Preceding syntactic

Example sentence Translation

element

bakari Translates to: "just, only, full of"

Colloquially: ばっかり bakkari, ばっか bakka
ばかり (許り)

Tōkyō wa hito bakari da.

Noun Tokyo is just full of people.
東京は人ばかりだ。

Tabeta bakari da.

Verbs (ta form) I just ate.
食べたばかりだ。

Kare wa tabete bakari iru

Verb (te form) He's always eating.
彼は食べてばかりいる。

Translates to: "not only".

bakari ka
Accompanied by さえ sae ("but also") indicates something
unusual or unexpected.
ばかりか (許りか)
Etymology: bakari + ka

Sofu bakari ka, sōsofu

sae ikite iru. Not only is my grandfather living,
Nouns
祖父ばかりか、曽祖父さ but so is my great-grandfather.
え生きている。

bakashi
bakashi is another form of bakari.
ばかし (許し)

dake Translates to: "only"; limit.

Dake functions as a noun.
だけ (丈) Kanji form 丈 is less commonly used.

rōmaji dake no jisho

Nouns a rōmaji-only dictionary
ローマ字だけの辞書
 Netai dake nereba ii. You can sleep as much as you
Verbs (volitional)
寝たいだけ寝ればいい。 want [to sleep].

Translates to: "and, things like".

da no
Etymology: da (copula) + no.
This particle is used far less frequently than to ka.
だの Often has negative connotations.

Nattō da no, shīfūdo da

Nouns, adjectives, verbs
no, wasabi da no—
nihonshoku ga nigate da. Natto, seafood, wasabi—
納豆だの、シーフードだ Japanese food isn't my thing.
の、わさびだの—日本食
が苦手だ。

Etymology: Originally an alteration of ni te, later treated as a

conjugation of the copula da. de can be used as "at" or "by
de
means of". When serving as the continuative TE form of a
subordinate clause, de substitutes for da/desu, carries the
で meaning "is, and so...", and takes on the tense of the final verb
of the sentence.

Jitensha de ikimashō.
Nouns: instrument Let's go by bicycle.
自転車で行きましょう。

Koko de yasumitai.
Nouns: location I want to rest here.
ここで休みたい。

Nihongo de tegami o
Nouns: language kaita. I wrote the letter in Japanese.
日本語で手紙を書いた。

TE form of copula: "is, and kimi ga suki de yokatta You are loved (and so) I am glad. /
so..." 君 が 好き で よかった。 I am glad that I love you.

de mo
Translates to: "even; or; but, however; also in"
Etymology: de + mo
でも
 Uchū kara de mo Banri-
no-Chōjō ga mieru. Even from space you can see the
Nouns, particles: "even"
宇宙からでも万里の長城 Great Wall of China.
が見える。

Ocha de mo, ikaga?

Noun: "or something" Would you like tea or something?
お茶でも、いかが？

Nihon de mo eigo o
benkyō suru
Noun: "also in" In Japan also, we study English.
日本でも英語を勉強す
る。

De mo, watashi wa sō
Beginning of phrase: "but, omowanai
But I don't think so.
however, even so" でも、私はそう思わな
い。

dokoro ka
Translates to: "anything but, far from"
Etymology: dokoro (tokoro: place) + ka
どころか (所か)

Kare wa keisatsukan
dokoro ka, hanzaisha da. He's anything but a policeman;
Nouns
彼は警察官どころか、犯 he's a criminal.
罪者だ。

e Translates to: "to, in"; direction

E is written with へ rather than え, reflecting old kana usage.
へ

Nihon e yōkoso!
Nouns: direction Welcome to Japan!
日本へようこそ！

ga Functions as: identifier (identifies something unspecified),

conjunction ("but"). Not to be confused with the particle は.
が
Ga (が or ヶ): Historical possessive used to connect nouns,
 most often seen in place names as ヶ

Neko ga esa o tabeta. The cat ate the catfood. [Answers:

