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IGI Global Career Day, Language and Technology Panel 

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IGI Global Career Day, Language and Technology Panel 

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Current students and recent alumni are invited to a career diversity day focusing on using foreign language, area studies, and thematic studies in the job market. Come and join us for this in-person event to learn how to identify and better communicate your skills, hear professors, professionals, and practitioners discuss their current positions and paths from graduate study to employment, connect with alumni through informational interviews, and engage with peers, colleagues, alumni, and staff at the networking reception!

Friday, March 3, 2023
8:30 am-5:30 pm CT
306 Coble Hall

To register, click here https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/1204644159

To view biographies of speakers and panelists, click here https://igi.illinois.edu/career-day/speaker-biographies.
For schedule, click herehttps://igi.illinois.edu/career-day/igi-spring-2023-career-day-schedule .

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Godan = u-verbs
Ichidan = ru-verbs

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Table of Contents

Japanese Verb Conjugation Groups

Japanese verbs conjugate differently depending on which of the three verb groups they belong to. There are multiple names for these verb groups, but we'll cover the most common here so that you can access the information no matter what your learning background is. There is a lot of information to take in here, but don't fret. Rather than try to memorize this information, just think of it as a reference guide to use when you need it. As you continue to practice conjugating new verbs into different forms, the info in this page will become like second nature!

Godan Verbs (五段動詞)

Also known as う verbs or Group I verbs (and consonant-stem verbs in linguistics), verbs in this group end with an /u/ vowel sound (pronounced "oo," as in the hiragana character う).

Examples of verbs in this category are 読む (yom u) "to read," 書く (kak u), "to write," 話す (hanas u), "to speak," and 聞く (kik u), "to listen." Notice that each of these end in a character on the う line of the hiragana chart. When these verbs are conjugated, the /u/ sound on the end will shift to other vowels, changing the hiragana character along with it. The fact that these verbs shift through the five lines of the hiragana chart is where they get the name 五段 (five level) verbs.

Let's check this out with one of our example verbs, 聞く (to listen):

Now that we can see everything laid out for us, let's revisit the linguistics terms for this verb group: consonant-stem verbs. To do this, we need to quickly define what the "stem" of a verb is in Japanese. Basically, it is the part of the verb that remains the same, no matter what conjugation the verb takes. In this case, the stem is the bold part of the word in the ローマ字 column of the table: kik.

Now wait - the stem ends in /k/? If you know your hiragana, then you might be confused since there is no character for /k/ in Japanese. As weird as it may seem, we have to separate hiragana characters into two distinct parts in order to find the stem: the consonant and the vowel. Let's take the く from 聞く, for example. In ローマ字, we write this character as "ku." The /k/ part is the consonant, and the /u/ part is the vowel. Because the /u/ part of this character changes when the word is conjugated, as in 聞 く (k u) → 聞 きます (k i), it is not part of the stem. Only the part that remains the same, the /k/, is part of the stem. Since the last part of the stems of these verbs are consonants like /k/, these verbs are called "consonant-stem verbs." Are you with us so far?

If you're wondering what the point of all this is, just hang in there for a minute! The value of looking at verbs in this way will become abundantly clear when we begin comparing godan verbs with the next verb group.

Ichidan Verbs (一段動詞)

The next group of verbs we'll look at is ichidan verbs. These verbs are called る verbs in many Japanese textbooks because they all end in the hiragana character る. Some textbooks call them Group II verbs, though. In linguistics, they are known as "vowel-stem" verbs (spoiler alert: their stems end in vowels! 😉).

Examples of these verbs include 見る (mi ru), "to see," 起きる (oki ru), "to wake up," 開ける (ake ru), "to open," and 食べる (tabe ru), "to eat." Conjugating these verbs is easy - the る ending is replaced with a new verb ending. The character that comes before the る is unaffected, and so it remains on the same single hiragana line. Because only one hiragana line is involved per verb stem, these verbs are called 一段 (one level) verbs.

Let's use another table to make this clear. Notice how the べ in 食べる remains the same in each conjugation:

Just like we did with godan verbs, let's use the table above to examine the linguistics name for ichidan verbs: vowel-stem verbs. This time, we've bolded " tabe" part of the verb because it is the part of the verb that remains the same throughout all conjugations (i.e. is the stem). If we separate べ into its consonant /b/ and vowel /e/, you can see that the final sound in the stem is the vowel, /e/. And there you have it - the reason these verbs are called "vowel-stem verbs."

Godan Verbs Disguised as Ichidan Verbs

Some godan (う) verbs are not immediately recognizable as such because they end in the hiragana character る, so they appear to be ichidan (る) verbs. Despite that, る is on the う line of the hiragana chart, so it makes sense that some る ending verbs could potentially be considered godan (う) verbs, right?

Luckily, there is a trick to how you can tell whether a verb ending in る is a godan verb or an ichidan verb: if the vowel sound that comes before る is / a/, / u/, or / o/, it is definitely a godan (う) verb. If the vowel sound that comes before る is / e/ or / i/, it is probably an ichidan verb (but there are exceptions, unfortunately!).

Let's take a look at the table below to see how this works:

Remember, the test we described above is watertight if the vowel before る is / a/, / u/, or / o/. In those cases, like in 分かる (wakru), 作る (tsukru), and 折る (ru), we can be completely sure that they are godan verbs. However, if the vowel is / e/ or / i/, like in 食べる (tabru) or 起きる (okru), we can only be cautiously optimistic that they are ichidan verbs.

If you're unsure how to conjugate a る ending verb, we recommend looking it up in a dictionary. Most of the time, it will indicate whether the verb belongs to the godan or ichidan verb group. Just to put your mind at ease, below is a list of common exceptions. Don't fret, with enough practice, you'll learn how to conjugate these verbs without even thinking about which verb group they belong to!

Common る-ending godan verbs: いる (to need), 入る (to enter), 走る (to run), 帰る (to return), 減る (to decrease), and 喋る (to chat).

