How to use the indefinite article in Japanese

You want to learn how to use the indefinite article in Japanese? You've come to the right place! Scroll down and see the short Japanese lessons complete with useful examples. An apple, a house, a book... we explain it all to you in short, easy to follow lessons.

Add to cart

Download now

Enter your email address to receive your learn Japanese workbook. If you have not yet purchased the workbook, download a free sample now.

Thanks for downloading

An Email will be sent to the address bob@yahoo.com with links for downloading your PDF workbook. If the mail does not arrive, please check your spam folder.

The Japanese indefinite article

The indefinite article is what we call the words 'a' and 'an' in English. The English indefinite article 'a' does not exist in Japanese. Unlike English, a noun on its own can be considered indefinite without the need for a specific word to show this.

Examples

kazoku

a family

musumesan

a daughter

kodomo

a child

a tree

teiburu

a table

8 / 39

See another Japanese lesson here

Next Japanese Lesson

About Japanese

Japanese is spoken as a first language by 122 million people in Japan. If you are planning on doing some travelling, learning Japanese would be a great way to make the most of your trip.

Full PDF

Basic words and phrases in Japanese

Learn to get by in Japanese with these useful words and phrases. We'll begin by learning some basic Japanese phrases which you can use for everyday communication.

Kimi ga itōšī.

I adore you.

Wataši wa anata ga hoshīdes.

I want you.

Wataši wa, anata o aishiteimas.

I love you.

Wataši anata ga inakute sabishīdes.

I miss you.

Ohayougozaimas!

More Japanese phrases

TeachMe! Japanese

Learn Japanese the easy, fun and fast way. Whether you're a complete beginner or you already know a few phrases in Japanese, you'll be amazed at just how quickly you learn!

Add to cart Tell me more

You can learn Japanese in just 9 easy steps.

If you want to go from beginner to fluent in Japanese in a reasonable amount of time, you'll need a proven study method and daily dedication. Our nine-step Japanese learning guide will show you how to teach yourself Japanese in a structured,effective way. The steps below will take you through the progression of skills needed to learn to speak, read and understand Japanese.

Step 3 : The indefinite article in Japanese

The indefinite article is what we call the word a in English. The indefinite article is used with nouns in English (a book, a chair, a door etc.). To get started in Japanese, pick just 3 important nouns. We suggest you learn the nouns šomotsu, isu and doa (book, chair, door). Once you have learned these nouns, you can then learn how to use each noun with the indefinite article. This is easy in Japanese, because in Japanese, there is no indefinite article. So the word šomotsu can mean book or a book, the word isu can mean chair or a chair and the word doa can mean door or a door. You can scroll to the top of this page to see a short lesson about the indefinite article in Japanese including useful examples. Once you have learned to use the indefinite article with the Japanese nouns šomotsu, isu and doa, you're ready to move on to Step 4 (the definite article in Japanese).

Next Step:

The definite article in Japanese

On the Road! Japanese

Make the most of your trip to work by learning Japanese words and phrases on the way. With this audio CD, you'll learn 1000's of Japanese words & phrases in a very short time. The voice is in both Japanese and English. Just listen, absorb and enjoy! We are one of the few companies in the world offering a learn Japanese audio cd. If you have a CD player at home or in your car, this is the Japanese course for you.

Add to cart Tell me more

We're there to help.

Customer care is at the heart of our business. Whatever questions you may have, we'll always be there to help.

Committed to quality.

We strive to make this site error free in 16 languages. If you find an error, simply click the ✓ symbol and we'll update the site... and send you something for free as well.

Dedicated to your success.

We've been helping people learn languages for more than 15 years. You'll be amazed how quickly you'll learn to get by in Japanese with courses from LinguaShop.

Graf-Moy-Str. 5a

85356 Freising

Germany