Nouns: identifier (answers a 猫が餌を食べた。 "What ate the catfood?"]
silent or asked question) Inu ga suki. I like dogs. [Answers: What do you
犬が好き。 like?]
wa ga kuni
my/our [collective] country
我が国
Fujimi ga Oka
Noun: noun connector Fuji View Hill
富士見が丘
Seki ga hara Gateway Plains (site of the Battle of
関が原 Sekigahara)
Inu wa suki da ga, neko
wa kirai da.
Phrases: conjunction I like dogs but I hate cats.
犬は好きだが、猫は嫌い
だ。
hodo
Translates to: "as much as"; upper limit
ほど (程)
Kare hodo nihongo ga
umakunai.
Nouns My Japanese isn't as good as his.
彼ほど日本語がうまくな
い。
Hayai hodo ii.
Adjectives* The sooner, the better.
早いほどいい。
Aitsu o koroshitai
hodo kirai da I hate him enough to want to kill
Verb
あいつを殺したいほど嫌 him.
いだ。
Functions as: question denominator, alternative item
ka
conjunction, quotation expressing doubt; "whether", especially
か when used with dō ka ("or not").
Kore ka, sore ka,
Nouns, verbs: listing docchika erande yo.
This or that, choose one of them.
alternatives これか、それか、どっち
か選んでよ。
Iku ka [dō ka] wakaranai.
Noun, verbs: "whether (or I don't know [whether or not / if]
行くか（どうか）分から
not)" he'll go.
ない。
Dokoka de mita koto ga
Adverbs (interrogative): aru. I think I've seen you somewhere
uncertainty どこかで見たことがあ before. (You look familiar)
る。
Wakaru ka?
Phrases: question Do you understand? (informal)
分かるか？
Phrases: question, Eigo nante wakaru ka! Why the heck would I understand
rhetorical 英語なんて分かるか! English? (informal)
Sate, dekake yō ka?
Phrases: question, invitation Right then, shall we leave?
さて、出かけようか？
Iku ka to omoimasu ga...
Phrase: quotation
行くかと思います I think he'll go (but I'm not sure)...
expressing doubt
が。。。
kai
kai is a gentler and masculine variant of the question marker ka.
かい
Translates to: "I wonder" (Note: "Ka na" implies having mostly
made up one's mind. Drawing out the "na" [ka naa] implies less
ka na
certainty.)
かな
Etymology: ka + na

Kare wa ayashii hito ka

na. I wonder if he's a suspicious
Phrases
person.
彼は怪しい人かな。
kara Translates to: "from, after, because"
から Kara may be followed by no to link two nouns.
Tōkyō kara kaetta.
He returned from Tokyo.
東京から帰った。
Nouns: "from, out of" zutto mae kara no
hanashi a conversation from way back
ずっと前からの話
Owatte kara, kite
kudasai. Please come by after finishing
Verb (te form): "after"
終わってから、来てくだ (after you've finished).
さい。
Niku o tabenai kara,
Adjectives, Verbs: raamen wa dame da Because he doesn't eat meat,
"because" 肉を食べないから、ラー ramen is bad (a bad idea).
メンはだめだ。
Ka shira is like ka na, but is used more by women. See
also Gender differences in spoken Japanese.
ka shira
かしら Etymology: ka + shira, the irrealis form (i.e. negative form minus
the -nai) of shiru "to know"

