Word formation in Japanese: prefixes and suffixes
A vocabulary grows in two ways. One is learning new words — that is the slow one. The other is the 88 building blocks on this page: with one word and a few of them, you have a whole family.
The suffixes matter more than the prefixes, for a reason you rarely read: they tell you the part of speech. With them you can place an unknown word in its sentence before you know what it means.
The last kanji names the thing
Compounds are read from the back, as in English: the final kanji says what it is, the ones before it say what kind.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜語 | language; word | 日本語, 英語, 中国語, 外国語, 単語 |
| A country and 語 is its language, as a country and 人 is its people: 中国語, 中国人. English is the exception, 英語, built on an old short name for Britain. The same kanji also means word: 単語 a single word, 外来語 a loanword, 敬語 polite language. | ||
| 〜館 | a large public building | 図書館, 美術館, 映画館, 大使館, 体育館 |
| A building with one purpose, and the purpose goes in front: 図書館 library (a building for books), 映画館 cinema, 大使館 embassy. This is the order of most Japanese compounds, and it is the English order: a book-building, as a bookshop is a shop. 旅館, a traditional inn, is built the same way. | ||
| 〜場/〜場 | the place for an activity | 会場, 駐車場, 運動場, 売り場, 乗り場 |
| Two readings, and the word in front tells you which. After a Sino-Japanese word it is じょう: 駐車場 car park, 会場 venue. After a verb stem it is ば: 売り場 the sales floor, 乗り場 the place to board. The same split runs through the whole language, and it is the most useful rule of thumb for reading a compound aloud: Chinese readings with Chinese readings, native with native. | ||
| 〜機 | a machine that does it | 洗濯機, 掃除機, 券売機, 飛行機, 自動販売機 |
| Put the job in front and you have the machine that does it: 洗濯機 washing machine, 掃除機 vacuum cleaner. 飛行機, the aeroplane, is a flying machine. The vending machine, 自動販売機, is too long for daily use and is clipped to 自販機 — see the last group on this page. | ||
| 〜料 | a fee for a service or for using something | 送料, 授業料, 入場料, 手数料, 使用料 |
| Japanese has three common kanji for what something costs, and they are not interchangeable. 料 is a fee for a service or for using something: 送料 postage, 入場料 admission, 手数料 handling fee. Free and paid are built on it as well: 無料, 有料. | ||
| 〜代 | the money paid for something; a bill | 電気代, 食事代, タクシー代, 部屋代, 本代 |
| The price of a thing, or the bill for something used up, and it attaches to anything — native words and loanwords included: タクシー代 taxi fare, 部屋代 the charge for a room. After a number the same kanji is a decade of life: 二十代, people in their twenties. | ||
| 〜費 | expenses; costs as a category | 交通費, 生活費, 食費, 学費, 医療費 |
| The most formal of the three: costs as a heading, the word on a budget or a form. 交通費 travel costs, 食費 food expenses, 学費 school fees. Set them side by side: the 電車代 is the fare you paid, the 交通費 is the heading it goes under when you claim it back. | ||
| 〜会 | a meeting, a gathering, an event | 飲み会, 説明会, 運動会, 展示会, 歓迎会 |
| Any gathering with a purpose, named by the purpose: 説明会 information session, 歓迎会 welcome party, 運動会 school sports day. 飲み会 is built on a verb stem, and it is a fixture of student and working life: an evening of food and drink with a group. | ||
| 〜式 | a ceremony; a style or system | 結婚式, 卒業式, 入学式, 和式, 洋式 |
| Two meanings. A formal ceremony: 入学式 the ceremony at the start of school, 卒業式 graduation. And a type or a system: 和式 and 洋式, Japanese-style and Western-style — said above all of toilets, which is where a visitor meets the two words. | ||
| 〜品 | goods; an article of a kind | 食品, 商品, 作品, 部品, 新品 |
| Things as a category: 食品 foodstuffs, 商品 goods for sale, 作品 a work of art or writing, 部品 parts. After ん the sound hardens: 新品 brand new, the word for a thing nobody has used yet. | ||
