Japanese Lesson #2: The の particle
Before we get started, I'd like to say that I'll be using a little more kanji from now on, but you can see the reading in hiragana, as well as the meaning in English, if you hover your arrow over the kanji. Try it with this example: 日本語
Anyway, we'll start this lesson with yet another particle: the の particle.
This is, basically, a possessive particle. In English, when we want to say that something belongs to someone, we use possessive pronouns: my book, your car, our teacher, etc.
In Japanese, we simply add the の particle to the "owner":
私の本 = my book
あなたの車 = your car
菊さんのシャツ = Kiku's shirt
私達の友達 = our friend
It is also often translated as "of", but be careful not to mix up the word order! Just remember, the "owner" always comes before the "owned" thing or person.
風の色 = colors of the wind (NOT wind of the colors!)
日本の歴史 = History of Japan; Japanese History
That's it for today! I know this lesson is a lot shorter than the previous one, and I did intend to talk about some pronouns here, but first I want to know if using kanji actually helps or if it just makes it harder to follow the lesson. I'm inclined to go back to hiragana-only, at least for the beginner lessons.
Anyway, we'll start this lesson with yet another particle: the の particle.
This is, basically, a possessive particle. In English, when we want to say that something belongs to someone, we use possessive pronouns: my book, your car, our teacher, etc.
In Japanese, we simply add the の particle to the "owner":
私の本 = my book
あなたの車 = your car
菊さんのシャツ = Kiku's shirt
私達の友達 = our friend
It is also often translated as "of", but be careful not to mix up the word order! Just remember, the "owner" always comes before the "owned" thing or person.
風の色 = colors of the wind (NOT wind of the colors!)
日本の歴史 = History of Japan; Japanese History
That's it for today! I know this lesson is a lot shorter than the previous one, and I did intend to talk about some pronouns here, but first I want to know if using kanji actually helps or if it just makes it harder to follow the lesson. I'm inclined to go back to hiragana-only, at least for the beginner lessons.