Kare wa ayashii hito ka

shira. I wonder if he's a suspicious
Phrases
person.
彼は怪しい人かしら。
Translates to: "although, but"
kedo Etymology: kedo is a shortened version of formal keredomo. It
けど also appears semi-abbreviated and semi-formally
as keredo or kedomo.
 Kanojo wa hen da
kedo kirei da.
Adjectives, verbs She is strange but pretty
彼女は変だけどきれい
だ。
Translates to: "just, only"
kiri
Kiri is more rarely used than dake, functions as a noun and may
きり (切り) be followed by no.
futari kiri no o-mise a shop with just two people [who
Nouns
二人きりのお店 work there]
Translates to: "Similar to ka but recalling for the information what
kke you used to know."
っけ Etymology: kke origins from the auxiliary verb of Old Japanese
"keri".
Nani wo iou to shiteta
no da kke What we're you trying to
Nouns
何を言おうとしてたのだ say, again?
っけ
koro/goro Translates to: "around, about, approximately"
ごろ (頃) Koro functions as a noun and may be followed by no.
San-ji goro ni aimashō.
Nouns 三時ごろに会いましょ Let's meet around 3 o'clock.
う。
Functions as: Emphasis marker.
koso
There is no direct translation, but roughly analogous to
こそ "precisely" or "exactly", as in examples below.

Kyō koso, yaru zo!

Today, I'm going to do it!
今日こそ、やるぞ！
Kimi ga suki da kara
koso kore dake ganbatte
iru n da yo. It's precisely because I like
君が好きだからこそこれ you that I'm working this hard.
Phrases
だけがんばっているんだ
よ。
Kochira koso, yoroshiku
onegai shimasu. Nice to meet you, too.
こちらこそ、よろしくお (Emphasizes this side or me too)
願いします。
kurai/gurai Translates to: "about, approximately"
くらい・ぐらい (位) Kurai functions as a noun and may be followed by no.
Juppun kurai kakaru
Nouns It takes about 10 minutes.
十分くらいかかる。
made Translates to: "up to, until, as far as"
まで (迄) Indicates a time or place as a limit.
 Kono densha
wa, Shimonoseki
Nouns (specifically places made ikimasu. This train goes as far as
or times) Shimonoseki.
この電車は、下関まで行
きます。
Kaeru made matte iru.
Verb I'll wait until you come home.
帰るまで待っている。
Translates to: "by (a certain time)"
made ni
までに (迄に) Etymology: made + ni

Ku-ji made ni kaeru.

Nouns, verbs I'll come back by nine o'clock.
九時までに帰る。
me me (目 only): ordinal particle
め (目) me (め only): "Damn..."; abusive/pejorative
Amerika wa nikai
Classifiernouns: ordinal me desu. This is my second time to America.
アメリカは二回目です。
Orokamono me!
Noun: abusive "damn..." [You] damn fool!
愚か者め！
mo Translates to: "also"
も（亦） Mo always replaces wa and ga, but may follow other particles.
Watashi ni mo kureta.
Nouns, phrases She gave some to me, too.
私にもくれた。
Verb + mono (物) : creates a noun from the verb (only applies to
mono/mon certain verbs)
もの・もん もの/もん at the end of a sentence: casual feminine sentence
ender like の; もん is very feminine and a bit cheeky.
Nomimono
Drink
飲み物
Tabemono
With verbs Food
食べ物
Ikimono
Living thing
生き物
"Doushite konakatta no?"
"Jugyō ga attanda mono."
「どうしてこなかった "Why didn't you come?" "I had
class."
の？」「授業があったん
だもの。」
At the end of a sentence
"Doushite konakatta no?"
"Jugyō ga attanda mon."
「どうしてこなかった "Why didn't you come?" "I had
class, hah."
の？」「授業があったん
だもん。」
 mono de
Similar meaning as ので.
もので
mono ka/mon-ka Put at the end of sentences to strongly decline. (More gently : も
ものか/もんか の/もんですか)
Makeru-monka!
I will not surrender!
負けるもんか!