| 〜製 | made in; made of | 日本製, 外国製, 革製, 木製, プラスチック製 |
| After a country, where a thing was made: 日本製, made in Japan. After a material, what it is made of: 木製 wooden, プラスチック製. English needs two prepositions for this; Japanese uses one kanji. Note that 木 is read もく here. | ||
| 〜用 | for; designed for | 子ども用, 女性用, 業務用, 家庭用, 自転車用 |
| Says who or what a thing is designed for, and the result takes の before a noun: 子ども用の自転車, a child’s bicycle. 業務用, for professional use, on a large tin in a supermarket means catering size. | ||
| 〜向け | aimed at; made with someone in mind | 子ども向け, 初心者向け, 外国人向け, 若者向け, 海外向け |
| From 向ける, to point at: the audience a thing was made for. Set it beside 〜用: 子ども用 scissors are sized for a child’s hand, a 子ども向け film was made with children in mind. Keep it apart from 〜向き, suited to: 子ども向きの料理 is food that happens to suit children. | ||
Pieces that negate
Not, without, not yet, non-, outside of: four prefixes where English makes do with un-, and one suffix.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 不〜 | not; un-, in-, dis- | 不安, 不親切, 不可能, 不健康, 不自由 |
| The commonest negating prefix, and what it makes is usually a na-adjective: 便利 convenient has the opposite 不便, 親切 kind has 不親切. It goes almost only on Sino-Japanese words. A native adjective such as 高い has no negative prefix at all; its opposite is another word, 安い or 低い. In a few words it is read ぶ: 不器用 clumsy. | ||
| 無〜 | without; there is none of it | 無料, 無理, 無関係, 無責任, 無意味 |
| Where 不〜 says something is not so, 無〜 says something is absent: 無料 no charge, 無関係 no connection, 無責任 irresponsible. 無理, literally without reason, is the everyday word for impossible or too much, and ちょっと無理です is a common soft no. In 無事, safe and sound, it is read ぶ. | ||
| 未〜 | not yet | 未成年, 未経験, 未完成, 未定, 未読 |
| Not "not" but "not yet": the thing is expected to happen. 未完成 unfinished, still being made; 未定 not decided yet; 未経験 no experience yet, which in a job advertisement is an invitation rather than a rejection. On a phone, 未読 is unread. | ||
| 非〜 | non-; outside a category | 非常識, 非公開, 非公式, 非正規 |
| The formal, slightly technical negation, close to English non-: 非公式 unofficial, 非公開 closed to the public. 非常識 is a judgement, though: lacking common sense, out of line. Careful with 非常に (extremely) and 非常口 (emergency exit): there 非常 is one word, out of the ordinary. | ||
| 〜外 | outside of; beyond | 予想外, 専門外, 時間外, 対象外 |
| Negation from the other end: the word names the range a thing falls outside of. 予想外 unexpected, 専門外 outside my field — a polite way of saying you cannot answer. 対象外, not covered, is on many coupons. The opposite is often 〜内: 時間内, within the time allowed. | ||
Prefixes that add a meaning
Again, new, big, small, most, every, all, half — mostly on Sino-Japanese words, and read the Chinese way.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 再〜 | re-; again | 再開, 再利用, 再発行, 再確認, 再入国 |
| The Japanese re-, on nouns that take する: 再開する reopen, resume; 再発行 reissue a card; 再利用 reuse. It needs a Sino-Japanese noun. With an ordinary verb the same idea is a compound verb in 〜直す (やり直す), or simply もう一度. | ||
| 新〜 | new | 新製品, 新記録, 新学期, 新商品, 新年度 |
| On a Sino-Japanese noun 新〜 is a prefix; before a native word the adjective is used instead: 新しい靴, new shoes. Its opposite is 旧〜, former, old: 旧製品. 新学期, the new term, takes the small っ explained under the join. | ||
| 大〜/大〜 | big; very; great | 大好き, 大人気, 大雨, 大型, 大掃除 |
| Two readings, and a rough rule: だい before a Sino-Japanese word (大人気, 大成功), おお before a native one (大雨 heavy rain, 大型 large-size). 大好き is the famous exception. 大人, adult, is read as a whole and is not built this way at all. | ||
| 小〜 | small; slight | 小雨, 小型, 小銭, 小声 |
| Read こ before native words, and those compounds show what happens in a join: 雨 becomes さめ in 小雨, 声 becomes ごえ in 小声, a low voice. 小銭 is small change. Before Sino-Japanese words it is しょう: 小学校, primary school. | ||
| 最〜 | the most; -est | 最初, 最後, 最高, 最新, 最大 |
| Japanese adjectives have no -est ending. On a Sino-Japanese word 最〜 does the job: 最新 newest, latest; 最大 largest. Several are everyday words: 最初 first, 最後 last, 最高 best, brilliant. With any other word, use 一番: 一番高い. | ||
| 毎〜 | every | 毎日, 毎朝, 毎週, 毎年, 毎回 |
| Before a time word, and no particle after it: 毎朝走ります, without に. The reading of the time word does not change: native あさ in 毎朝, Sino-Japanese しゅう in 毎週. 毎年 can also be read まいねん. | ||
| 全〜 | all; the whole | 全員, 全国, 全部, 全世界, 全品 |
| 全員 every member, everyone; 全国 the whole country, nationwide. 全部, all of it, is the everyday word. In a shop window 全品半額 means everything half price — note ひん becoming ぴん after ん. | ||
| 半〜 | half | 半分, 半額, 半年, 半袖, 半日 |
| 半分 a half, 半年 six months, 半袖 short sleeves — half sleeves. After a time it is half past: 三時半. 半額 is the sticker that appears on supermarket food shortly before closing. | ||
| 真〜 | right, exactly; pure, intense | 真ん中, 真っ白, 真っ暗, 真っ赤, 真夜中 |
| A native prefix that sharpens the word after it: 白 white, 真っ白 pure white; 暗い dark, 真っ暗 pitch-dark; 夜中 night, 真夜中 the dead of night. It changes shape with the next sound — ま, まっ, まん — and is written with the small っ or ん in kana. 真っ赤, bright red, has an irregular reading and is learnt whole. | ||
| 高〜/低〜 | high; low | 高品質, 高収入, 高血圧, 低価格, 低温 |
| A pair for Sino-Japanese nouns, common in advertising and on labels: 高品質 high quality, 低価格 low price, 低カロリー. Before a native word use the adjectives, 高い and 低い. In speech a price is 安い rather than low; 低価格 is the written word. | ||
| 超〜 | super-, ultra-; in casual speech, really | 超満員, 超高速, 超大型, 超特急 |
| In writing a prefix for beyond the usual: 超高速 ultra-high-speed, 超大型 extra-large. In casual speech it is an adverb, really, before almost anything: 超おいしい. That use is fine among friends and out of place at work. | ||
The two polite prefixes
Not a meaning but a register: they make a word politer, and some words are hardly ever used without them.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| お〜 | politer or softer, mostly on native words | お茶, お金, お水, お店, お祭り |
| Not a meaning but a tone: the word sounds softer and more polite, and some words are hardly ever used without it — お茶, お金, お腹. It goes mainly on native words. Two limits: it never goes on your own things when you speak to others (お名前は？ asks for someone else’s name; you answer with plain 名前), and loanwords in katakana rarely take it. | ||
| ご〜 | politer, mostly on Sino-Japanese words | ご家族, ご連絡, ご住所, ご注意, ご飯 |
| The Sino-Japanese twin of お〜: ご家族 your family, ご住所 your address. Station announcements are full of it: ご注意ください. A handful of common Sino-Japanese words take お instead and simply have to be learnt: お電話, お時間, お弁当. In ご飯 the prefix has grown into the word: it is a meal, or cooked rice, and 飯 alone is rough. | ||
People, jobs and shops
Who does it, who belongs to it, who runs it — and the one ending that makes a group of people.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜たち | a group of people | 私たち, 子どもたち, 学生たち, 先生たち, あなたたち |
| Japanese nouns have no plural: 本 is one book or ten. たち is not a plural ending either; it makes a group of people, and it can mean someone and those with them: 田中さんたち, Tanaka and the others. It does not go on things. 友だち was once built like this and now means a single friend. | ||
| 〜人 | a person from; nationality | 日本人, 外国人, イギリス人, アメリカ人, 社会人 |
| A country and 人 is the nationality: イギリス人, 日本人. The language takes 〜語. The kanji has three readings and the word decides: じん for nationality and kind (社会人, an adult in work), にん in counting and a few roles (三人, 管理人, a caretaker), ひと on its own. | ||
