Chapter 4

Particles

Particles, called
, or more affectionately referred to as (after
the verb form and the three quintessential particles , and ), are the
fundamental glue that holds Japanese sentences together, indicating how
words (or blocks of words) relate to each other. There is no overstating
how important particles are in using Japanese: without them, there is no
Japanese language. Most particles are suffixes, meaning that they follow
whatever it is they are marking, but there are a small number of prefixes.
In this chapter, we will first look at some common prefixes, then look at
what is generally considered the bulk of Japanese particles, followed by
an entire chapter dedicated to a rather special set of particles: counters.

4.1 Prefixes

4.1.1 The honorific prefix.

One of the most used prefixes is probably , pronounced either as , ,
, , or , depending on what it is being used with, and for:

The reading is used to make words with a Japanese reading (

)

honorific.

The reading is used to make words with a Chinese reading (

)

honorific.

The reading is used for imperial, as well as Shinto terminology.

In addition, can be used as a stylistic reading, to make words sound

more poetic.

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