At the end of sentences Dare ga anna tokoro-ni

nido to iku-mondesuka! Who would dare to go to a place like
誰があんなところに二度 that for a second time!?
と行くもんですか!
mono nara
if (I/we/etc.) could
ものなら (物なら)
mono o Used in phrases to show deplore feelings about not doing
ものを something they should do.
"Sukida" to hito koto itte
kure-sae shi-tara kekkon
deki-ta mono o... If you had said "I like you", we
Phrases "好きだ"と一言言ってく would have gotten married...
れさえしたら、結婚でき
たものを...
Na (な only): used with a class of adjectives which behave
grammatically like nouns (see na-adjectives). A more archaic
form of this na is naru (なる), which is used in the same way.
If na follows a dictionary form verb, it is a negative command
na and naa ("Don't... "). However, if used with a verb stem, it implies the
な(and なる)・なあ・なぁ opposite: "Do...". It is also used to modify general nouns before
other particles which cannot directly follow nouns (e.g. no de).
Etymology: The na used with nouns (including na-adjectives) is
a form of the copula. Na or naa at the end of a sentence is a
variant of ne, implying more reflection.
Suru-na
Don't do (something).
するな
Verb
Tabe-na
Do eat / Please eat.
食べな
hen na hito
Na-adjectives a strange person
変な人
Hen da na!
Phrases How strange!
変だな！
nado Translates to: "for example, things like, such as, etc., and so on"
など (等) Functions as a noun and may be followed by no.
Nattō ya kabuki nado wa
Nihon dake ni aru. Things like natto and kabuki are
Nouns
納豆や歌舞伎などは日本 only in Japan.
だけにある。
 nanka/nante Functions to: emphasize disgust, contempt, or otherwise
なんか・なんて (何か・何 negative feelings of the speaker.
て) Nante is slightly more formal than nanka.
Jogen nanka iranai.
Nouns I don't need any (damn) advice.
助言なんかいらない。
Oyogu nante dekinai.
Verb[1] I can't swim.
泳ぐなんてできない。
Ōkiku nanka nai kedo,
kirei da. It's not big [or anything], but it's
Adjectives[2]
大きくなんかないけど、 clean.
きれいだ。
Translates to: "if"; conditional
nara
Hypothetical (仮定形) or conditional form of the copula da.
なら
Related to the more formal naraba.
Atsui nara, eakon o
Nouns, adjectives, verbs, tsukete If you're hot, turn on the air
phrases 暑いなら、エアコンを付 conditioner.
けて。
Translates to: "eh"; interjection, tag question
ne Similar to English "hey", "eh?", French "non?" and Spanish "no?"
ね Asks or shows agreement and reflection at phrase-end, also
used before sentences to catch listener's attention (informal).
Kimi wa kashikoi yo ne.
You're pretty smart, aren't you.
君は賢いよね。
Kakkō ii desu ne.
Phrases That's pretty neat, eh?
格好いいですね。
Ne, ima nanji?
Hey, what time is it?
ね、いま何時？
ni Translates to: "to, in, at, by"; indirect object, direction; following a
に na-adjective, it creates an adverb
Gakkō ni iru.
Noun: location I'm at/in school.
学校にいる。
Gakkō ni iku.
Noun: direction I'm going to school.
学校に行く。
Ore ni kaese.
Noun: indirect object Give it back to me.
俺に返せ。
Ka ni sasareta.
Noun: passiveagent I was bitten by a mosquito.
蚊にさされた。
Noun, verbs (stem only): Eiga o mi ni iku.
I'm going to see a movie.
purpose, intent 映画を見に行く。
teinei, teinei ni
Adjective: forms adverb polite, politely
丁寧、 丁寧に
 Formal version of de, functions in exactly the same way.
ni te
Etymology: Case particle ni + conjunctive particle te (cf. te form
にて of Japanese verbs)

Translates to: "for; in, to; in order to";

Etymology: ni + wa (always written は)
ni wa
には The wa part is the topic particle.
Serves as emphasis for a negative ending.

Shichimi wa, watashi ni

wa kara-sugiru. Shichimi is too spicy for me. (i.e.,
Nouns: "for" "you might like it, but I'm not
七味は、私には辛すぎ
touching it.")
る。
There are flowers in Kyōto.
Kyōto ni wa hana ga aru.
Noun: "in, to" (Lit.: As for in Kyōto, there are
京都には花がある。
flowers.)

