Grammar Patterns
- Desu です — Polite "to be" — N5: The polite copula: X is Y
- これ / それ / あれ — Demonstratives — N5: This / that / that over there (things)
- Question Words — なに, どこ, だれ, いつ — N5: What, where, who, when and more
- Counters — つ, 人, 枚, 台, 本 — N5: Counting different types of things
- Comparison — より and のほうが — N5: Comparing two things
- 〜ている — Ongoing action / state — N4: Progressive and resultant state
- 〜てから — After doing — N4: Sequence: after doing X, then Y
- 〜たら — If / when — N4: Conditional: if/when X happens
- 〜ながら — While doing — N4: Doing two actions at the same time
- 〜ば — Conditional (ba form) — N4: Conditional "if" using the ba-form
- 〜そうだ — Looks like / Hearsay — N3: Two そうだ: appearance (looks like) and hearsay (I heard)
- 〜ようだ / 〜みたいだ — Seems like — N3: Expressing inference based on evidence
- 〜らしい — Seems / Typical of — N3: Hearsay-based inference and "typical of"
- 〜はずだ — Should be / Must be — N3: Strong expectation based on reasoning
- 〜わけだ / 〜わけではない — That means / Not necessarily — N3: Logical conclusion and partial negation
- 〜べきだ — Should / Ought to — N3: Moral obligation or advice
- 〜ことになる / 〜ことにする — Decided — N3: Decisions made by others vs by oneself
- 〜ようにする / 〜ようになる — Try to / Come to — N3: Habitual effort vs change of state
- 〜てしまう — Completely / Unintentionally — N3: Completion or regret
- 〜ておく / 〜てある — In advance / Resulting state — N3: Doing something in preparation vs state after action
- 〜てみる — Try doing — N3: Attempting something to see the result
- 〜によって — Depending on / By — N3: Cause, agent, or variation
- 〜として / 〜について — As / About — N3: Role or capacity, and topic
- 〜ばかり — Only / Just — N3: Only, just did, or nothing but
- 〜ところ — About to / In the middle / Just did — N3: Temporal stage of an action
- 〜わけにはいかない — Cannot afford to — N2: Something you cannot do because of social or personal obligation
- 〜ざるを得ない — Have no choice but to — N2: Forced to do something by circumstances
- 〜かねない — Might (undesirable) — N2: There is a risk that something bad could happen
- 〜に違いない — Must be — N2: Strong conviction based on evidence
- 〜に限る — Is the best — N2: The best choice for a situation
- 〜というより — Rather than — N2: Correcting a description to a better one
- 〜ものの — Although — N2: Concession with a contrasting follow-up
- 〜からこそ — Precisely because — N2: Emphasising a specific reason
- 〜だけあって — As expected of — N2: Praising because it meets expectations
- 〜がたい — Hard to — N2: Difficult to do (emotionally)
- 〜次第 — As soon as — N2: Depending on / as soon as
- 〜に伴って — Along with — N2: One change causing another
- 〜一方だ — Keep on (changing one way) — N2: A trend that continues in one direction
- 〜に加えて — In addition to — N2: Adding one thing on top of another
- 〜ずにはいられない — Cannot help but — N1: An uncontrollable feeling or urge
- 〜んばかりに — As if about to — N1: An exaggerated degree of (almost) an action
- 〜までもない — No need to — N1: Something unnecessary to do
- 〜きらいがある — Tendency (negative) — N1: A tendency to do something undesirable
- 〜といえども — Even though — N1: Formal concession, "even if"
- 〜が早いか — As soon as — N1: Two actions happening almost simultaneously
- 〜なり — As soon as — N1: An immediate action after another
- 〜を余儀なくされる — Be forced to — N1: Being compelled by circumstances