Irregular Verbs (変格動詞)

Out of all the verbs in Japanese, only two fall outside of the godan and ichidan verb groups: する (to do) and 来る (to come). These verbs are so common, that as you learn new conjugations for them, you'll get enough practice that they will seem easy as pie.

Now go forth and conjugate!

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Japanese verbs conjugate differently depending on which of the three verb groups they belong to. There are multiple names for these verb groups, but we'll cover the most common here so that you can access the information no matter what your learning background is.

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If you are still needing practice!

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Looking for a simple tool to practice reading hiragana and katakana, as many times as you want to?

Well, Tofugu's Learn Kana Quiz might be a perfect tool for you.

We actually made this kana quiz tool a few years ago as a companion to our Learn Hiragana Guide and Learn Katakana Guide. Since then, many beginner level Japanese learners have used it as a tool to test their kana knowledge, and simply practice reading kana over and over.

There are a few things that we like about our kana quiz tool. And I hope you'll like them too.

...Does it sound like something you want to try out? Tofugu's Learn Kana Quiz is available for free out on the wild internet. Check it out!

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Looking for a simple tool to practice reading hiragana and katakana, as many times as you want to? Well, Tofugu's Learn Kana Quiz might be a perfect tool for you. We actually made this kana quiz tool a few years ago as a companion to our Learn Hiragana Guide and Learn Katakana Guide.

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Come listen to a bilingual story in Japanese and English!

This month's theme is featuring the story, How the Years were Named (Kamishibai)

Have you ever wondered how the Lunar Calendar came to be? Why the animals are in a certain order? Then join us as we celebrate the Year of the Rabbit and recount the origin story of the Lunar Calendar and Lunar New Year! This tale recounts the epic race for the order of the Lunar Calendar. Join us to find out the Lunar New Year jūnban (order)!

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East Asian Story Time: "How the Years Were Named"

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Come listen to a bilingual story in Japanese and English! This month's theme is featuring the story, How the Years were Named (Kamishibai) Have you ever wondered how the Lunar Calendar came to be? Why the animals are in a certain order?

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Audio Files from Genki 1 (txt book) for extra listening practice

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Audio Files from Genki 1 (txt book) for extra listening practice

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てけいのうた2017( te-form song て形の歌 tekei no uta ) みんなの日本語14課　となりのトトロ（My Neighbor Totoro）「さんぽ」より　JLPT/N5

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が marks the subject of a sentence. In other words, whatever comes before が is the person or thing that’s doing whatever comes next.

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は marks the topic of a clause, sentence, or paragraph. It creates focus as well as a nuance of contrast with other potential topics. The particle は is attached after a word (or a group of words) to show that it is the "topic" of the phrase, sentence, or paragraph.

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こそあど言葉 (ko-so-a-do words) are a series of Japanese words that can be used to refer to things, people and locations. The word you choose to use mostly depends on the distance between you and whatever you're talking about.

Table of Contents

The Basics

In English, you can refer to things, people, and locations in a nonspecific way by using words like "this" and "that," and "here" and "there."

Whereas in English these words tend to come in pairs, in Japanese, each set is made up of three words, plus a corresponding question word. For example, the equivalent of "here" in Japanese is ここ, and "there" is そこ. There is also a single word, あそこ, which means "over there." Each set also has a corresponding question word that begins with the character ど, such as どこ for "where."

These sets are remarkably common, and each consists of four words beginning with the characters こ, そ, あ, or ど. For that reason, these words are called こそあど (ko-so-a-do words).

This page will introduce the basic concepts of こそあど, each set, and how they generally work.

Conceptualizing こそあど

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There are nine basic sets of words in Japanese that begin with こ, そ, あ, and ど. They have different meanings and functions depending on the endings that come after こそあど.

However, all these sets share the same concept ー the first syllable of each word in the set indicates the relative distance between you and whatever you're referring to. The relative distance from your listener to the thing you're referring to can also come into play.

Here is how こそあど words work when referring to a physical object that you can see:

こ-Words: Words that begin with こ are used for things that are either relatively close to the speaker, or closer to the speaker than to the listener.

そ-Words: Words that begin with そ are used for things that are further from the speaker and/or are closer to the listener.

あ-Words: Words that begin with あ are used for things that are far from the speaker, and also the listener if there is one.

ど-Words: Words that begin with ど are used to ask a question.

To make all these guidelines feel more concrete, let's take a look at an example scenario. Imagine you are at a beach collecting seashells with a friend. When you see a cute, pink seashell right in front of you, you say:

Here, you refer to the shell using a こ-word, この, because it is close to you. In this case, you are only considering the distance between the shell and yourself. You can use この regardless of whether your friend is right next to you, or at the other end of the beach.

Then your friend spots a shell. You look over and see it in her hand, and you say:

In this example, you are facing your friend, so you consider the distance between the shell, yourself, and your friend. Since the shell is closer to your friend, you use a そ-word, その.

While talking to your friend, you also find a shell that is a little ways away from both of you. You point at it and say:

With this example, you also used a そ-word, そこ, though it's not closer to your friend than you.

When you and the person you're talking to are side-by-side, all that matters is how far the object is from the two of you. So you could use ここ if it's close to you both, or あそこ if it's far from you both. Here, you picked そこ because you judged the seashell to be too far to use ここ, but too close to use あそこ.

So if you're alone, or you and your listener are side-by-side, the choice is simply based on the distance between you (both) and whatever you're talking about. But if you are facing your listener, you'll probably also factor in the distance between them and whatever you're talking about. This could also include situations when your listener isn't within sight but you are aware of where they are, like on a phone call or while in another room. This is illustrated in the images above.

Now, let's go back to the beach scenario. After collecting many beautiful shells, you both go take a dip in the water. However, your moment of relaxation ends quickly when you see something in the distance and say:

Since you are talking about something that is distant from both of you, you use an あ-word, あれ. Your friend doesn't see it, so she uses a ど-word to ask you:

As it slowly approaches, you realize that it's a shark fin... Yikes! I hope you safely make it back to the beach!

