Sounds Like More Japanese

What is the point of fluency in Japanese? It’s challenging to speak fluent Japanese, but using Japanese sentence-final particles such as “ne” can help you sound more familiar to Japanese speakers. This technique has even helped non-Japanese speakers survive in Japanese society without speaking fluent Japanese.

In the casual conversation

〜ね /ne/

ね /ne/ is used to seek agreement or confirmation from the other person. It is used when saying things like “That’s right, ね (isn’t it)?” or “This is delicious, ね (isn’t it)?”

Even though you speak English, you can say, “That is great ね/ne/.” Then Japanese people would feel empathy with you.

〜でしょう？/deʃjoː/

でしょう /deʃjoː/ is also used for seeking agreement, you can use “でしょう？” like “It’s a lie でしょう? (isn’t it?) ” or “See? Coming here was a good decision, でしょう？(wasn’t it?) It is more polite than ね.

When you use でしょう without a question mark, it is used to express speculation or certainty in polite language. Example: It will probably be sunny tomorrow でしょう.

〜よ /jo/

よ /jo/ is used to emphasize one’s words or urge others to pay attention. It is used when saying things like “It’s really delicious よ/jo/, (you know)?” or “Wait a minute, よ/jo/?”

〜みたいな /mitaina/

みたいな /mitaina/ is used when giving examples or making analogies. It is used when saying “a face like a dog” or “weather like spring”. “Like” in the sentence reflects みたいな.

Also, when you want to say something unclear, or you wonder about something, you can say “I think… みたいな？” It is the same nuance as “sounds like that”

〜っぽい /ppoi/

っぽい /ppoi/ is similar to みたいな (like). It is used to express tendencies or characteristics. It is used when saying “childish (kodomo-ppoi)” or “feminine (onna-ppoi)”.

In the business conversation

〜です/desu/

です /desu/ is a must particle to sound polite in Japanese. When you introduce yourself, put です after your name. Ex.) Yuko Kotori です. です is a copula attached to Japanese nouns or adjectives to indicate a state of being or make a statement more polite.

〜です+ね /desune/

ですね /desune/ is a polite version of ね. ですね is used to seek agreement or confirmation from the other person. It is used when saying things like “It’s a nice day, ですね (isn’t it)?” or “This is delicious, ですね (isn’t it)?”

〜です＋か？ /desuka/

ですか？/desuka/ is used at the end of a polite and positive sentence using honorific language. For example: お元気ですか？/oɡenki desuka/ is a polite way of “How are you?”

〜ます

ます is a polite particle attached to a verb’s base form. For example: 〜を食べます/… o tabe masu/ (I eat …)

〜ますか？

ますか？ is used at the end of a question in polite language. Example: 飲み物はお持ちですか？/nomi mono wa omotʃi desuka/ (do you have a drink?)

If you are more interested in Japanese basics, refer to the Japanese Basic Words 100 below:

Japanese Basic Words 100