Mizu o mitsukeru ni wa
Verb: "in order to" In order to find water
みずをみつけるには
Functions as: possession indicator, noun link, topic marker
(subordinate clauses), nominalization
When nominalizing whole phrases, the no may function either as
no emphasis or as a question, depending on tone of voice. Similar
の to English, a falling tone denotes a statement, and a rising tone
a question. Its use to mark statements tends to be more typical
of feminine speech. See also Gender differences in spoken
Japanese.

sensei no kuruma
Nouns: possession ex. a the teacher's car
先生の車
watashi no konpyuuta
Noun: possession ex. b My computer
私のコンピューター
anata no shukudai
Noun: possession ex. c your homework
あなたの宿題
kuruma no Toyota
Noun: linking Toyota the car [company]
車のトヨタ
Kare no tsukutta kēki wa
Noun: subject marker in oishikatta.
subordinate clauses (see The cake that he made was tasty.
彼の作ったケーキはおい
also: ga)
しかった。
Yasui no wa, kore.
i-adjectives: nominalization This is the cheap[er] one.
安いのは、これ。
Taberu no ga daisuki.
Verb: nominalization I love eating.
食べるのが大好き。
Phrases: nominalization Mō, tabeta no? Have you eaten yet?
 もう、食べたの？
Kuruma na no?
Is it a car?
車なの？
Kare ni mō ageta no yo!
I already gave it to him!
彼にもうあげたのよ！
Translates to: "because"
no de
Etymology: no + de
ので Colloquially, no de is often shortened to n de.
Tesuto ga aru no de,
ikenai.
Because I have a test, I can't go.
テストがあるので、行け
Phrases[3] ない。
Gakkō na no de, kin'en
Because this is a school it's no
da.
smoking.
学校なので、禁煙だ。
Translates to: "only, just"
nomi Nomi is more formal and far less common than dake.
のみ Unlike dake, its only meaning is that of small quantity or
singleness of frequency.
Tō-ten de wa, Nihon en
nomi go-riyō
itadakemasu. This store accepts Japanese Yen
Nouns
only.
当店では、日本円のみご
利用頂けます。
Translates to: "despite, although, even though; would have; in
order to"
Etymology: no + ni
no ni Nouns and na-adjectives must be followed by na before using
のに this particle.
No ni has a stronger meaning than kedo when used to mean
"although", and conveys regret when used to mean "would
have".
Benkyō shiteiru no ni,
Adjectives, verbs: eigo ga hanasenai. Although I am studying, I can't
"although" 勉強しているのに、英語 speak English.
が話せない。
Kaette kitara, yokatta no
Adjectives (conditional), ni. It would have been nice if you had
verbs (conditional): "would
帰ってきたら、よかった come home.
have"
のに。
Hikkosu no ni torakku ga
Verb (plain form): "in order hitsuyō da. (In order) to move, you need a
to" 引っ越すのにトラックが truck.
必要だ。
Functions as: direct object
o Translates to: "through, from, past (motion verbs only)"
 を This is unrelated to the honorific prefix o, written お or 御.
Neko ga esa o tabeta.
Nouns: direct object The cat ate the food.
猫が餌を食べた。
Sora o tobu
Noun: through, etc. (motion) fly through the sky
空を飛ぶ
Functions as: Masculine sentence/phrase final particle,
sa/saa indicating explanation of obvious facts. It is softer than yo.
さ・さあ・さぁ Saa: Feminine sentence/phrase final particle, used like ne, but
often more frequently as extremely colloquial filler.
Kanojo ga inai kara,
dansu niwa ikanai sa. I don't have a girlfriend, so I'm not
Phrases: masculine sa
彼女がいないから、ダン going to the dance.
スには行かないさ。
Kinō saa, gakkō de saa,
sensei ni saa, chūi
sarete saa, chō Like, yesterday, in, like, school,
Phrases: saa mukatsuita. I, like, got fussed at by, like, some
昨日さあ、学校でさあ、 teacher, and it totally made me sick.
先生にさあ、注意されて
さあ、超むかついた。
Sae: "even"
Note the meaning overlaps with mo. Sae implies (usually)
sae
positive emphasis that the evident extent of something is greater
さえ than initially expected. Can be followed by mo for additional
emphasis. Contrast this with sura.