Classification

こそあど words can be classified into five categories depending on what they generally refer to. As you can see in the table below, these categories are "thing," "person," "place," "direction," and "manner," and the endings that come after こそあど differ according to what is being referred to.

Bear in mind that these are only general categories, and there is overlap. We'll get into that more, and talk about the variations of each set, on this page and the dedicated pages for each set!

Patterns of Use

In grammatical terms, こそあど words can be divided into three different groups: pronouns, noun modifiers, and adverbs. Depending on the type, they are placed in different different positions in a sentence.

Pronouns

Pronouns are used in place of nouns, and can be treated in exactly the same way as nouns. The series of こそあど words that are used to identify a specific thing, person, place, or direction all by themselves are called pronouns because they are used in place of nouns. They also can be treated in the same ways as nouns. The following こそあど words are all pronouns:

See how これ is used by itself in this example below.

Noun Modifiers

A "noun modifier" is anything that is attached to the beginning of a noun to give more information about it. The following こそあど words are noun modifiers.

In the following example, その is attaching to a noun ネコ (cat) to indicate which cat you are talking about.

Adverbs

Adverbs are used to add more information to verbs and adjectives. They usually go before the verb or adjective. The following こそあど words are adverbs:

In this example, ああ is used before the verb する (do), and adds more information about how to do whatever it is you're referring to:

Brief Summary of Each こそあど Set

これ, それ, あれ, and どれ

これ, それ, and あれ are used to describe where something is in relation to where you are. They can be translated into English as "this one," "that one," and "that one over there." どれ is the corresponding question word and it is used to ask "which one?" out of a choice of three or more objects.

If you're referring to more than one thing in English, you'd switch to "these ones," "those ones," and "those ones over there", but in Japanese you can stick with これ, それ, and あれ in casual settings. The plural versions これら, それら, and あれら are generally used only in formal speaking and writing.

Read more about これ, それ, あれ, and どれ here.

この, その, あの, and どの

この, その, and あの are used before a noun and describe where the noun is in relation to where you are. They're the equivalent of "this," "that," and "that over there" before a noun in English. For example, "this mountain" is この山.

どの is the question word that goes with this set, and it is used to ask "which?" out of a choice of three or more objects. For example, to ask "which mountain?" you'd say どの山？

Like これ, それ, and あれ, この, その, あの can be used with both singular and plural nouns in casual settings. Their plural versions are これらの, それらの, あれらの, and are generally used in formal contexts.

You can also combine with this set to make phrases like この様に (in this way) or この様な〜 (this kind of...).

Read more about この, その, あの, and どの here.

こいつ, そいつ, あいつ, and どいつ

こいつ, そいつ, and あいつ are used to refer to people in a gruff manner. They could be translated as something like "this guy," "that guy," or "that guy over there," but the translations vary depending on the person you're referring to. They aren't specifically used to refer to men, either, unlike our translations.

どいつ is the corresponding question word and it is used to ask, "which guy?"

Unusually, こいつ, そいつ, and あいつ are only used in the singular. You'll need to switch these to こいつら, そいつら, and あいつら when referring to more than one person in a gruff manner.

There are also old-fashioned versions of this set, which you'll probably never hear in ordinary conversation, but can still be seen in speaking or writing set in the past. They are こやつ, そやつ, あやつ, and どやつ.

Read more about こいつ, そいつ, あいつ, and どいつ here.

(こなた, そなた,) あなた, and どなた

In classical Japanese, こなた, そなた, and あなた were all used to refer to the person you were talking to. In other words, they were equivalent to the pronoun "you" in English. However, each word carried a different level of formality. In general, こなた was considered casual, そなた was neutral, and あなた was respectful, though the level of respect varied depending on the period in history.

こなた can also refer to the first person (I, my, me) or can mean "this person" and そなた can mean "that person."

In modern Japanese, こなた and そなた are archaic, but あなた is still in use, and has kept its meaning " you."

どなた is the corresponding question word and is used to politely ask "who?" often to the person you are talking to. This word is polite and can sound feminine.

Read more about こなた, そなた, あなた, and どなた here.

ここ, そこ, あそこ, and どこ

ここ, そこ, あそこ are used to describe places in relation to where you are. They're the equivalent of "here," "there," and "over there" in English.

どこ is the set question word and it's used to ask "where?"

Read more about ここ, そこ, あそこ, and どこ here.

こちら, そちら, あちら, and どちら

こちら, そちら, and あちら can be used to politely refer to a direction or a place. They can also be used to refer to an object or a person.

どちら is the corresponding question word and it is used to politely ask "which one?" out of two choices.

Read more about こちら, そちら, あちら, and どちら here.

こっち, そっち, あっち, and どっち

This set is a contraction of こちら, そちら, あちら, and どちら. These words are less polite and are more casual.

こっち, そっち, and あっち can be used to casually refer to a direction or a place. They can also be used to refer to an object or a person.

どっち is the corresponding question word and it is used to ask "which one?" out of two choices.

Read more about こっち, そっち, あっち, and どっち here.

こんな, そんな, あんな, and どんな

こんな, そんな, and あんな come before a noun (or noun phrase) and describe the manner the noun that follows. It's the equivalent of "this kind of..." "that kind of..." or "that kind of ... over there," in English, but it's also common to use them for an object that isn't physically present.

どんな is the corresponding question word and it's used to ask "what kind/sort of...(is it)?" or "what is ... like?"

You can combine this set with particles such as の or に to make things like こんなの (a thing like this) or こんなに (this much).

You can also attach to make things like こんな風に (in this way) or こんな風な〜 (this kind of...).

Read more about こんな, そんな, あんな, and どんな here.

こう, そう, ああ and どう

こう, そう, and ああ come before verbs (or verb phrases) and adjectives. They describe the way the verb is done or what the adjective is like. They are the equivalent of "this way" and "that way," or "like this" and "like that" in English, as in "please write it this way," or "I can't do anything when it's hot like this."

