2015年1月18日日曜日
Wa VS Ga
| Particles: Wa VS Ga | |
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Particles are probably one of the most difficult and confusing aspects of Japanese sentences. Among particles, the question I am often asked is about the use of "wa（は）" and "ga（が）." They seems to make many people confused, but don't be intimidated by them! Let's have a look at the functions of these particles.
Topic Marker and Subject Marker
Roughly speaking, "wa" is a topic marker, and "ga" is a subject marker. The topic is often the same as the subject, but not necessary. The topic can be anything that a speaker wants to talk about (It can be an object, location or any other grammatical element). In this sense, it is similar to the English expressions, "As for ~" or "Speaking of ~."
| Watashi wa gakusei desu.私は学生です。 | I am a student. (As for me, I am a student.) |
| Nihongo wa omoshiroi desu.日本語は面白いです。 | Japanese is interesting. (Speaking of Japanese, it is interesting.) |
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Basic Differences Between Ga and Wa
"Wa" is used to mark something that has already been introduced into the conversation, or is familiar with both a speaker and a listener. (proper nouns, genetic names etc.) "Ga" is used when a situation or happening is just noticed or newly introduced. See the following example.
| Mukashi mukashi, ojii-san ga sunde imashita. Ojii-san wa totemo shinsetsu deshita.昔々、おじいさんが住んでいました。 おじいさんはとても親切でした。 | Once upon a time, there lived an old man. He was very kind. |
In the first sentence, "ojii-san" is introduced for the first time. It is the subject, not the topic. The second sentence describes about "ojii-san" that is previously mentioned. "Ojii-san" is now the topic, and is marked with "wa" instead of "ga."
Wa as Contrast
Beside being a topic marker, "wa" is used to show contrast or to emphasize the subject.
| Biiru wa nomimasu ga, wain wa nomimasen.ビールは飲みますが、 ワインは飲みません。 | I drink beer, but I don't drink wine. |
The thing being contrasted may or may not stated, but with this usage, the contrast is implied.
| Ano hon wa yomimasen deshita.あの本は読みませんでした。 | I didn't read that book (though I read this one). |
Particles such as "ni（に）," "de（で）," "kara（から）" and "made（まで）" can be combined with "wa" (double particles) to show contrast.
| Osaka ni wa ikimashita ga, Kyoto ni wa ikimasen deshita. 大阪には行きましたが、 京都には行きませんでした。 | I went to Osaka, but I didn't go to Kyoto. |
| Koko de wa tabako o suwanaide kudasai.ここではタバコを 吸わないでください。 | Please don't smoke here (but you may smoke there). |
Whether "wa" indicates a topic or a contrast, it depends on the context or the intonation.
Ga with Question Words
When a question word such as "who" and "what" is the subject of a sentence, it is always followed by "ga," never by "wa." To answer the question, it also has to be followed by "ga."
| Dare ga kimasu ka.誰が来ますか。 | Who is coming? |
| Yoko ga kimasu.陽子が来ます。 | Yoko is coming. |
Ga as Emphasis
"Ga" is used for emphasis, to distinguish a person or thing from all others. If a topic is marked with "wa," the comment is the most important part of the sentence. On the other hand, if a subject is marked with "ga," the subject is the most important part of the sentence. In English, these differences are sometimes expressed in tone of voice. Compare these sentences.
| Taro wa gakkou ni ikimashita.太郎は学校に行きました。 | Taro went to school. |
| Taro ga gakkou ni ikimashita.太郎が学校に行きました。 | Taro is the one who went to school. |
Ga in a Special Circumstance
The object of the sentence is usually marked by the particle "o," but some verbs and adjectives (expressing like/dislike, desire, potential, necessity, fear, envy etc.) take "ga" instead of "o."
| Kuruma ga hoshii desu.車が欲しいです。 | I want a car. |
| Nihongo ga wakarimasu.日本語が分かります。 | I understand Japanese. |
Ga in Subordinate Clauses
The subject of a subordinate clause normally takes "ga" to show that the subjects of the subordinate and main clauses are different.