| 〜屋 | a shop; the person who runs it; a type of person | 本屋, 花屋, パン屋, 八百屋, 照れ屋 |
| The shop and the shopkeeper in one word: 本屋 is a bookshop or a bookseller. Speaking of the person, add さん: 八百屋さん, the greengrocer. On a trait of character it names a type, with a touch of teasing: 照れ屋 a shy person, がんばり屋 someone who never gives up. | ||
| 〜員 | a member of staff; a member | 会社員, 店員, 駅員, 銀行員, 公務員 |
| Someone on the staff of a place or a member of a body: 店員 shop assistant, 会社員 office worker — the standard answer to the question of what you do. 全員, all the members, is built the same way. | ||
| 〜生 | a student, a pupil | 大学生, 留学生, 高校生, 小学生, 一年生 |
| The kind of school goes in front: 小学生, 中学生, 高校生, 大学生. With a number it is the year: 三年生, a third-year. 留学生 is an international student. And a trap: 先生 is the teacher, the one born earlier. | ||
| 〜長 | the head of it | 社長, 部長, 店長, 校長, 駅長 |
| The head of whatever stands in front: 社長 company president, 部長 head of a department, 店長 shop manager, 校長 head teacher. Inside a company the title is used in place of さん: 田中部長, or just 部長 when you speak to them. | ||
| 〜手 | a person whose job it is | 運転手, 歌手, 選手, 助手 |
| In the name of a job 手 is read しゅ: 歌手 singer, 選手 athlete, player, 助手 assistant. After a verb stem it is read て and names a role in one exchange rather than a job: 話し手, the speaker — see the group on the verb stem. | ||
| 〜者 | the person who does it; -er | 参加者, 利用者, 研究者, 初心者, 医者 |
| The nearest thing to English -er, and as productive: take a noun that goes with する and you have the person who does it — 参加する take part, 参加者 participant; 利用する use, 利用者 user. It sounds neutral and a little official. 医者 is an everyday word, but you address the doctor as 先生. | ||
| 〜家 | a person devoted to an art or a field | 作家, 画家, 音楽家, 専門家, 政治家 |
| Not house here, and read か: a person who has made something their art or their speciality. 画家 painter, 専門家 expert, 政治家 politician. It carries more standing than 〜者, which is why a novelist is a 作家. On a habit it names a trait, as praise: 努力家, someone who works hard, 読書家, a great reader. | ||
Suffixes that make abstract nouns
From an adjective or a noun to a measurement, a feeling, a property, an ability, a rate.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜さ | noun from an adjective: how much of the quality | 高さ, 長さ, 重さ, 大きさ, 便利さ |
| Take an i-adjective, drop the final い, add さ: 高い → 高さ height. It works on na-adjectives too (便利さ convenience, 静かさ quietness) and on almost any adjective at all, which makes it the first suffix worth knowing. It turns a description into a measure: height, length, weight, size. いい becomes よさ. | ||
| 〜み | noun from an adjective: the quality as felt | 楽しみ, 甘み, 痛み, 弱み, 重み |
| It works on far fewer adjectives than さ, and it means something else: さ measures, み names what you feel. 重さ is weight in kilograms, 重み is weight in the sense of importance. 楽しみ is something to look forward to, and 楽しみにしています is the everyday way to say so. Learn the み-words as words; most adjectives have none. | ||
| 〜性 | -ity, -ness: a property | 可能性, 安全性, 必要性, 重要性, 個性 |
| English -ity on Sino-Japanese words: 安全 safe, 安全性 safety as a property of something; 可能 possible, 可能性 possibility, chance. 個性 is individuality. The same kanji in 女性 and 男性 means sex, and those two are the polite words for a woman and a man. | ||
| 〜感 | a sense or feeling of | 責任感, 安心感, 達成感, 違和感, 季節感 |
| Makes a feeling out of a noun: 責任感 sense of responsibility, 達成感 sense of achievement. 違和感 has no neat English word and is everywhere: the feeling that something is slightly off. 季節感, a feel for the season, is prized in food and in letters. | ||
| 〜力 | power; ability | 体力, 集中力, 想像力, 記憶力, 日本語力 |