どう is the corresponding question word, meaning "in what way?" or "how?"

You can attach the verb いう or its past tense いった to make noun modifiers such as こういう/こういった〜 (this kind of 〜). In this case, the kanji 言 is usually written in hiragana.

Read more about こう, そう, ああ, and どう here.

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japanese demonstrative reference kosoado こそあど

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こそあど言葉 (ko-so-a-do words) are a series of Japanese words that can be used to refer to things, people and locations. The word you choose to use mostly depends on the distance between you and whatever you're talking about.

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Particles に and で are grammar elements you'll encounter in the early stages of your Japanese learning journey. Even though you learn them as a beginner, many learners mix them up even as they progress into intermediate and advanced levels of Japanese.

So why all this mix up? To put it simply, both particles are used to mark places or locations. Since both particles can be translated to the same English prepositions, such as "in," "on" and "at," separating their meanings can be confusing unless you understand their deeper meanings. For example, both 学校に and 学校で can mean "in school" or "at school," depending on the context. So, how should we decide which one to choose?

In this article, we'll introduce you to the basic concepts of these two particles, which will help you to determine which one is best for particular contexts of use.

Prerequisites: To get the most out of this article, you should already know hiragana and katakana. If you need to brush up, have a look at our Ultimate Hiragana Guide and Ultimate Katakana Guide. It would also be good if you're already familiar with particles に and で, and you're ready to dive into the differences between them.

Concepts of に and で:

Both に and で are extremely common, and their fundamental meanings are quite similar - specifying a place or location. But how they specify a place or location differs, and once you understand what they really do, it becomes fairly easy to select one over the other.

Pinning Down に

To put it simply, に defines the place or location where something or someone is, was, or will be. To help your understanding, imagine it this way: に is like a pin on a map. You can drop a pin on the location where something exists, or on a place that you want to go to.

So in some contexts, に is like a "You are Here" sign. It pins down where you currently are, or where something or someone is located.

In this sentence, に marks 学校 as your destination, not the location where you currently are.

So to sum it up, に has this fundamental meaning of pinning down a point of existence - where something is, was, or will be.

Selecting For Activity/Event で

Now, what about で? How does it define a place or location? Unlike the particle に that simply pinpoints the location, で selects the place where an activity or event is, was, or will be carried out. For example, if you add で after 学校 (school), as in 学校で, you have selected a place, and it can translate to "at school" or "in school," depending on the context.

And within this で-marked place, an activity or event occurs, like:

In these examples, で comes after the place 学校 (school) and tells us where you study, or where the charity event occurs. The second example is actually very similar to the earlier "there is a gym in the school" example, but here で is your choice because you are describing the place holding an event.

So that's the fundamental differences between に and で! に indicates a simple location, whereas で marks out the area for an action. So far so good? Let's take a look at some examples so you can consolidate your understanding. We'll first check out this basic "location" use, and then explore the uses of に and で for time!

に or で For Location

First, imagine you come back home with an empty stomach and ask your parents if there is something to eat. They say:

Here, に is used because they are simply telling you where the pudding is located. They are not describing what's happening in the fridge.

Now, let's continue on with the same scenario. You love pudding and get excited, and so you head to the kitchen right away. To describe situation, you can say:

In this example, the location キッチン is marked by に because it's the destination you headed to. You are not selecting キッチン as the place where something happened.

Okay, so you are there now! It's time to eat the pudding. With a big smile on your face, you open the fridge door to an awful sight and let out a telling cry. Your parents ask you, "What happened?" And you answer:

After cleaning up the fridge, you notice a magnet has fallen on the floor, so you grab it and put it back on the fridge door. To describe what you did, you can say:

Like pinning up a picture on the wall, this に drops a pin on 冷蔵庫のドア, marking it as the destination or goal of the magnet's attachment.

If you want to add more detail to the previous example, like "where" that happened, you can say:

キッチンでマグネットを冷蔵庫のドアに貼った。

I put a magnet on the fridge door in the kitchen.

In this case, you mark キッチン with で because that's the place where your action of "putting a magnet on the fridge door" occurred. To describe your action, 冷蔵庫のドア is still marked with に, because that's still the destination of the magnet!

So far, so good? Let's continue on the same scenario. Luckily, your pudding was intact and now finally it's time for you to enjoy it. You find a comfy chair and take a seat:

Just like that, に is used to mark something as the place where attachment to something else happens. And this remains the same even when you are describing what is going in the selected place. For example, to say "you are sitting in the chair," you would use に and say:

Why? Let's go back to the pin on the wall analogy. When you pin a picture on the wall, the pin holds the picture up while it remains on the wall. This に is like that pin. You drop a pin on 椅子 to "attach" yourself, and it remains with you during the attachment.

For this reason, you'll often see に used with verbs that indicate some kind of attachment or contact, such as る (affix) or ける (attach). Like in the example above with っている (sitting), these verbs take the 〜ている form to indicate an ongoing state. It may be tempting to treat these as activities and choose particle で, but verbs of attachment (including abstract attachments like a butt to a chair) usually take particle に.

However, this doesn't mean that all 〜ている form verbs call for particle に. When you're describing what's going on in a selected area (and there's no sense of attachment), you don't need に for its pinning down meaning. For example:

Even though relaxing and doing nothing could barely be considered an activity, there is sill no sense of being pinned to the location. It's where you are doing nothing. So in this example, で selects the area when your activity of ダラダラする, or "being relaxed and doing nothing," takes place. Are you getting the hang of it?

に and で For Location (In Similar Sentences)

Sometimes, に and で can be used in sentences that otherwise look exactly the same, with the exact same verbs, but don't fret! What に and で do still remains the same, and the meanings reflect that. For example, take a look at the following examples:

Both of these sentences are about Kanae writing a (letter). However, the difference in particle choice between に and で has an effect on the meaning. In the first example using に, (desk) is marked as the surface where the 手紙 (letter) is written. So the translation of the first sentence goes:

In other words, she penned her words right onto the wood. (I hope she didn't use a permanent marker.)

The second sentence uses で, so it's marking 机 (desk) as the place where the activity of "Kanae writing a letter" takes place. So it means:

Unlike the に-marked sentence, this one doesn't suggest Kanae wrote a message directly onto the desk, it's simply telling us where she was when she wrote the letter.

However, the difference in particle choice does not always cause such a stark contrast in meaning. For example, to say "I planted flowers in the yard," you can use either particle:

Let's take a look at one more example. This one is a very common phrase to describe where you live. For example, to say you live in Tokyo, you can say:

Although both に and で are possible, に is definitely the more common option. To state where you reside, you only need to place a "You are Here" sign on the map. Since に is almost always used, some textbooks or teachers may even state で as an incorrect use. However, if you want to take a more nuanced view of activity 住んでいる (living) and treat it like an activity, you could use で. For example, take a look at this Tweet:

は に行って に れようという えがあった。だけどネットが たり になった今では、東京 で 住んだり くメリットっていうのは少なくなったと います。 べ に しても、 よりは の の方が で安くて しいし😀

In the past, many Japanese people had the idea of going to Tokyo to immerse themselves in the experience of a cutting edge world. However, now that the internet has become commonplace, I think the advantages of living and working in Tokyo have diminished. Food in the countryside is fresher, cheaper, and tastier than in the city.

In this Tweet, the person uses で to mark 東京 as the place they are living. This で can be replaced with に, but the writer chose で to emphasize "living" as a dynamic activity, with Tokyo as the backdrop. In fact, this Tweet presents "living" with another activity, "working," and so it makes more sense to use で here because 東京 is the stage upon which "living" and "working" both occur.

に and で For Time

Okay, there is one more difference to talk about between に and で. Just like marking physical locations, the particles に and で can also mark points in time. In this case, に is straightforward. It can mark time regardless of whether it is in the past, present, or future. Imagine dropping a pin on a timeline rather than a map.

In this sentence, に drops a pin on the 9 am slot on a timeline, marking exactly when school will begin.

Particle で, on the other hand, suggests a time limit, and refers to the end point of an activity or event. It's like you're selecting a certain range on a timeline, and an activity or event can occur only within the selected range. So if you are talking about the end point of timeline, に and で are actually interchangeable and don't change the meaning at all.

Because the verb わる (finish) indicates that we're talking about an end point, で is possible here. However, if we talk about a starting point by using a verb like まる (begin), then で can sound a bit awkward since it emphasizes an end point.

However, there are certain contextual reasons why you might choose で in this sentence. Since で implies the end point of something, you can use で to emphasize the end of whatever activity leads up to the new one that is beginning. For example, if you're trying to get your kid ready for online school but they are still playing video games, you can use で to present "school starting" as the end point of their gaming session:

In this case, 9 o'clock is the time when the school begins, but で indicates it'd also be an end point of the activity that came before. It can draw attention to the approaching time limit.

Takeaways

I hope this article helped to clear up any questions you might have had surrounding the particles に and で! To sum it up, に simply pins a location while で selects an area for an activity or event to occur. They can also mark time, but in this case で places emphasis on the end point of an activity or event. To study more about them, we have grammar pages for each particle, so check out the に page and で page as well.

Sources

Iwasaki, S. (2013). Chapter 13. Reference system in discourse. Japanese.

Kabata, K. (2000). Japanese ni: A cognitive analysis of a lexically complex particle.

Kaiser, S. et al. (2013). Japanese: A Comprehensive Grammar.

Masuda, K. (2013). Applying cognitive linguistics to teaching Japanese polysemous particles.

Masuda, K. et al. (2018). Cognitive Linguistics and Sociocultural Theory: Applications for Second and Foreign Language Teaching.

Morita, Y. (1989). Kiso Nihongo Jiten.

Moriyama, S. (2006). JSL niokeru Kakujoshi De no Shutokukatei ni Kansuru Ninchigengogaku-teki-kōsatsu.

Oasist Blog. (2019). Japanese Particle 'De' - Meaning and Structure -.

Sadler, M. (2007). Grammar in Use across Time and Space: Deconstructing the Japanese ''dative subject'' construction.

Sugimoto, T. (1995). Ido-kaku no ''wo'' nitsuite.

Tanaka, E. (2002). A Japanese Compound Verb V -te-iku and Event Composition.

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に vs で: Which Particle To Choose And Why

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Particles に and で are grammar elements you'll encounter in the early stages of your Japanese learning journey. Even though you learn them as a beginner, many learners mix them up even as they progress into intermediate and advanced levels of Japanese. So why all this mix up?

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This is a department run event, so unlike Japanese Conversation Table professors and TAs will be present to practice with. But it is still just a casual conversation set up. The first meeting for this semester is the 2nd of February from 5-6pm at the Cafe Bene on Nevada street. These will happen twice a month. Full list of dates: 2/2, 2/16, 3/2, 3/23, 4/6, 4/20

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You are provided with a wide range of graded readers starting from very beginner. A good way to practice reading hiragana!

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JSA (Japanese Student Association) also runs the Japanese Conversation Table which usually meets on Fridays in the Union basement from 5:30-7pm. The first meeting is today!

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You may know about this site already, but this is a great place to create digital flash cards for studying Hiragana, Katakana, and vocabulary. :-)

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Head, shoulders, knees and toes in Japanese

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Head, shoulders, knees and toes in Japanese

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頭肩膝足(Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes - in Japanese)

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Their first meeting has passed, but this is an RSO worth checking out.

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is there anywhere on campus that can help tutor someone for Japanese

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This free app is also useful for studying Hiragana and Katakana! :-)

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This free app is also useful for studying Hiragana and Katakana! :-)

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“Kana Bimoji” is a free app for writing practice of hiragana for Japanese. The app is available for both Android and iOS.

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Learn the Japanese hiragana script by playing this fun game.

