How to use the definite article in Japanese

You want to learn how to use the definite article in Japanese? You've come to the right place! Scroll down and see the short Japanese lessons complete with useful examples. The apple, the house, the book... we'll teach you about the Japanese definite article in a simple, clear and enjoyable way.

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The Japanese definite article

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

Examples

tango

the word

oniisan

the brother

mono

the thing

onanohito

the woman

isu

the chair

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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.

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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.

kono kodomo

this child

kono tatemono

this building

kono iši

this stone

kono onanoko

this girl

Konbanwa!

More Japanese phrases

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Step 4 : The definite article in Japanese

The definite article is what we call the word the in English. The definite article is used with nouns in English (the book, the chair, the door etc.). Using the nouns šomotsu, isu and doa (book, chair, door) which you learned in Step 3, learn how to use each noun with the definite article. This is easy in Japanese, because in Japanese, there is no definite article. So the word šomotsu can mean book or the book, the word isu can mean chair or the chair and the word doa can mean door or the door. You can scroll to the top of this page to see a short lesson about the definite article in Japanese including useful examples. Once you have learned to use the definite article with the Japanese nouns šomotsu, isu and doa, you're ready to move on to Step 5 (the plural in Japanese).

Next Step:

The plural in Japanese

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