| An ability, as something you can have more or less of: 集中力 power of concentration, 記憶力 memory, 体力 physical strength. It attaches freely, and the results are the words of job advertisements and school reports: 日本語力, command of Japanese. On its own the kanji is read ちから. | ||
| 〜度 | degree; level on a scale | 温度, 湿度, 満足度, 知名度, 難易度 |
| The level of something as a point on a scale: 温度 temperature, 湿度 humidity, 満足度 satisfaction in a survey, 難易度 level of difficulty, 知名度 how well known something is. After a number it is degrees or times: 三十度, 二度. | ||
| 〜率 | rate; ratio | 合格率, 成功率, 確率, 比率, 投票率 |
| A rate, usually a percentage: 成功率 success rate, 確率 probability, 投票率 turnout. Where the kanji means to lead it is read そつ: 引率, taking a group of pupils somewhere. | ||
| 〜観 | a view; an outlook | 価値観, 人生観, 世界観, 先入観 |
| A way of seeing: 価値観 one’s values, 人生観 outlook on life. 世界観 is a worldview, and also the world a novel or a game builds. 先入観 is a preconception: the view you had before you went in. | ||
Suffixes that make adjectives
Economic, childish, typical, seeming, deeply so — and the busiest of them makes a na-adjective from any learned noun.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜的 | -ic, -al: a na-adjective from a noun | 具体的, 経済的, 一般的, 積極的, 個人的 |
| Makes a na-adjective out of a Sino-Japanese noun, much as -ic and -al do in English: 経済 economy, 経済的 economic, economical. It behaves like any na-adjective: 具体的な例 before a noun, 具体的に as an adverb. 個人的に, personally, is a common way to soften an opinion. Too many of them make a text sound like a report. | ||
| 〜っぽい | -ish; like it, prone to it (casual) | 忘れっぽい, 子どもっぽい, 白っぽい, 安っぽい, 怒りっぽい |
| Casual, with three jobs. After a noun, like it, often in a way you would rather not be: 子どもっぽい childish. After a colour, close to it: 白っぽい whitish. After a verb stem, prone to it: 忘れっぽい forgetful, 怒りっぽい quick to anger. The result is an i-adjective: 忘れっぽくて. | ||
| 〜らしい | typical of; as it should be | 春らしい, 男らしい, 女らしい, 学生らしい, 子どもらしい |
| After a noun: having the qualities you expect of it, usually as praise. Set it against 〜っぽい: 子どもらしい is childlike, as a child should be; 子どもっぽい is childish, as an adult should not be. Do not confuse it with the grammar らしい, apparently, which follows a whole sentence: 雨が降るらしい. | ||
| 〜げ | seeming, with an air of (written style) | 寂しげ, 楽しげ, 悲しげ, 不安げ, 自信ありげ |
| Describes how someone appears from outside, in a literary voice: 寂しげ lonely-looking, 自信ありげ with an air of confidence. It makes a na-adjective: 楽しげな声. In conversation the grammar form 〜そう does the same job: 寂しそう. | ||
| 〜深い | deeply; very much so | 興味深い, 注意深い, 疑い深い, 思慮深い, 情け深い |
| 深い, deep, as a suffix, with its first sound voiced: ふかい becomes ぶかい. 興味深い of great interest, more formal than 面白い; 注意深い careful; 疑い深い suspicious by nature. The result is an i-adjective like 深い itself. | ||
Making verbs
One suffix turns a noun into a verb, one makes it -ise, and one reports what other people feel.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜する | makes a verb out of a noun of action | 予約する, 勉強する, 説明する, コピーする, メールする |
| The biggest door into the Japanese verb: a Sino-Japanese noun that names an action, and する after it, is a verb — and so is a loanword: コピーする, メールする. The noun can also stand with を: 勉強をする. Only nouns of action take it; a thing such as 本 does not. | ||
| 〜化 | -ise, -isation; to turn into | 映画化, 国際化, 自動化, 高齢化, デジタル化 |
| The Japanese -ise and -isation, on a noun: 国際化 internationalisation, 自動化 automation, デジタル化. With する it is a verb: 映画化する, to film a book. The news is full of 少子化 and 高齢化, the falling birth rate and the ageing of society. | ||
| 〜がる | shows signs of a feeling (said of others) | 怖がる, 寒がる, 欲しがる, 嫌がる, 痛がる |