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What kind of things can I post here?

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A detailed explanation of Japanese pronunciation

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A detailed explanation of Japanese pronunciation

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This includes much more detail than we will cover in class, but is good for anyone interested or if you are struggling with your pronunciation and want a more detailed guide.

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This site provides a series of tutorials to learn the basics of Japanese pronunciation.

The sections consist of mora, problematic sounds, rhythm, pitch accent, and prosody. Each section has ample number of listening practices as well as pronunciation advices.
If you have any suggestions or questions, please feel free to contact Yukiko Hatasa at yhatasa@hiroshima-u.ac.jp.
This project is supported by KAKENHI. The principal investigator is Yukiko Hatasa, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University.

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The sections consist of mora, problematic sounds, rhythm, pitch accent, and prosody. Each section has ample number of listening practices as well as pronunciation advices. If you have any suggestions or questions, please feel free to contact Yukiko Hatasa at yhatasa@hiroshima-u.ac.jp. This project is supported by KAKENHI.

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A great website to find resources and answers to your Japanese questions

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A great website to find resources and answers to your Japanese questions

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Tofugu - A Japanese Culture & Language Blog

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If you're a Telegram user, you are in luck! We have a Telegram channel where we post a new Japanese word every day with its English translation, a very active discussion group full of friendly people, and a dictionary bot able to find any term directly from Telegram.

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Japanese Dictionary. Find any Japanese or English word in seconds. Definitions, example sentences, verb conjugations, kanji stroke order graphs, and more!

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You just started learning Japanese. You're cruising through your beginner kanji list nice and easy.

木. Hey, a tree! 山. Hey, a mountain! Heck yeah, this is easy! The characters even sort of looks like trees and mountains.

But then you look at the pronunciations... wait. Why are there two ways to read 木? Is it もく or is it き? Do I read 山 as さん or やま? Which one should I use? Why can this one be read ten possible ways? Who did this and where are they hiding?!

However, it's too late. You're here, and there's no way home. Welcome... to Kanji Park.

The readings (on'yomi and kun'yomi) of kanji are very complicated. At least, that's what many people will tell you. It's kind of true, but it doesn't have to be this way. Figuring out what to learn and when to use which kanji reading is a lot simpler than everyone makes it out to be.

We're going to show you how to do this so you can apply it to your own kanji studies. Kanji will make more sense, and you'll be able to focus on what's actually important: learning how to read Japanese.

Prerequisite: By the way, this article is going to use hiragana, one of Japan's two phonetic alphabets, so if you don't know it yet, if you're a little iffy, or if you just want a refresher, take a look at our hiragana guide first. It usually only takes a day or two ( with the help of mnemonics) to get it down pat.

First, Some History

What we know today as "kanji" originated in China (they call it hànzì). These hànzì characters made their way through the Korean Peninsula, then hopped over to Japan mostly via Classical Chinese religious texts.

Japan was sooOOOooo in love with China at the time they adopted the Chinese writing system and applied it to their own language.

Taking the meanings of the Chinese hànzì and applying them to the Japanese language was fairly straightforward. If you saw the character 食, you'd know the meaning was "meal," "food," or something along those lines.

But the sounds of the Chinese language and the Japanese language are completely different. Despite this, Japan went ahead and adopted the Chinese readings for the kanji too.

What we know today as "kanji" originated in China (they call it hànzì). These hànzì characters made their way through the Korean Peninsula, then hopped over to Japan mostly via Classical Chinese religious texts.

"But wait," you say. "How is that even possible? Wouldn't that mean Japanese people started speaking Chinese?"

Short answer: no. Japan had their own language, and while it isn't the same as Japanese today, it wasn't Chinese either. They had their own words for things like water, fire, food, and all the other stuff that exists in life. Instead of converting the Japanese language into Chinese, they decided each kanji will have a Chinese way of reading it and a Japanese way of reading it.

These two readings are what we know as on'yomi and kun'yomi readings.

On'yomi 音読み: Readings derived from the Chinese pronunciations.

Kun'yomi 訓読み: The original, indigenous Japanese readings.

Notice how I said the on'yomi were derived from Chinese pronunciations? The Japanese didn't bring over the Chinese pronunciation for kanji wholesale.

Japanese is a very simple language (in terms of the number of sounds available to it). The Chinese language has far more sounds than the Japanese language does. Things like distinct pitches can lead to a complete change of meaning. Thus, Japan had to convert these Chinese readings into something that could be said within the Japanese alphabet of sounds. This, as well as Japan's lack of tones, is why they're (sometimes) similar, but not exactly the same as the originals.

Two Kanji Readings for the Price of One

Thanks to this adoption of characters and readings, almost all kanji have at least one on'yomi (Chinese origin) and one kun'yomi (Japanese origin) reading. So if you want to easily read Japanese you'll need to know them both. Here are some examples of kanji where both readings are commonly used:

Note: Sometimes you'll see on'yomi readings written in katakana or English, and kun'yomi readings written in hiragana. This is a dictionary-only method used for differentiation. We won't be using them here.

Multiply this by pretty much every other kanji. Sure, some kanji will have one reading that is way more useful than the others, but for the most part, there will be an on'yomi and kun'yomi reading worth learning.

I'm going to leave it at that for now, so we can look beyond "one on'yomi and one kun'yomi," because, unfortunately, kanji readings are not that simple.

Single Reading Exceptions

Although most kanji have both an on'yomi and kun'yomi reading, there are exceptions. There are kanji that only have one or the other.

Kanji that only have an on'yomi reading are usually for things that either:

1. Do not have a single, unified term (in Japanese), and thus took the Chinese reading for clarity, or...

2. Were ideas or concepts that didn't yet exist for the Japanese people.

This may seem impossible. How could a language not have a concept for some things?

Remember these language transitions were happening way back in history and Japan was not yet the unified group of islands we know today. They were fractured, unrelated groups with unique leaders and systems of government that happened to live together on a couple of big islands. Not only did they enjoy fighting among themselves, they also did not have the Internet.

