the action at home with the particle ‘で.’ As is common in Japanese, we will end the sentence with the verb; in this case, the present affirmative form of the verb ‘to listen.’
すずきさんはうちで音楽を聞きます。
すずきさんはうちでおんがくをききます。

We can denote that Mr. Suzuki is the topic of the sentence with the particle ‘は,’ that the object being acted upon is music with the particle ‘を,’ and that he is doing the action at home with the particle ‘で.’ As is common in Japanese, we will end the sentence with the verb; in this case, the present affirmative form of the verb ‘to listen.’
すずきさんはうちで音楽を聞きます。
すずきさんはうちでおんがくをききます。

One of the best ways to approach translating a Japanese sentence into English is by breaking it down to its component parts. We start by isolating the subject from the direct object from the verb. Then, we swap out the words for their Japanese counterparts, add the appropriate particles, and reorder the sentence structure as needed.
The particle ‘で’ has fewer applications than the particle ‘に,’ for example, but it does have more uses than just the one we learned in Chapter 3. We’ll cover these uses in later chapters, but just know that if you see the particle ‘で’ referring to something other than a place, it might be a correct usage that you have not yet learned.
Many Japanese words have multiple versions that mean the same thing but express different levels of politeness. For example, the word ‘家’ can be said as ‘いえ’ (the most basic, straightforward word that refers to the building of a ‘house’) or it can be said as ‘うち’ (a more casual word for ‘house’ that refers to the place where one makes a home). Note that it is not uncommon to see ‘うち’ spelled in hiragana, even though it formally uses the ‘家’ kanji. Choosing the right word for the right situation is important not only to sound natural but also to show the correct amount of respect and deference.
We can denote that we are the topic of the sentence with the particle ‘は,’ that the object being acted upon is the Japanese language with the particle ‘を,’ and that we are doing the action at home with the particle ‘で.’ As is common in Japanese, we will end the sentence with the verb; in this case, the present affirmative form of the verb ‘to speak.’
私はうちで日本語を話します。
わたしはうちでにほんごをはなします。

We can denote that we are the topic of the sentence with the particle ‘は,’ that the object being acted upon is the Japanese language with the particle ‘を,’ and that we are doing the action at home with the particle ‘で.’ As is common in Japanese, we will end the sentence with the verb; in this case, the present affirmative form of the verb ‘to speak.’
私はうちで日本語を話します。
わたしはうちでにほんごをはなします。

One of the best ways to approach translating a Japanese sentence into English is by breaking it down to its component parts. We start by isolating the subject from the direct object from the verb. Then, we swap out the words for their Japanese counterparts, add the appropriate particles, and reorder the sentence structure as needed.
The particle ‘で’ has fewer applications than the particle ‘に,’ for example, but it does have more uses than just the one we learned in Chapter 3. We’ll cover these uses in later chapters, but just know that if you see the particle ‘で’ referring to something other than a place, it might be a correct usage that you have not yet learned.
We can denote that we are the topic of the sentence with the particle ‘は,’ that the object being acted upon is lunch with the particle ‘を,’ and that we are not doing the action at school with the particle ‘で.’ As is common in Japanese, we will end the sentence with the verb; in this case, the present negative form of the verb ‘to eat.’
私は学校で昼ご飯を食べません。
わたしはがっこうでひるごはんをたべません。

We can denote that we are the topic of the sentence with the particle ‘は,’ that the object being acted upon is lunch with the particle ‘を,’ and that we are not doing the action at school with the particle ‘で.’ As is common in Japanese, we will end the sentence with the verb; in this case, the present negative form of the verb ‘to eat.’
私は学校で昼ご飯を食べません。
わたしはがっこうでひるごはんをたべません。