Kanji sae kakeru.

Nouns He can even write kanji.
漢字さえ書ける。
Translates to: "even"
de sae
Etymology: de + sae
でさえ De sae replaces wa and ga, like de mo above.
Sonna koto wa saru de
saedekiru.
Nouns Even a monkey can do that.
そんなことは猿でさえで
きる。
sae...ba/ra Function: sae followed by a verb in the conditional means "if
さえ…ば・ら only".
Kore sae nomeba,
futsukayoi ga naoru yo. If you would just drink this, your
Nouns
これさえ飲めば、二日酔 hangover would get better.
いが直るよ。
shi
Translates to: "and what's more" (conjunction)
し
Kirei da shi, hiroi shi, ii It's clean, it's spacious; this
Adjectives, verbs
ne, kono apaato! apartment is nice, isn't it!
 きれいだし、広いし、い
いね、このアパート。
Translates to: "only, just"
Shika must be followed by a negative verb.
shika
Shika may be compounded as dakeshika, kirishika,
しか and nomishika (plus the negative verb) to stress an extremely
limited quantity or frequency.
Ichi en dama shika nai.
Nouns I have just a one-yen coin.
一円玉しかない。
Yūbin-kyoku ni iku
shika nai. The only thing [to do] is to go to the
Verb
post office.
郵便局に行くしかない。
Translates to: "even"
sura Note the meaning overlaps with mo. Sura implies (usually)
すら negative emphasis that the evident extent of something is less
than initially expected. Contrast this with sae.

Kanji sura kakenai.

Nouns He can't even write kanji.
漢字すら書けない。
to Translates to: "and" (conjunction); "with" or "as with"
と (preposition); "if"; quotation.
sore to kore
Nouns: conjunction that and this
それとこれ
sore to kore to
Nouns: conjunction that or this
それ と これ と
taiyōkei dasshutsu e
Verbs: transition/state to chikazuite itta They were getting close to the
change 太陽系 脱出 へ と 近づい point of leaving the Solar System.
て 行った｡
Boku to ikitai?
Noun: preposition Do you want to go with me?
僕と行きたい？
Benkyō suru to wakaru.
Verb, adjectives: "if" If you study, you'll understand.
勉強すると分かる。
Umi made! to sakenda.
Any phrase: quotation "To the sea!" he cried.
「海まで！」と叫んだ。
Functions as: A listing particle used like nado. Often used with
to ka the question word nani (what) in the form nantoka ("something
とか or other").
Etymology: to + ka
Kani to ka, hotate to
ka, zenbu tabeta yo. We had crab, scallops, [other
Nouns
蟹とか、帆立とか、全部 stuff,] we ate them all.
食べたよ。
to mo Tomo (共): "both, all of the"
 とも (共) To mo (no kanji): "even if, even though; at the ...-est; whether;
[emphasis]"
If following a noun and used with a negative verb, meaning
changes to "none".
Etymology: to + mo

Watashi wa, aitsura

ga futari tomo kirai da.
I hate the both of those guys.
私は、あいつらが、二人
とも嫌いだ。
Counted nouns Zannen nagara, sono
kuruma wa san dai
tomo irimasen. Unfortunately, we need none
of those three cars.
残念ながら、その車は三
台とも要りません。
Dō shiyō to mo amari
susumanai. No matter how we try [to do
Volitional verbs something], we don't make much
どうしようともあまり進
progress.
まない。
Sukunaku to mo go-jū
mairu aruite kita. We walked at least fifty miles [to get
少なくとも五十マイル歩 here].
Adverbial (continuative) いてきた。
form of i-adjectives Osoku to mo itte miyō
yo. Even if it's late, let's go and check
遅くともいってみよう it out.
よ。
Kau to mo kawanai to
Verb (paired with same verb mo hakkiri shite imasen. It isn't clear whether they're going
in negative) 買うとも買わないともは to buy or not.
っきりしていません。
Verb, adjectives Waratte ii to mo.
It's okay to laugh.
笑っていいとも。[4]
This use is similar to
the English expression,
Ikimasen to mo.
"as if [something] As if I would go.
wouldn't [phrase]." 行きませんとも。

