Learning a new language is fun, but it requires a lot of effort—studying the complicated grammar rules and memorizing thousands of words. But we have a tip for you! The fastest and easiest way to learn Japanese is to just focus on the most useful and common Japanese sentence patterns and start speaking them!
The most frequently used Japanese sentence patterns are useful for survival communication and day-to-day interactions. When you know the essential sentence patterns in Japanese, you can arrange and create more sentences to express yourself and have conversations.
In this article, we’ll introduce the ten most useful Japanese sentence patterns, which cover the most basic statements and questions. Boost your Japanese conversation skills here at JapanesePod101.com!
Table of Contents
- A is B – AはBです
- Asking Simple Questions: Is A B? AはBですか。
- I Want (to)… …が欲しいです/…たいです
- I Need (to)… …が必要です/…(する)必要があります
- I like … …が好きです
- Please (do) … ….(して)ください
- May I / Can I (Do) …? ….(しても)いいですか。/a>
- What is …? ….は何ですか?
- When is …? ….はいつですか?
- Where is …? ….はどこですか?
- Conclusion: How JapanesePod101.com Can Help You Learn More Japanese
With the top 10 Japanese sentence patterns, you can easily have simple conversations!
1. A is B – AはBです
“A is B“ = A (wa) B (desu) or A は B です
This is the simplest Japanese sentence construction for describing something. A is usually a noun and B can be a noun or an adjective.
です (desu) is the basic predicate that represents politeness; it’s placed at the end of a Japanese sentence.
The Japanese sentence structure is SOV (Subject + Object + Verb), while English has an SVO structure (Subject + Verb + Object).
Examples:
- 私は学生です。(Watashi wa gakusei desu.) — “I am a student.”
- 彼は私の友達です。(Kare wa watashi no tomodachi desu.) — “He is my friend.”
- このご飯は美味しいです。(Kono gohan wa oishii desu.) — “This meal is delicious.”
- あのレストランは海鮮料理で有名です。(Ano resutoran wa kaisen ryōri de yūmei desu.) — “That restaurant is famous for seafood.”
- 今年の夏は去年より暑いです。 (Kotoshi no natsu wa kyonen yori atsui desu.) — “This summer is hotter than the one last year.”
For more about Japanese nouns and adjectives, please check out our pages on the 50 Most Common Nouns and 50 Most Common Adjectives.
2. Asking Simple Questions: Is A B? AはBですか。
“Is A B ?“ = A (wa) B (desu ka) or A は B ですか。
Here’s the most common question sentence pattern in Japanese.
To make a Japanese interrogative sentence, simply add the question marker か (ka) to the end of an affirmative sentence and pronounce it with a rising intonation.
Examples:
- あなたは学生ですか。(Anata wa gakusei desu ka.) — “Are you a student?”
- 彼らはあなたの友達ですか。(Kare-ra wa anata no tomodachi desu ka.) — “Are they your friends?”
- その本は難しいですか。(Sono hon wa muzukashii desu ka.) — “Is that book difficult?”
- 今日の天気は雨のち曇りですか。(Kyō no tenki wa ame nochi kumori desu ka.) — “Is the weather today cloudy after rain?”
- 駅の隣のビルは銀行ですか。(Eki no tonari no biru wa ginkō desu ka.) — “Is the building next to the station a bank?”
Ash*ta wa hare desu ka. = “Is tomorrow sunny?”
3. I Want (to)… …が欲しいです/…たいです
“I want …“ = [noun] …が欲しい です (ga hoshii desu)
“I want to …“ = [verb] …たい です (-tai desu)
These are the simplest Japanese sentence patterns for expressing “want.”
These Japanese phrases differ depending on whether you want something [noun] or want to do something [verb], as indicated above.
Keep in mind that the subject can be omitted from a Japanese sentence when it’s clear from the context who the subject is.
Japanese verb conjugation is NOT affected by the person (I, you, he, she, we, they), number (singular/plural), or gender (female/male) of the subject.
Examples using a noun:
- (私は)水が欲しいです。([Watashi wa] mizu ga hoshii desu.) — “I want water.”
- (私は)新しい車が欲しいです。([Watashi wa] atarashii kuruma ga hoshii desu.) — “I want a new car.”
- 誕生日にダイヤの指輪が欲しいです。(Tanjōbi ni daiya no yubiwa ga hoshii desu.) — “I want a diamond ring for (my) birthday.”
Examples using a verb:
- (私は)今日は和食が食べたいです。([Watashi wa] kyō wa washoku ga tabetai desu.) — “I want to eat Japanese food today.”
- 来年は沖縄に行きたいです。(Rainen wa Okinawa ni ikitai desu.) — “I want to go to Okinawa next year.”
- 太ったので運動をしたいです。(Futotta node undō o sh*tai desu.) — “I want to do exercises because I got fat.”
For more information about Japanese verbs, please check out our Japanese Verbs and 50 Most Common Verbs pages.
4. I Need (to)… …が必要です/…(する)必要があります
“I need …“ = [noun] …が必要です (ga hitsuyō desu)
“I need to …“ = [verb] …(する)必要があります (hitsuyō ga arimasu)
These are the simplest Japanese sentence patterns for expressing “need.”
As you can see above, the Japanese sentence structure changes depending on whether you need something [noun] or need to do something [verb].
Examples using a noun:
- (私は)あなたが必要です。([Watashi wa] anata ga hitsuyō desu.) — “I need you.”
- その車は電気の充電が必要です。(Sono kuruma wa denki no jūden ga hitsuyō desu.) — “That car needs to charge with electricity.”
- この店での支払いはクレジットカードが必要です。(Kono mise de no shiharai wa kurejitto kādo ga hitsuyō desu.) — “You need a credit card to pay at this store.”
Examples using a verb:
- 週末に働く必要があります。(Shūmatsu ni hataraku hitsuyō ga arimasu.) — “I need to work on the weekend.”
- あなたは病院に行く必要があります。(Anata wa byōin ni iku hitsuyō ga arimasu.) — “You need to go to a hospital.”
- 学生は卒業試験に合格する必要があります。(Gakusei wa sotsugyō shiken ni gōkaku suru hitsuyō ga arimasu.) — “The students need to pass the graduation exam.”