As of late’s matter is a uniquely difficult one: prepositions in Japanese.
We’re going to have to get aware of flipping ideas round from how we in most cases perceive them in English.
I gained’t lie: It’s a massive problem in the beginning, however after a handful of follow, with out even noticing it, this new manner of enticing with language will change into 2d nature.
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Japanese prepositions
Japanese prepositions serve as in a similar fashion to English prepositions, however are in reality postpositions and are positioned after the noun they’re informing.
Variations from English
I’m going to get started by way of complicated you proper off the bat. Simply a heads up!
So, prepositions are if truth be told only one part of a grammatical idea referred to as adposition.
The opposite part are referred to as postpositions. See? Pre and publish. One comes prior to, the opposite comes after.
English virtually solely makes use of prepositions. Japanese, then again, makes use of publishpositions.
That mentioned, regardless of the adaptation in location, they function just about the similar manner, so I’ll be referring to the entire idea as prepositions from right here on out.
What are prepositions?
Prepositions are form of like “helper” phrases. They assist us upload knowledge, particularly by way of appearing the connection of nouns to the remainder of a sentence.
In English, we put the preposition prior to a noun to upload knowledge. Those are phrases like “to, at, in, on, thru, with,” and so forth.
Let’s paintings with an instance: “I’m consuming underneath the desk.” Right here, the noun we’re including to is “the desk” and the preposition is “underneath.”
In Japanese this could take a look at little other (ok, a lot other). Let’s examine.
First, we’ll want a few phrases:
I’m = 私は
consuming = 食べてる
underneath = の下に
the desk = テーブル
How this if truth be told appears in Japanese is that this:
私はテーブルの下に食べてる。
Watashi wa teburu-no-shita ni tabeteru.
Some extra main points on Japanese prepositions
Thus far we’ve realized that, in contrast to English, prepositions in Japanese come after the noun.
Moreover, what we most often name prepositions in English are if truth be told unfold out a bit throughout grammatical portions in Japanese.
There are adverbs, debris, and extra that finally end up taking at the position of preposition/postposition in Japanese.
Speaking about prepositions in Japanese
The Japanese phrase for preposition is 前置詞 (zenchishi). This phrase is made up of the characters meaning “prior to,” “placement,” and “a part of speech,” respectively.
The Japanese phrase for postposition is 後置詞 (kochishi). This phrase is nearly the similar as the former one, except for the primary persona is now the only which means that “after.”
With regards to postpositional phrases, we must additionally quilt the phrase for debris, 助詞 (joshi), since many debris are in reality postpositions.
This phrase could also be identical to the previous ones, except for it is just two characters lengthy. The final persona is identical, and the primary persona method “assist, lend a hand.”
In the end, if we would like to speak about adposition (keep in mind, that’s the phrase for each prepositions and postpositions), we want to know 接置詞 (secchi-shi).
Ah, sure, any other acquainted one. On this case, once more handiest the primary persona has modified. Now we’re taking a look on the persona for “contact, adjoin, piece in combination.”
Record of Japanese Prepositions
How Japanese prepositions are used: examples
上に
買い物袋をどすんとテーブルの上に置いた。
Kaimono-bukuro o dosun to teburu-no-ue ni oita.
I put the buying groceries baggage at the desk with a thud.
後ろに
彼は私の後ろに立った。
Kare wa watashi-no-ushiro ni tatta.
He stood in the back of me.
前に
祖父は3年前に亡くなりました。
Sofu wa san-nen mae-ni nakunarimashita.
My grandfather kicked the bucket 3 years in the past.
の間に
川と山の間に村がある。
Kawa to yama no-aida-ni mura ga aru.
There’s a village between the river and mountain.
内側で
戸は内側でかんぬきがかかる。
To wa naigawa-de kanuki ga kakaru.
The door bolts from the interior.
の中で
雨の日は部屋の中でボール遊びをしています。
Ame-no-hi wa heya-no-naka-de boru asobi o shiteimasu.
On wet days we play ball inside of.
のために
足はなんのためにあるの？
Ashi wa nan-no-tame-ni aru no?
What do you’ve ft for?
と共に
心はあなたと共にいます。
Kokoro wa anata to-tomo-ni imasu.
I’ll be with you in spirit.
横に
母親は赤ん坊をベッドに横にした。
Hahaoya wa akanb o beddo ni yoko-ni shita.
The mum laid he child at the mattress.
次の
彼女は次の駅で降りた。
Kanojo wa tsugi-no-eki de orita.
She were given off on the subsequent station.
近くに
川の近くにテントを張った。
Kawa-no-chikaku-ni tento o hatta.
We arrange a tent close to the river.
周りに
周りには誰もいなかった。
Mawarini wa daremo inakatta.
There used to be no person round.
に向って
多くのファンがその女優に向かって走ってきた。
Ooku-no-fan ga sono-joyu ni-mukatte hashitte-kita.
Many enthusiasts got here operating against the actress.
と並んで
ケンは私と並んで走った。
Ken wa watashi to-narande hashitta.
Ken used to be operating beside me.
を超えて
彼は80キロを超えている
kare wa hachi-ju-kiro o-koete iru.
He’s over 80 pounds.
で
俺はニューヨクで生まれました。
Ore wa nyuyoku de umaremashita.
I used to be born in New York.
“I’ve lived in Japan on-and-off for the final 5 years, travelling to (virtually) each nook of the Land of the Emerging solar. I’ve deepened my love of the language with giant hauls from Sapporo e book retail outlets, by way of chatting in Shinjuku espresso stores, consuming in Osaka “snack bars,” exploring far-off Okinawan islands, and hitching rides with clergymen in Aomori. Japanese is a broad and deep language, and I’m at all times keen to dive in deeper.”
