Basic Particles - Part 1 (は and が)

Japanese particles

Get ready. Here begin the annoying little things about this wonderful language.

Particles are very much hated by Westerners, as in general we don't have an equivalent in any Western language, so we have to stick to their functionality.

It's not impossible, but we can often confuse when we can put this or that particle because they have similar functions.

So, before pulling out your hair, know that it is possible to master them thanks to intense use, that is, the more you read and hear these particles inserted in some context, you will automatically be gradually internalizing this concept.

We always insist that you should not try to understand why things are, but accept them. So, this post, like the others, will be a basis, so that after understanding what particles are, you can gradually, in fact, keep them inside yourself, without necessarily having to worry about its grammatical functionality. .

So how about we get started?

Particles dictate the relationship between one word and another, between verbs and the words in the sentence.

That is, they are the “links” that exist within the Japanese language. Which does not necessarily make them become prepositions in the Portuguese language.

In fact, it is far from it.

They can indicate direction, who is being talked to, where is being talked about, what is from whom and etc…

As you can see, very different from prepositions.

But just because it's hard doesn't mean it's impossible.

Let's go slowly?

 Particle は(wa)

 

Particlua japanese は ha

 

For those who are familiar with the Japanese alphabet hiragana, you know that this syllable (は), actually reads as: ha (rrá).

So why did I put wa in parentheses?

Because when the syllable は is used as a particle, it is read as wa (wah).

Why?

Hmmm, I have no idea, I have to confess. Maybe it's something to do with the roots of the language, but it's better not to speculate, is it?

This particle serves to indicate the subject of the sentence, what they are talking about. In short, the topic of the sentence.

わたしベアトリスです。 I am Beatrice

これえんぴつです。 This It's a pencil.

Do you understand? It's not a preposition, so it doesn't have a correct translation.

He just indicates who or what is being talked about and “points out” him. So, in the translation you should use what best fits your language.

In this case, the am and It's.

 Particle が (ga)

 

Particle が (ga)

 

Well, this one doesn't need to be said much.

This particle indicates the subject of the sentence, the one who is assigned a characteristic or performs an action.

It is often confused with the は particle, because of the similar functionality.

Since indicating the subject of the sentence, and the topic of the sentence, in the case of the particle は, in many cases they look the same.

つきでる The moon came out (was born)

あたまいたい。 Head hurts.

In this case, there isn't a word that shows itself as a translation for the particle が, it's there, just showing what the subject of the sentence is, and if we understand that, it's already very good.

To the next. Good studies!