| Japanese is careful about stating someone else’s feelings as fact. 怖い is your own fear; for another person’s you describe what they show: 怖がる, to act scared. Drop い and add がる; the result is a verb that takes を. With 〜たい it gives 〜たがる: 行きたがる, keeps wanting to go. | ||
The verb stem as a noun
Drop the polite ending and keep going: the stem is a noun, and the front half of a dozen more.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜ます→〜 | the verb stem on its own is a noun | 休み, 帰り, 始まり, 考え, 答え |
| Take the polite form, drop ます, and what is left is often a noun: 休みます → 休み, a rest, a day off; 帰ります → 帰り, the way home. A few lose their okurigana in writing: 話す gives 話, a story or a talk. Not every stem stands alone, but every stem goes into a compound — the rest of this group. | ||
| 〜方 | the way of doing it; how to | 読み方, 使い方, 作り方, 書き方, 行き方 |
| Verb stem and 方 is how to do it: 使い方 how to use it. The object takes の, not を, because the result is a noun: 漢字の読み方. With a する-verb it is 仕方, from する: 勉強の仕方, how to study. | ||
| 〜物 | the thing the action is done to | 食べ物, 飲み物, 乗り物, 買い物, 忘れ物 |
| Verb stem and 物 is a thing you do that to: 食べ物 food, 乗り物 vehicle, ride. 買い物 is shopping, and 忘れ物 something left behind — the word on every lost-property sign. In a Sino-Japanese compound the same kanji is usually read ぶつ: 動物, animal. | ||
| 〜手 | the one who does it, in a role | 話し手, 聞き手, 読み手, 売り手, 買い手 |
| Verb stem and 手 is the person in that role: 話し手 and 聞き手, speaker and listener; 売り手 and 買い手, seller and buyer. A role in one exchange, not a profession — for that, 〜手 or 〜者. 上手 and 下手 are words of their own. | ||
| 〜放題 | as much as you like | 食べ放題, 飲み放題, 使い放題, 見放題 |
| On a menu, all you can eat or drink for a set price: 飲み放題. On a phone or a streaming plan, unlimited use: 見放題. Outside the menu it means letting something run unchecked: 庭が荒れ放題だ, the garden has gone completely wild. | ||
| 〜かけ | half-done; left in the middle | 読みかけ, 食べかけ, 飲みかけ, 書きかけ, 作りかけ |
| Verb stem and かけ: begun and not finished, and it takes の before a noun — 食べかけのパン, a half-eaten piece of bread. As a verb, 〜かける is to be on the point of: 言いかけてやめた, started to say something and stopped. Written in kana. | ||
Two verbs made into one
A verb stem plus a second verb: start, finish, keep on, too much, suddenly, again, to each other.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜始める | start doing | 習い始める, 読み始める, 食べ始める, 降り始める, 使い始める |
| The pattern of the whole group: a verb stem, then a second verb, and the second one carries tense and politeness. 〜始める marks the start of an action, and it works for things that happen as well as things people do: 雨が降り始めた. Compare 〜出す, a sudden start. | ||
| 〜終わる | finish doing | 読み終わる, 食べ終わる, 書き終わる, 使い終わる |
| The end of something you were doing: 食べ終わったら、皿を洗ってください. It goes on actions with a natural end. You finish reading a book, but rain does not finish raining — it stops: 雨がやんだ. | ||
| 〜続ける | keep doing; go on doing | 降り続ける, 歩き続ける, 待ち続ける, 使い続ける, 働き続ける |
| An action that goes on, often longer than expected: 一時間待ち続けた, waited and waited for an hour. Where 〜ている says an action is in progress, 〜続ける says it does not stop. | ||
| 〜すぎる | too much; over- | 飲みすぎる, 食べすぎる, 働きすぎる, 言いすぎる, 高すぎる |
| The one member of this group that also works on adjectives: drop the い of an i-adjective (高すぎる, too expensive) or use a verb stem (食べすぎる, overeat). いい becomes よすぎる. The noun is 〜すぎ: 食べすぎに注意. It is written 過ぎる as well; both are common. | ||
| 〜出す | suddenly start; bring out | 降り出す, 泣き出す, 笑い出す, 思い出す, 取り出す |
| Two meanings. A sudden start, often not chosen: 赤ちゃんが泣き出した. And literally out: 取り出す take out, 思い出す bring back to mind, remember. Set it beside 〜始める: you decide to start reading, so 読み始める; a baby does not decide to cry. | ||
| 〜直す | do again, and properly this time | 書き直す, 見直す, やり直す, 考え直す, 読み直す |