Written as って in hiragana, this is another form of to. It is a

shortened version of toiu (という), the present progressive
form of the verb iu (言う), "to say"; it functions as a type of
verbal quotation mark. It is sometimes used for a direct
tte quote, sometimes for an indirect quote, and sometimes
って simply to emphasize a word or concept.
tte is casual, and (because it can be a direct quote) the
politeness level of the quoted material does not necessarily
reflect on the speaker. If you wish to be assuredly formal,
use to iimasu instead of tte.
 Sugu kimasu tte Could be, "He said he'll come
soon" (more politely) or, "He
すぐ来ますって。
said, 'I'll come soon.'" (less so).
Any phrase Arabiago tte,
muzukashikunai? "Arabic─isn't it difficult?"
(Emphasizing a word; used
アラビア語って難し
instead of というものは or は)
くない？
Functions as:'strong emphasis marker, especially when the
tteba
speaker has grown impatient.
ってば Etymology: te + ba
kōhī datteba !
Any phrase: quotation I said "coffee"!
コーヒーだってば！
は wa is a topic marker. It is written with the hiragana は ha,
wa
rather than the hiragana わ, wa. Not to be confused with the
は
particle が.
わ wa is used at the end of the sentence to establish an
emotional connection. It is used by both genders when it is
wa pronounced with a falling intonation especially in dialects of
わ Kansai, Nagoya and elsewhere, but with a rising intonation,
it is generally used by females. This also conveys a certain
deference to the speaker's wishes and emotions.
Ya is used to make incomplete lists of things (usually
ya
nouns). To make an exhaustive list, the particle to is used
や instead.
Watashi no suki na
tabemono wa okashi
ya pan ya mikan
nado desu "I like snacks, bread and
私の好きな食べ物は tangerines."
お菓子やパンやミカ
ンなどです。
yara
Denotes either uncertainty or listing.
やら
Yo comes at the end of the sentence, and is used to make
assertions. Compare zo and ze below.
yo
Yo is also sometimes used after nouns, and functions as
よ a vocative marker. This is especially used in older speech,
poetry, and songs.

Kaeru yo!
"I'm going home!"
帰るよ！
Saraba, tomo yo
"Farewell, oh friend!"
さらば友よ。
yori Yori can mean "from", and is also used to make
より comparisons. Yori is usually written より in hiragana.
 Kono densha-wa,
Kashiwa-yori saki wa
kaku eki-ni
tomarimasu "This train will stop at every
この電車は柏より先 station after Kashiwa".
は各駅に止まりま
す。
Dare-yori-mo
kanemochi-ni naritai "I want to become richer than
誰よりも金持ちにな anyone (else)".
りたい。
ze ze indicates assertion. Used mostly by men, it is never
ぜ considered polite. Compare yo and zo.
zo indicates assertion. Used mainly by men, it is considered
zo
somewhat less forceful and more positive than ze.
ぞ Compare yo and ze above.
Zutsu denotes an equal or gradual distribution of quantity
zutsu like "at a time" in "one at a time", "by" in "one by one", or
ずつ "each" in "one each". It usually follows counted nouns, and
is written with hiragana as ずつ.
Either "I ate two pieces of
Chokorēto-o ni-ko- chocolate on each (countable)
zutsu tabemashita times." or "Each one ate
Noun: counted
チョコレートを二個 (=shared) two pieces of
ずつ食べました。 chocolate (from larger
amount)."