Learn Japanese – Very Important Japanese: Yo, Ne and No

Learn Japanese effortlessly! You already know that some of the most important words in a language have only a few letters. In English, some examples are “no”, “or” and “yes”. Japanese is no different. If you want to speak clearly and concisely, there are some words, with only a few letters each, that you need to know. In this Japanese for beginners article, you will master yo, ne, and no. Each of these simple Japanese words can completely change the way you sound. For example, you can use yo to express a strong conviction, ne to provoke a question of etiquette, and not to show possession. As you can imagine, it is impossible to speak Japanese correctly and clearly without these three critical particles. Find all the sample sentences and helpful charts you need right here!

Vocabulary: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:

iyaringu – “slopes”

anata – “you”

Annatto not – “your yours”

watashi not – “My mine”

totem – “very…” (adverb)

Kirei (n/a) – “beautiful” (-na adjective)

Tifanii – “Tiffany’s” (jewelry brand)

to share (n/a) – “elegant, elegantly dressed” (-na adjective)

Taipu – “the kind of one”

milestone – “people”

otoshimasu – “fall, lose” (masu form)

Grammar: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:

Useful vocabulary

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totem – “very”

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totem is an adverb of degree that corresponds to “very”.

Let’s also see some other adverbs of degree.

High grade  [“small” = chiisai ]

sugoku / sugoku shiisai

totem / chiisai totem

Honootni / chiisai hontooni

middle grade

mom / mom chiisai

low grade

sukoshi / sukoshi shiisai

choto / choto chisai

Gramatical point

In this article, we are going to review three things.

1. particles: I do not, Y not
2. formal past of a verb
3. use of adjectives

particles: I do not Y not

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I

not

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I is a sentence-final particle that the speaker uses to express a strong conviction about something or to state something emphatically.

not is a sentence-final particle that acts as a question of etiquette used to elicit a response from the listening party, usually a confirmation or agreement with the speaker’s statement, regarding a matter of mutual knowledge.

Compare the following sentences.

1. Kore wa oishii desu. “This is tasty.”
2. I: Kore wa oishii desu yo. “This is tasty, I tell you.”
3. not: Kore wa oishii desu ne. “This is tasty, isn’t it?”

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not

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We use the particle not between two nouns, indicating that the first noun possesses the second noun or the first noun is modifying the second. Please review the uses of the particle not what we have learned so far.

Possession:

Kore wa watashi not kuruma desu.

Reward:

Kore wa Toyota not kuruma desu.

To lease:

Kuruma wa eki not mae ni arimasu.

formal past of a verb

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otoshimashita

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To create the formal past form of a verb, replace the ending -masu with-mashita. Look at the examples to be continued.

“English” / Form -masu / Formal past form

“to go” / ikimasu / ikimashita

“to eat” / deskmasu / deskmashita

“to do” / Shimasu / Shimashita

Use of adjectives

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Kirei desu ne.

Kirei na iyaringu desu ne.

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Review the pronominal and predicate uses of adjectives in the following chart.

I-adjective: atarashii (“new”)

1. Pronominal use (adjective before noun): atarashi kuruma “new car”
2. Predicate use: Kono kuruma wa atarashii desu. “This car is new.”

n/a-adjective: Shizuka (calm”)  

1. Pronominal use (adjective before noun): Shizuka n/a Kuruma. “quiet car”
2. Predicate use: Kono Kuruma Wa Shizuka Desu. “This car is silent.”

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Practice 1

Please change the following sentences to the past tense.

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1. Watashi wa byooin ni ikimasu. (byooin means, “hospital”)
2. Watashi wa soba or tabemasu. (Soba means, “buckwheat noodles”)
3. Watashi wa kutsu or kaimasu. (kutsu means, “shoes”)

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practice 2

Please rewrite the following sentences as shown in the example.

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Example: 

• Kono iyaringu wa takai desu.
• Write again: Kore wa takai iyaringu desu.

1. Kono iyaringu wa kirei desu. East…________________________________________________________
2. Kono soba wa oishii desu. _______________________________________________________________
3. Kono kutsu wa ookii desu. _______________________________________________________________
4. Kono tesuto wa kantan desu. (tesuto means test”) ______________________________________________________________