| Do it again and get it right: 書き直す rewrite, 考え直す reconsider. 見直す is to look over again, and also to think better of someone than before. This, and not 再〜, is the everyday re-: it goes on any verb, where 再〜 needs a Sino-Japanese noun. | ||
| 〜合う | do to each other; do together | 話し合う, 助け合う, 知り合う, 付き合う, 見つめ合う |
| A shared or mutual action: 助け合う help each other, 話し合う talk something through together. Some have become words of their own: 知り合い an acquaintance, 付き合う to go out with someone. The noun 話し合い is a discussion meant to reach agreement. | ||
| 〜込む | into; deep into a state | 落ち込む, 飛び込む, 書き込む, 申し込む, 思い込む |
| Movement into something: 飛び込む jump in, 書き込む write in a form or post online. Then inward, into a state: 思い込む to be convinced, often wrongly; 落ち込む to feel down. 申し込む, to apply or sign up, is on every form, and the noun is 申し込み. | ||
| 〜忘れる | forget to do | 買い忘れる, 言い忘れる, 書き忘れる, 聞き忘れる |
| English says forget to and then the verb; Japanese makes one verb of it: 言い忘れる forget to mention. What was forgotten takes を: 名前を書き忘れた, forgot to write the name. | ||
| 〜切る | do completely, to the very end | 読み切る, 使い切る, 疲れ切る, 走り切る, 言い切る |
| All the way, with nothing left: 使い切る use up, 読み切る read to the last page, 疲れ切る be utterly exhausted. 言い切る is to state flatly. Its partner 〜切れる gives the sign every shopper knows: 売り切れ, sold out. | ||
Easy and hard to do
A verb stem plus an adjective of ease or difficulty, in four shades from neutral to literary.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜やすい | easy to do; apt to happen | 住みやすい, 読みやすい, 使いやすい, わかりやすい, 歩きやすい |
| Verb stem and やすい — from an old word for easy, not from 安い, cheap. The result is an i-adjective: 使いやすいパソコン. With something that happens by itself it means apt to: 壊れやすい fragile, 太りやすい quick to put on weight. | ||
| 〜にくい | hard to do; unlikely to happen | 歩きにくい, 読みにくい, 使いにくい, わかりにくい, 言いにくい |
| The opposite of やすい, built the same way: 読みにくい字, handwriting that is hard to read; 言いにくい, awkward to say. With something that happens by itself it means unlikely to: 壊れにくい, hard-wearing. | ||
| 〜づらい | hard to do, and a strain | 言いづらい, 読みづらい, 歩きづらい, 聞きづらい, 住みづらい |
| From 辛い, painful, with the first sound voiced. Where 〜にくい states a difficulty, 〜づらい adds that it costs the person something: 言いづらい, hard to bring yourself to say. So it suits things a person does, and sounds odd of things that simply happen. | ||
| 〜がたい | can hardly; all but impossible (formal) | 信じがたい, 忘れがたい, 許しがたい, 理解しがたい, 耐えがたい |
| From 難い, difficult. Formal, and personal at the same time: not that a thing is hard, but that the speaker can hardly bring themselves to do it — 許しがたい unforgivable, 忘れがたい unforgettable. ありがたい, grateful, grew out of the same word: something hard to come by. | ||
Endings that make adverbs
One ending for each kind of adjective, and the same two forms before the verb for becoming.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜く | i-adjective to adverb | 早く, 高く, 大きく, 新しく, 安く |
| Replace the final い with く: 早い → 早く. The same form comes before なる for a change: 寒くなりました, it has got cold. いい is again the exception: よく, well — which also means often. | ||
| 〜に | na-adjective to adverb | 静かに, きれいに, 上手に, 簡単に, 丁寧に |
| Na-adjectives take に where i-adjectives take く: 静かに quietly, 丁寧に carefully, politely. The same に comes before なる and する: 部屋をきれいにする, to tidy the room. Words in 〜的 work the same way: 積極的に, actively. | ||
During, all through, and in what order
Pieces that place something in time or give it a place in a sequence.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 〜中/〜中 | in the middle of; all through | 会議中, 営業中, 工事中, 一日中, 世界中 |
| Read ちゅう, it means in the middle of an activity: 会議中, 営業中 (open, on a shop door), 工事中 (under construction). Read じゅう, it means all through a time or all over a place: 一日中 all day long, 世界中 all over the world. Speaking to someone from outside the company, you name a colleague without さん, as in the sentence above. | ||
