Reverse Engineer Some Japanese
On this page we will take a Japanese sentence, such as the following, and examine how it is constructed step-by-step. The buttons in each cell make it possible to interact with the examples on this page.
<
>
ふつう
普通
ordinary
の
がっこう
学校
school
で


うたう。
歌う
sings.
Interactive Introduction
Japanese Complete vs. Classical Japanese Pedagogy

Japanese Termけいようどうしめいしどうしけいようし
日本語の文法語形容動詞名詞動詞形容詞
TranslationAdjectival NounNounVerbAdjectival Verb
Classical Pedagogyna-adjectivenounverbs (u, ru)i-adj.
↓∴
Japanese Completena-nounsno-nounsu-verbs*i-verbs
*subcategorised to u-verbs and ru-verbs
Valid Sentences

A sentence can be
  1. any number of Bunsetsu Jars before a Sentence-Final Fitter.
  2. A sentence can also be just a Sentence-Final Fitter.

A verb is a complete sentence in Japanese. Verbs on their own are a kind of Sentence-Final Fitter.
<
>
ひげを
髭を
beard
そる。
剃る
shaves.
Bunsetsu Jars can be arranged in any sequence before the Sentence-Final Fitter without altering the meaning of the sentence.
Scramble!
いえで
家で
At home
おとうさんが
お父さんが
Father
あさに
朝に
in the morning
ひげを
髭を
beard
そる。
剃る
shaves.
Sentence-Final-Fitters
In the Japanese Complete curriculum we have simplified some of the nomenclature surrounding Japanese.
For example, we dismiss with adjectives altogether and opt for nouns and verbs of two kinds each. You can see the differences with classical approaches in the table under Differences.

Valid Sentence-Final-Fitters are
  1. Just a plain form verb. Or,
  2. A base noun with the helper verb (copula) だ [da].

Show me a Sentence-Final Fitter!
いえだ
家だ。
Is a home.

The copula [da] roughly carries "is-ness."

Verbs have "is-ness" built-in.

"Zero" denotes an unstated subject and can be read as "Unstated Subject" instead.
Types of Verb
In Japanese Complete we teach two main categories of verb,
  1. u-verbs and
  2. i-verbs.
Japanese Termどうしけいようし
日本語の文法語動詞形容詞
TranslationVerbAdjectival Verb
Classical Pedagogyverbs (u, ru)i-adj.
↓∴
Japanese Completeu-verbs*i-verbs
*subcategorised to u-verbs and ru-verbs
Types of Noun
In Japanese Complete we teach two types of Noun,
  1. no-nouns and
  2. na-nouns.
Japanese Termけいようどうしめいし
日本語の文法語形容動詞名詞
TranslationAdjectival NounNoun
Classical Pedagogyna-adjectivenoun
↓∴
Japanese Completena-nounsno-nouns
Particles
Particles are role-marking words in Japanese written using Hiragana alone. A Particle attaches to a Base Noun in order to complete a Bunsetsu Jar. (Particles attach to Base Nouns to become a Lid for the Bunsetsu Jar.) Below is just a handful of particles from Japanese. Modern estimates put the total number of unique particles between 180-270.

ParticleIndicates
がSubject
をDirect Object
にPrecise Time or Physical Point (Destination, Origin)
でSetting/Locality or Instrument of Accomplishment
のPossesion (apostrophe S: Zero's...), Subcategorization
Valid Jars
Bunsetsu Jars can be,
  1. A Base Noun + a Particle or,
  2. A Modifier + Base Noun + Particle.
Show me a valid jar!
いえ
家
home
で
As stated above, Valid Bunsetsu Jars can also be a Modifier + a Base Noun + a Particle.
What are Modifiers?
Modifiers are description words of the nouns that follow.
Base Nouns as Modifiers
Base Nouns as Modifiers require thier corresponding modifier-making letter, "no" or "na."
  1. no-nouns need の attached,
  2. na-nouns need な attached.
Show me a jar with a no-noun modifier!
にほん
日本
Japanese
の
いえ
家
home
で
As mentioned above, Base Nouns as Modifiers require thier corresponding modifier-making letter, "no" or "na." Click to see another valid bunsetsu jar with a na-noun modifier. Notice how the na-noun has "na" attached, all before the Root Noun of the jar.
Show me a jar with a na-noun modifier!
すてき
すてき
fantastic
な
いえ
家
home
で
Verbs as Modifiers
Verbs as Modifiers remain unchanged from their plain form. Verbs do not need a special modifier-making letter, they simply append to the front of the Base Noun they modify.
Show me a jar with an i-verb modifier!
たかい
高い
expensive
いえ
家
home
で
Both i-verbs and u-verbs can prepend a base noun to modify it. In this form, the verbs are describing the base noun. In Japanese Complete, we refer to these as "verbing-nouns" to make it easy to understand what they are doing.
A good example is names like Sitting-Bear or Standing-Bull, these verbs that come in front explain what the base noun is doing. In Japanese, verbs prepending nouns creates a congruent effect.
Show me a jar with an u-verb modifier!
たずねる
訪ねる
visiting
いえ
家
house
で
Putting it All Together
We can place modifiers in front of Base Nouns in any Valid Bunsetsu Jar or SFF.
<
>
のびる
伸びる
growing
ひげ
髭
beard
を


そる。
剃る
shaves.
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