With that in mind, here are examples of kanji that only have on'yomi readings:

On the flip side, there are also kanji characters that only have kun'yomi readings because they are kanji created in Japan. This means they (Japanese elite/scholars/priests) took pieces of kanji characters and put them together to create a new kanji, for a concept that was native to Japan. These are called Kokuji 国字 (literally "national characters").

Here are examples of made-in-Japan kanji:

So, you can't always assume a kanji will have two readings: an on'yomi and a kun'yomi. Sometimes it's just one of them, for the reasons listed above. That makes it simpler for you, the kanji learner!

Unfortunately, things are about to take a darker turn.

Why Are There So Many Kanji Readings?

Now that you know about Chinese and Japanese readings, everything should be cake right? Well, not exactly. Let's take a step back.

We know kanji came over from China via Korea, but history spans a long, long time. And if you know anything about Chinese history (or if you've played Dynasty Warriors), you know that the seat of power in China was pretty much constantly changing hands.

As an outsider, you probably think of these kingdoms as a bunch of "Chinese" people fighting each other while speaking the same "Chinese" language. China is big, there are many groups, many cultures, and - most importantly for this article - many languages.

As power in China changed, so did the "official" language.

As power in China changed, so did the "official" language.

These language shifts had a direct effect on the types of Chinese language that were brought to Japan. And not every kanji was brought over at the same time or from the same place.

For example, one version of Chinese pronounces the character 下 as げ while another pronounces it as か, centuries later. The character and the concept stayed the same, but for some reason Japan thought it would be neat to just adopt both Chinese readings for the same kanji. In the case of this kanji, we end up with words that use the げ reading:

And words that use the か reading:

Can you guess which reading arrived in Japan later? (Hint: it's the reading used with subway systems.)

Romance of the Three Language Shifts

There were three major reading adoption periods in the history of the Japanese language:

Go-on 呉音 (4-6th century): The Wu Dynasty pronunciation

Kan-on 漢音 (7-9th century): The Han Dynasty pronunciation

Tō-on 唐音 (1185-1573): The "Chinese" pronunciation

In pretty much every case, these characters and their readings were brought over by scholars of Buddhism and Confucianism in the form of religious and historical texts (usually through scrolls). Japanese scholars would then copy and adapt those texts into their own writing.

The majority of the on'yomi readings we use today are from the Kan-on group, though you'd never know it by looking at a dictionary. In fact, most dictionaries make no mention of the origins of the on'yomi readings and simply list them all without any differentiation.

The two major Japanese-Japanese dictionaries (that I'm aware of) that do have this information are 新漢語林 and 新選漢和辞典. Some online Japanese dictionaries also list them for certain kanji, take this example of 明 in コトバンク:

Here you can see among the on'yomi readings that めい is from 漢 (Kan-on), みょう is from 呉 (Go-on), and みん is from 唐 (Tō-on). If you ever see these three kanji in a dictionary or resource, now you know what they're talking about!

Let's take a look at examples of kanji with multiple on'yomi readings, which, as you know now, are just readings from different Chinese language eras.

If you know some Mandarin, you may notice the Tō-on readings are the closest to modern Chinese (specifically Mandarin Chinese). You can probably guess why: because they are the most recent additions to the Japanese language.

I can almost guarantee you'll never be asked about which on'yomi reading is from when or where, but knowing why there are multiple readings can help alleviate the overall confusion that comes with learning kanji.

Multiple Kun'yomi Readings

Just because kun'yomi readings originated in Japan, you may start out thinking there is only one kun'yomi per kanji, but it isn't that simple. There can be multiple kun'yomi readings for one kanji, just like there can be multiple on'yomi readings, but the reasons are slightly different.

In Japan, before there was writing, spoken language still existed and words for similar concepts would be said different ways.

In Japan, before there was writing, spoken language still existed and words for similar concepts would be said different ways.

For example, if you ask someone about a bubbly beverage in different areas of the United States you'll get multiple names for it: soda, pop, coke, or cola are all acceptable answers (though if we're being real, "soda" is the only correct one). Still, at the end of the day, everyone's describing the same tooth-rotting beverage.

When a kanji character that encompassed multiple concepts appeared, all the different ways of saying it went under a one character umbrella.

A modern example would look a lot like this: if the 🍪 emoji made its way to American shores, we might assign both "cookie" and "biscuit" to it as meanings, only use those words in speech, and replace all writing with the 🍪 emoji.

With that in mind, take a look at kanji that have multiple kun'yomi readings:

As you can see, the words have similar meanings, but slightly different readings, living under the same kanji roof. You can imagine the person making these decisions thinking: "'To climb,' 'to rise,' and 'up' all have to do with upward things, so let's put them all inside 上. Woo wee, I'm such a genius!"

How Can I Know the Reading?

Now you know everything about the why and the where, but now it's time to cover the how.

How exactly do you know which reading is being used? The general rules are fairly simple, but with every language there are exceptions.

So, let's start by focusing on those patterns. This will help you identify the correct reading of a kanji, most of the time. The rest? We'll talk about that after you understand the basics.

On'yomi Compounds

A two-kanji (or more) compound usually takes the on'yomi readings. These are called jukugo . There are no hanging-on hiragana (okurigana) sticking out from the word.

Also, these words most resemble the Chinese language, which is just one character after another. When you see a compound word like this, chances are these kanji will use the on'yomi readings.

Single Kanji Kun'yomi

Most words that consist of a single kanji, sitting all alone with no okurigana, are read with the kun'yomi reading. These include nouns and they make up the majority of beginner words you learn from textbooks and in classrooms.

Single Kanji On'yomi

While less common than single kanji words that use the kun'yomi reading, there are many instances of single kanji using the on'yomi reading. This is especially true for single kanji numbers, but there are plenty of other examples as well.

Kun'yomi with Okurigana

If a kanji has hiragana attached to it, it almost always uses the kun'yomi reading. These kana suffixes are called okurigana and they are mostly adjectives and verbs, but they can be used for nouns too.

Kun'yomi Compounds

Some kanji compounds words, especially those that have to do with nature (very Japanese) or cardinal directions, can take the kun'yomi readings for both kanji. While not as common as on'yomi compounds, they do exist in some very common words.

Exceptions

There are, of course, many exceptions to the rules above:

Words that contain kanji that have both on'yomi and kun'yomi readings.

Kanji that get assigned to katakana words.

Words with kanji that have readings that don't make any logical sense when you look them up in the dictionary.

You can read about all of these and more in our article about weird kanji.

How To Learn Kanji Readings

Now that you know the basics patterns, it's time to take a look at ways you can learn kanji readings. It's not easy, especially when one kanji can have so many (correct) ways of reading it.

First, let's consider the traditional method for learning kanji readings.

1. Teacher tells you to learn the kanji readings, because they're going to be on the quiz.

2. You take the quiz.

There is no thought about what kanji reading(s) are more useful to know. As you saw from the examples above, not all kanji readings are created equally. Some readings get used a lot. Others almost never. And you're just being asked to memorize sounds without much context.

We're not going to get into a huge amount of detail about how to choose good kanji readings to learn here. We already did that in our article about how to learn kanji. So, let's paint in broad strokes (and I'll point you in the right direction when things need to get more specific).

1. Just Learn One Reading Per Kanji

This goes against what a lot of people say and do, so stick with me here. Learning all of the readings of a kanji actually means you are learning less.

You have multiple strands of weak, new information in your head. By trying to hold onto all of them, you end up holding onto none of them (you can't remember the readings).

However, by learning and associating one reading for the meaning (which you should already know), you're creating a stronger bond. Thus, you will learn this one reading easily.

Also, you need to have faith in one thing: the long run, you will learn all the important readings for this kanji, but for now, you are learning one. We'll tell you why in the next section.

2. Choose the "Best" Kanji Reading to Learn

You are only learning one kanji reading. So which one should you learn? The "best" one, of course, but how do you know which reading that is?

For most kanji, there will be a single reading that shows up in 80-90% of the vocabulary. Let's consider - as an example - a kanji that has three readings. We will also assume - for the sake of this example - that each reading will cost you ten minutes of time. Here is the value of each of that kanji's readings:

Kanji Reading 1: Used in 90% of the vocabulary.

Kanji Reading 2: Used in 7% of the vocabulary.

Kanji Reading 3: Used in 3% of the vocabulary.

You are paying ten minutes of time to learn each reading. One of the readings is clearly way more valuable than the others. Why would you pay the same amount of time for something that has, comparatively, almost no value? You could use the extra time to learn more kanji (which means you will be able to read more overall).

Of course, the percentages will be different from kanji to kanji, but in general there will be one reading that is way more valuable than the others. You need to pick that reading out. Forget about on'yomi, forget about kun'yomi, and just think of the "best" reading as "the reading."

So what about the other readings? Aren't they important to know?

3. Learn Other Readings Through vocabulary

You will learn the other kanji readings by studying vocabulary. So really, you're not missing out on anything by not learning the less common readings along with the kanji.

You won't have the issue of crossing your memory wires (readings learned through vocabulary will be more associated with that vocabulary word than the original kanji), and assuming you are learning useful vocabulary words, you will naturally learn the next most common kanji readings.

You will learn the other kanji readings by studying vocabulary. So really, you're not missing out on anything by not learning the less common readings along with the kanji.

Using this method, you will learn the kanji readings and words that are most common. You will also be able to learn more kanji in less time.

That means you will be able to read a higher percentage of Japanese text sooner, and the faster you do this, the more you'll be able to learn (because there's nothing better for learning Japanese than reading Japanese).

This method requires a lot of long term thinking, but you will get to the end much, much faster.

Next Steps to Learning Kanji

Now you know where kanji came from (China), what their readings are (on'yomi and kun'yomi), and a bit about how and when to use them. But it's not over yet.

Since language is fluid and old and complicated, there are still exceptions to rules everywhere. The best thing to do is use these rules as a first guess, then look up the answer to see if the word you're looking at follows the rules or not.

Or, if you want to be a kanji master, you can start to learn both the on'yomi and kun'yomi readings for kanji with the vocabulary words that use them. However, don't just jump in right away and try to memorize them all at once, as there are over 2,000 kanji used in everyday life in Japan. That's a lot of information, and quite a pit of chaos, especially to the new learner.

To bring some order to this chaos, we recommend looking at our article on spaced repetition learning, as well as our big how to learn kanji guide. You will learn how to choose the right information to learn, then build yourself a durable system for getting it into your long term memory.

And if you don't feel like spending time putting together your own study technique, take a look at WaniKani for a kanji method that does all this and much more. The first three levels are free and cover 75+ kanji (meanings plus the best readings) and 200+ vocabulary words that use the kanji (so you can learn more than one kanji reading). This is more than most Japanese classes can finish in a year, and you'll finish it all in a month. If you go through the whole system, you'll be able to learn over 2,000 kanji and 6,000 words.

Whatever you end up doing, I hope this article helped you understand kanji readings. It's not easy, but once you know what each reading does, and where it comes from, it gets simpler. Don't be overwhelmed by all the readings either. The more readings that you learn, the easier it gets (that's good news).

Have faith it'll get better and keep moving forward. Good luck, linguistic adventurer!

Sources

"Japanese Research and Bibliographic Methods" by Susanna Fessler (University Course)

"Old Japanese: A Phonetic Reconstruction" by Marc Hideo Miyake (Book)

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On'yomi And Kun'yomi in Kanji: What's the Difference?

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You just started learning Japanese. You're cruising through your beginner kanji list nice and easy. 木. Hey, a tree! 山. Hey, a mountain! Heck yeah, this is easy! The characters even sort of looks like trees and mountains. But then you look at the pronunciations... wait. Why are there two ways to read 木?