| 〜目 | -th: a number put in order | 二つ目, 三回目, 三日目, 一年目, 二人目 |
| A number with its counter, then 目, and the amount becomes a place in a row: 二つ目 the second one, 三回目 the third time, 三日目 the third day. Directions are given this way: 三つ目の駅, the third station. In writing, 第〜 does the same from the front. | ||
| 第〜 | number so-and-so; the ordinal in writing | 第一, 第二, 第三回, 第一歩 |
| Before a number, it makes an ordinal: 第一 the first, 第二章 chapter two. Formal and written; in speech 〜目 is more usual. 第一歩 is the first step, in the figurative sense as well. | ||
What happens in the join
When two parts meet, sounds change: voiced, shortened, doubled, or an older vowel showing through.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| か→が・た→だ | the second part starts with a voiced sound | 本棚, 手紙, 青空, 昔話, 大型 |
| When two native words join, the second often starts with a voiced sound — k becomes g, t becomes d, s becomes z, h becomes b: 本 and 棚 make 本棚 bookshelf, 手 and 紙 make 手紙 letter, 昔 and 話 make 昔話. The kanji stay the same, only the furigana changes, which is why a word you know can sound unfamiliar. It is a tendency, not a law: 山道 has none, and a second part that already has a voiced sound keeps its first one: 一人旅. | ||
| え→あ | the first part changes its last vowel | 酒屋, 雨雲, 船便, 金物, 雨傘 |
| A few native words that end in え change it to あ when they come first in a compound: 雨 → 雨雲 rain cloud, 酒 → 酒屋 off-licence, 船 → 船便 sea mail, 金 → 金物 hardware. It is the older form of the word showing through, and it happens only with a small set of words, so learn the compound rather than a rule. 木 does something similar in 木陰, the shade of a tree. | ||
| 〜っ〜 | the end of the first kanji becomes a small tsu | 学校, 日記, 結果, 出発, 一回 |
| Many Sino-Japanese readings end in く, き, ち or つ, and that last syllable often shrinks to a small っ before the next kanji. After く and き it happens before a k-sound: 学 and 校 make 学校, but 学生 keeps its く. After ち and つ it happens before k, s and t: 日記, 結果. Before an h-sound the h becomes p as well: 出 and 発 make 出発. Counting does the same: 一回, 一本. | ||
| 人々 | the repeat mark: the kanji again, usually voiced | 人々, 時々, 日々, 国々, 色々 |
| The second sign in 人々 is not a kanji of its own but a mark that repeats the one before it, and it has no reading except that one: 人々 is 人 twice. Doubling a noun gives a plural or a sense of each and every — 人々 people, 国々 the countries, 日々 day after day — and the second half usually takes the voiced sound from the first entry of this group. 時々 is sometimes; 色々 is just as often written in kana. | ||
Shortened words
Long loanwords and long compounds are clipped, and the short form is the everyday word.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| スマ（ート）＋ホ（ン） | two long words, the first two sounds of each | スマホ, パソコン, エアコン, リモコン, デジカメ |
| Long loanwords are cut, and the favourite shape is four sounds, the first two of each part: スマートフォン → スマホ, パーソナルコンピューター → パソコン, リモートコントロール → リモコン, デジタルカメラ → デジカメ. The short forms are the normal words; the long ones sound like a manual. | ||
| （アル）バイト | one long word, cut to one part | バイト, コンビニ, テレビ, アニメ, デパート |
| A single long loanword is usually cut to its front: テレビジョン → テレビ, アニメーション → アニメ, コンビニエンスストア → コンビニ; デパート is what is left of department store. アルバイト, from the German word for work, is cut at the back instead: バイト, part-time work. | ||
| 学（生）割（引） | a long compound keeps its first and third kanji | 学割, 就活, 特急, 国連, 自販機 |
| A compound of two two-kanji words is often cut to the first kanji of each: 学生割引 → 学割, 就職活動 → 就活 job hunting, 国際連合 → 国連 the United Nations. The short forms are standard, in the news as well. The reading can change on the way: 特別急行 → 特急, with a small っ. | ||