Foreigners who have lived in Japan for a long time often end up grateful for having grown up speaking English — it's just not easy to learn as a second language. English pronunciation, spelling, and grammar are considerably more complicated than Japanese. Irregular verbs and plurals, silent letters, long and short vowel sounds, as well as other inexplicables become more apparent when attempting to teach English, or when compared with studying Japanese. Having said that, there are some doozies in Japanese, as well.

Contemplating Wa

Probably one of the most common sounds in the Japanese language, the tiny syllable wa carries some lofty responsibilities. Not only is it used as a prefix for anything that is characteristically Japanese, its presence is virtually demanded in every properly uttered sentence. (To make matters even more complicated, it can be written with any number of different characters.)

Attach wa to fuu and you have a word that encompasses anything resembling traditional Japanese style: wafuu no ie (Japanese housing), wafuu-ryoori (Japanese cooking). Written with different kanji, it also refers to a circle or loop; change the kanji again and you have “unity” or “harmony.” Combined with hei, it becomes heiwa, the word for “peace.” Left alone, it is an expression of pure emotion or admiration, Wa!

Now comes the tricky part. Wa may be used as a subject identifier. For example, if you want to say something about your dog, you have to say wa after referring to your pet. Your listeners will then know that the main subject of your sentence is your dog.

Once your ears become adjusted to Japanese, you may notice that wa is not uttered in every sentence. This is because in conversational Japanese, the subject is often not articulated, only implied or assumed. In some situations, therefore, wa is not audible, but its invisible presence is acknowledged.

Where Are You Going?

Three different direction or place identifiers exist in Japanese. Similar to the English “to” and “at,” these words communicate where someone or something is going (ni or e), or they can indicate the location at which an event or situation is taking place (ni or de). Having three to choose from, however, makes things a little complicated.

Ni alone has over eighteen different uses listed in Merriam Webster's Japanese-English Learner's Dictionary. These include:

• Existence at a certain point

• Final location of something that has been moved

• Moving toward something or somewhere

• Giving and receiving

• The changing of seasons

• Making a decision or comparison

However short and innocent it may appear, the syllable ni wears many hats in the Japanese language.

Coming in a close second to ni, de is another indicator of where the action is. It also helps you describe how you found the action when it is tacked on after the means of transportation:

Other uses of de include setting limits of time or space and giving a reason or identifying a cause:

E is another direction indicator. Often interchangeable with ni, e is most noticeably used in welcoming or directing someone:

All on Its Own

Another trickster in Japanese is the particle o. The particle o usually follows a noun and helps to identify the direct object. In romanized transliteration, a hyphen separates the direct object from the particle:

Sometimes acting like a place-identifier, o can also be used to indicate movement or location as well as the action of leaving a place or institution. For example: