In this Bonus Topic, we're going to learn more about the different types of particles, and discuss the logic of particles in general. Up until now, we've seen a wide variety of particles and, sometimes, we've even given them more specific names, like 'sentence-ending particle' for か, よ and ね.

As you continue learning, you may notice that different resources sometimes call the exact same particle by different terms. This happens because there are multiple naming systems and multiple uses of particles.

In this Topic, we're going to focus on the terms used in the traditional 'school grammar' taught to Japanese children (used by most native dictionaries), and the more modern and precise linguistic terms (used in many resources aimed at foreign learners).

For our purposes, the important thing is that particles can be used in different ways. We don't need to master the special terms. We just need to plant the seed so that we can better understand the different uses of particles later on. Let's dive in!

In Japanese, particles are called 助詞(じょし), literally meaning 'helper word'. As we already know, they come directly after the thing they are marking.

Let’s look at the main classifications.

Case-Marking Particles

In traditional school grammar and many native dictionaries, 'case-marking particles' (格助詞(かくじょし)) is a massive umbrella category for particles that show the relationships between words.

However, in linguistics and some learning materials these are further split into more precise groups, with ‘case-marking particles’ having a narrower, more precise meaning (below, we will split off some particles which are considered to be ‘case-marking particles’ in school grammar as ‘parallel markers' for this reason).

Case-marking particles are the heavy-hitters in the world of particles. They tell us the specific role that nouns have in a sentence, normally in relation to a verb. They highlight the 'who', 'what', and 'how'. We've already met a whole bunch of these.

Parallel Markers

Parallel markers (並立助詞(へいりつじょし)) are particles that are used to make lists. They are often subsumed by the category of case-marking particles in school grammar.

Because making a list is functionally different from marking the role of a noun in a sentence (like case markers do), linguistics and some modern resources split them off into their own category. However, school grammar and some dictionaries often keep these within the ‘case-marking’ category.

They're pretty straightforward compared to other particles! In fact, we already know a couple.

Adverbial Particles or Focus Particles

The other main category for particles in Japanese school grammar is 'adverbial particles' (副助詞(ふくじょし)). This is another giant catch-all category, specifically for particles that add nuance to a phrase. Despite the name, the majority of these do not really act like adverbs. In modern linguistics, this category is often called 'focus particles'.

'Focus particles' (取(と)り立(た)て助詞(じょし)) is used in modern linguistics as it better describes what these particles do (bring a specific sort of nuanced focus to what they mark). These particles give context, control the flow of the conversation, and give a frame of reference for what is being said.

A select few focus particles also happen to act similarly to how we'd expect adverbs to behave. We haven't officially covered any of these yet (or even regular adverbs!), but we will learn about them in more detail later.

Focus particles have many special features. For example, they can be used to replace case-marking particles (like を or が) in some contexts. They can also be used in conjunction with case-marking particles (like adding に and は to make には). Although we will see examples of these things in N5, we will learn about it more fully at higher levels.

Sentence-Ending Particles

Sentence-ending particles (終助詞(しゅうじょし)) accentuate the vibe or social nuance. They show emotion, and give language more texture. Despite the name, they can be used at the end of single phrases (including phrases consisting of a single word), not just full sentences.

Conjunctive Particles

Conjunctive particles (接続助詞(せつぞくじょし)) are the glue that join together whole phrases, showing a relationship between them (cause, contrast, sequence, and so on). Like adverbial particles, we haven't actually met any yet, but we'll see a variety throughout the rest of N5 and beyond.

Beware Of Shapeshifters!

Despite these neat categories, real life can be a bit more messy. It is common for the same particle to be used in different ways, and so can belong to multiple categories. This is one reason why the linguistics terms became so precise.

For example, you may have already noticed that か can be categorized as both a sentence-ending particle and a parallel marker. The difference just comes down to how the particle is being used in that specific context.

Just knowing that particles can have different 'jobs' will help us decode sentences faster as we learn more.