| Watashi wa Mika ga kekkon shita koto o shiranakatta.私は美香が結婚した ことを知らなかった。 | I didn't know that Mika got married. |
Review
Now let's review the rules about "wa" and "ga."
| wa は | gaが |
| * Topic marker * Contrast | * Subject marker * With question words * Emphasize * Instead of "o" * In subordinate clauses |
2015年1月6日火曜日
2015年1月5日月曜日
猫
Translingual[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Simplified from 貓 (豸 → 犭)
In the current form, semantic 犭 (“small animal [originally meaning dog]”) + phonetic 苗
Han character[edit]
猫 (radical 94 犬+9, 12 strokes, cangjie input 大竹廿田 (KHTW), composition ⿰犭苗)
References[edit]
- KangXi: page 714, character 27
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 20535
- Dae Jaweon: page 1127, character 1
- Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 2, page 1352, character 1
- Unihan data for U+732B
Chinese[edit]
| simpl. | 猫 | |
|---|---|---|
| trad. | 貓 | |
Pronunciation[edit]
[Expand]
- Mandarin
- (Pinyin): (mao1)
- (Zhuyin): ㄇㄠ
- Cantonese (Jyutping): maau1
- Hakka (Pha̍k-fa-sṳ): meu
- Min Nan (POJ): bâ / niau
- Wu (WT Romanisation): mau (T3); miau (T3)
Noun[edit]
猫 (classifier 只)
- (Beginning Mandarin) cat
Compounds[edit]
[show ▼]Derivations
See also[edit]
- 喵 (miāo) meow, the onomatopoeic cry of a cat
Japanese[edit]
Kanji[edit]
猫
(common “Jōyō” kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 貓)
Readings[edit]
- Goon: みょう (myō), (historical) めう (meu)
- Kan’on: びょう (byō), (historical) べう (beu)
- Kun: ねこ (neko)
Etymology 1[edit]
| Kanji in this term |
| 猫 |
| ねこ Grade: S |
| kun'yomi |
From Old Japanese. /*ni1a-ko1ma/ > /ne1ko1ma/ > /neko/
Shortened from nekoma: see below.
Pronunciation[edit]
- Kun'yomi
- IPA(key): [ne̞.ꜜko̞]
Noun[edit]
猫 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 貓, counter 匹, hiragana ねこ, katakana ネコ, romaji neko)
- a cat [quotations ▼]
Derived terms[edit]
- 子猫, 仔猫 (こねこ, koneko): a kitten
- 黒猫 (くろねこ, クロネコ, kuro neko): a black cat
- シュレーディンガーの猫 (シュレーディンガーのねこ, Shurēdingā no neko): Schrödinger's cat
- 猫手 (ねこて, nekote)
- 唐猫
- 化け猫
- 招き猫
- 猫かぶり
- とらねこ
- どらねこ
- やまねこ
- 猫かわいがり
Idioms[edit]
- 猫も杓子も
- 猫の手も借りたい
- 猫舌
- 猫に小判
- 猫の額
- 借りてきた猫
Etymology 2[edit]
From Old Japanese. /*ni1a-ko1ma/ > /ne1ko1ma/
Originally a compound of にゃ (nya, “onomatopoeia for the sound a cat makes (compare English mew)”) + こま (koma, “four-legged animal”).
Obsolete; replaced by shorter form neko in modern Japanese.
Pronunciation[edit]
- Kun'yomi
- IPA(key): [ne̞.ko̞.mä]
Noun[edit]
猫 (hiragana ねこま, romaji nekoma)
- (obsolete) a cat [quotations ▼]
References[edit]
- 1968 January 4 [931-938], Shitagō Minamoto; Kyōto Daigaku Bungakubu Kokugogaku Kokubungaku Kenkyūshitu, Shohon Shūsei Wamyō Ruijushō: Honbunhen (in Japanese), Kyōto: Rinsen, ISBN 4-653-00507-9:
Korean[edit]
Hanja[edit]
猫 (myo) (hangeul 묘, McCune-Reischauer myo, Yale myo)
- (고양이 묘, goyang-i): cat
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