You've learned hiragana. Now it's time to say your first real sentence. The good news: Japanese basic sentence patterns are extremely regular — master a few particles, and building sentences is like snapping Lego bricks together.
In this lesson we'll learn 5 core building blocks: は, です, ではありません, の, and も.
は and です: The Japanese "is"
In English, "is" comes after the subject: "I am Taiwanese." In Japanese, です (the equivalent of "is") goes at the very end of the sentence.
Here's the structure:
A は B です。 → A is B.
- は is pronounced wa (not ha) and marks the topic — "what we're talking about"
- です goes at the end and means "is" (technically a copula)
| Japanese | Breakdown | English |
|---|---|---|
| 私は台湾人です。 | 私(I) は + 台湾人(Taiwanese) + です | I am Taiwanese. |
| 私は小林です。 | 私(I) は + 小林(Kobayashi) + です | I am Kobayashi. |
| あなたは先生ですか。 | あなた(you) は + 先生(teacher) + ですか | Are you a teacher? |
When speaking Japanese, pause slightly at は: "わたしは⏸ こばやしです." Particles are natural breath points.
Where does this structure come from?
Japanese word order actually comes from Classical Chinese. "I am Kūkai" in Classical Chinese is:
吾乃空海是也。 (I + [topic marker] + Kūkai + is + [emphasis])
Notice "是" (is) goes near the end. When Japanese speakers adopted Chinese grammar, they kept this "is goes last" structure — which became です. And the Classical Chinese topic marker "乃" evolved into the particle は.
ではありません: Turning "is" into "is not"
Now that you know "is," you need "is not." The negative form is much longer:
A は B ではありません。 → A is not B.
| Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|
| です | ではありません |
| is | is not |
Why such a big difference? Because です is actually an abbreviation. Its full form is であります — Japanese speakers found it too long and shortened it to です. But the negative ではありません can't be shortened, so you have to say the whole thing.
| Japanese | Breakdown | English |
|---|---|---|
| 私は日本人ではありません。 | 私 は + 日本人 + ではありません | I am not Japanese. |
| 私は日本語の先生ではありません。 | 私 は + 日本語の先生 + ではありません | I am not a Japanese teacher. |
A common self-introduction combo:
私は日本人ではありません。台湾人です。 → I'm not Japanese. I'm Taiwanese.
Notice the second sentence drops 私は — Japanese regularly omits the subject when it's the same as before.
の: The Japanese "of" / "'s"
The particle の works almost exactly like "of" or "'s" in English:
A の B → A's B / B of A
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| 私の先生 | my teacher |
| 日本語の学生 | a student of Japanese |
| 会社の電話番号 | the company's phone number |
In a full sentence:
私の先生は日本人です。 → My teacher is Japanese.
Breaking it down:
- 私の先生 = my teacher ← topic
- は ← topic marker (pause here)
- 日本人 ← identity
- です ← is
Read it as: "わたしの せんせいは⏸ にほんじんです."
も: Upgrading "is" to "is also"
In English you add "also/too." In Japanese, you use も:
A も B です。 → A is also B.
Key rule: も replaces は. When も appears, は disappears — because も already includes the topic-marking function.
| With は (neutral) | With も (also) |
|---|---|
| 山田さんは日本人です。 | 山田さんも日本人です。 |
| Yamada is Japanese. | Yamada is also Japanese. |
Here's a question using both も and か:
山田さんも日本人ですか。 → Is Yamada also Japanese?
Both "also" (も) and "?" (か) fit in one sentence — no extra rearranging needed.
ですか: Adding "?" to any statement
English rearranges word order for questions ("You are..." → "Are you...?"). Japanese simply adds か after です:
A は B ですか。 → Is A B?
| Statement | Question |
|---|---|
| あなたは先生です。 | あなたは先生ですか。 |
| You are a teacher. | Are you a teacher? |
No word order change needed. No question mark required (though it's sometimes written). Just add か and slightly raise your intonation at the end.
Particle Summary
Here are all 5 particles/copulas from this lesson:
| Particle | Reading | Function | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| は | wa | marks the topic | after topic |
| です | desu | "is" (affirmative) | end of sentence |
| ではありません | dewa arimasen | "is not" (negative) | end of sentence |
| の | no | "'s / of" (possession) | between nouns |
| も | mo | "also" (replaces は) | after topic |
| か | ka | "?" (question) | after です |
Summary
- は〜です: A は B です = A is B. は is read "wa"; です goes at the end
- ではありません: The negative form of です. It's long, but can't be shortened
- の: Equals "'s" or "of." 私の先生 = my teacher
- も: Equals "also." Replaces は. A も B です = A is also B
- か: Add か to the end = question. No word order change needed
- Pause at particles when speaking: "わたしは⏸ たいわんじんです"
Practice Questions
Q1. Translate to Japanese: "I am a student."
Show answer
私は学生です。 (わたしは がくせいです。)
"I" = 私, add は to mark the topic, "student" = 学生 in the middle, です at the end.
Q2. What does 「私は日本語の先生ではありません。」 mean?
Show answer
I am not a Japanese (language) teacher.
Breakdown: 私(I) は + 日本語の先生(Japanese teacher) + ではありません(am not).
Q3. How do you say "Satō is also a Japanese teacher" in Japanese? (Hint: use も)
Show answer
佐藤さんも日本語の先生です。
Since there's "also," use も instead of は. 佐藤さん + も + 日本語の先生 + です.