XはYです

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Here are the key points of this lesson: Omission of the subject (Xは) Using 'は' for clarity Nouns in Japanese” Omission of the subject (Xは) In Japanese, sentences often omit subjects when the context makes them clear, unlike in English where subjects like "I" or "it" are typically included.  For example, "I am a student," "My major is Japanese language," and "It is 12:30" translate into Japanese as "がくせいです," "にほんごです," and "12じはんです," respectively, without direct subjects. Using 'は' for clarity If the context doesn't provide clarity, Japanese sentences can start with a topic marked by "wa" (は in hiragana), indicating "As for X, it is Y.” For example,  “わたしは がくせいです" (As for me, I am a student), “せんこうは にほんごです" (As for my major, it is Japanese language), and "じかんは12じはんです" (As for the current time, it is 12:30). The particle "wa" (は), used to denote ...
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To the Reader

A Guide to reading the blog and the Japanese characters used

This blog mainly provides you information on Japanese sentence structure pattern. There are many articles on Japanese sentence structure pattern in the blog, and each article is about a different point of Japanese sentence structure pattern. 

If you are a new beginner of Japanese language, read all the articles in order from beginning to end. However, if you have already learned Japanese, do not need to read all the articles in order from beginning to end. It is better to choose the article that you need to do. For example, if you have a problem with writing Japanese letters (Rōmaji, Kana), use the search (at the main page) to find the article you need to study.

Each Structure Pattern article is consisted of giving information and example sentences.
The example sentences are written as follows:

  1. English to understand the meaning of the sentence: I am Mike.
  2. Rōmaji to understand the pronunciation: Watashi wa Maiku desu.
  3. Kana (Hiragana/Katakana) to understand word construction: わたし は マイク です。
  4. Kana mixed with Kanji to understand standard Japanese writing: 私はマイクです。
Note: When we write or type Japanese, we normally don't put space between words. Therefore, there is no space between words in Kana mixed with Kanji sentence (standard Japanese writing) as you see the example sentence 4 above. 

The Rōmaji and Kana used in example sentence are as follows:

  •  Long vowels are written in  "ā, ī, ū, ē, ō." 
          Short and Long vowels
          e.g.
          Short vowels                               Long vowels
          obasan/ おばさん (aunt)            obāsan/ おばあさん (grandmother)
          ojisan/ おじさん (uncle)            ojīsan/ おじいさん (grandfather)
          yuki/ ゆき (snow) yūki/ ゆうき (courage)
          e/ え (picture) ē/ ええ (Yes)
          heya/ へや (room)                       hēya/ へいや (plain)
          koko/ ここ (here) kōkō/ こうこう (high school)
          toru/ とる (take) tōru/ とおる (pass through)
  • Double consonants sound (small "tsu") are written in doubling the following consonants. "Double consonant" means the consonant takes up extra time and sounds like a pause is happening.
          Single and Double consonant
          e.g.
          Single consonants     Double consonants
          oto/ おと (sound)                       otto/ おっと (husband)
          kako/ かこ (past)                        kakko/ かっこ (parenthesis)
          machi/ まち (town)                    macchi/ マッチ (match)

  • When "wo (を)" and "he (へ)" is used as a particle, they are pronounced "o" and "e". Therefore,  they are written as "o" and "e" in the example sentence in Rōmaji. 

Here is Rōmaji and Kana(Hiragana/Katakana) comparison list for your reference.

ローマ字 ひらがな カタカナ 清音

ローマ字 ひらがな カタカナ 濁音
ローマ字 ひらがな カタカナ 拗音

ローマ字 カタカナ 外来語用


I hope the information, you'll find throughout this blog, help you learn Japanese.

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