Why Japanese is easy:
First of all, let me give you an introduction of Japanese grammar. Basically, the composition of the grammar is just the opposite or reverse of that in English.
In English we form a basic oration with following pattern, Subject + Verb + Object
But with Japanese language, the equivalent oration could be made with following patter, (Subject) + Object + Verb
In Japanese conversations, it is often that the Subject is omitted. While the Object, on the other hand, can also be omitted during obvious situations.
Examples:
English
A: I bought a book yesterday.
B: Have you read it already?
Japanese → direct translation, word by word in ( ).
A: Kinoo hon o kaimashita. (Yesterday, book, bought)
B: Moo yonda? (already read?)
English
A: I bought a book yesterday.
B: Have you read it already?
Japanese → direct translation, word by word in ( ).
A: Kinoo hon o kaimashita. (Yesterday, book, bought)
B: Moo yonda? (already read?)
Did you notice that subject “I”, “you” and object “it” are omitted in the Japanese conversation?
Many people ask if Japanese is a difficult language to learn. I would say no! It is very easy to learn how to speak Japanese. The reasons are:
Not a tone language
Unlike Chinese or Thai, Japanese is not a tone language, Therefore, you just need to read through as you do in rōmaji or Hiragana (*but please note that there are some pronunciation rules. Please check it here)
No verb conjugation depending on the subject
e.g. There is no subject-verb agreement with third person, present tense which we usually apply in English. Also, unlike French or Spanish, there is no verb conjugation depending on subject. I go. She goes. → “I go. She go.” In Japanese
No plural nouns “s”
Japanese noun does not take a plural form, that is, it does not change spelling even if it refers to two or more in number.
e.g. One book, two books → “One book, two book” in Japanese
No article
You don’t need to attach articles such as “the” or “a/an” in Japanese. On the other hand, the major difference between English and Japanese is particle. There are many different kinds of particles and even some particles have several functions. Main role of particles is to indicate the relation of object and verb or subject and verb. Here are examples of two particles.
O (を): Object marker:
Pan o tabemasu. (bread, “o”, eat) → I eat bread
Nihongo o benkyoo shimasu. (Japanese, “o”, study) → I study Japanese.
Wa (は): topic marker:
Watashi wa gakusee desu. (I, “wa”, student.) → I am a student.
Hana wa kiree desu. (Flowers, “wa”, beautiful) → Flowers are beautiful
