の in Japanese, the Little Word that Connects Everything
The particle の in Japanese follows nouns and connects those nouns to other nouns creating complex phrases. After the nouns are connected, the relationship between those nouns can are similar to of or ‘s in English. Let’s take a closer look.
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What does の in Japanese mean?
の itself does not mean anything by itself. Instead, meaning is born from the words の connects together. As I already said, it works like of in English. But, in Japanese, it can mean more than one thing possessing another.
の can tell you attributes of one thing, where something is located, or it can be used to simplify phrases.
When can I use it?
You can use の after any noun and anytime you want to say that one thing is related to another. Specifically though, here are some of the major situations you will see の.
Possessions or Relationships
In English, if you say, the dog’s collar, that means the collar around the dog’s neck or the collar which the dog possesses. Basically, the collar is related to the dog somehow. In Japanese you can accomplish the same thing when you use の. All you have to do is stick の after dog and stick collar after の.
犬の首輪
the dog’s collar
Just like English, you can talk about things that are intangible like names. A name is not really a possession but more of a label. Either way, you can use it the same way with の in Japanese.
猫の名前
the cat’s name
の works like this for just about any relationship between words. For example, we can say that Toyota makes cars and Nintendo makes games with の.
トヨタの車
a Toyota car (made by Toyota)
ニンテンドーのゲーム
a Nintendo game (made by Nintendo)
As you can see の does not always translate straight to ‘s or of. の does not only need to be a relationship between two things, but it could also be a description of something.
Descriptions
When we talk about possessions or relationships we are talking about two separate things that are connected. A description, on the other hand, is something that explains the characteristics of one specific thing. It is not telling you how two things are related but instead telling you about one thing.
Most of the time adjectives in both English and Japanese cling to nouns to describe them. But, の also behaves like an adjective sometimes by giving you more details about the noun following it.
Let’s pretend that you want to buy a collar for your dog but you don’t know what to get. To solve this dilemma you grab a magazine about dogs from the store for ideas. So, if you want to say a magazine about dogs you can use の.
犬の雑誌
a magazine about dogs
の can talk about things or even tell you what types of things.
梨の木
pear tree
白黒のテレビ番組
a black and white television program
陶器のコップ
a ceramic cup
Location
の in Japanese can also tell you where something is located.
アメリカの首都
America’s capital
オフィスのパソコン
a computer in the office
You can talk about places located in other places or things located somewhere.
How to use の in Japanese?
So, now that you know that の can connect words with different relationships and describe other words here are some more advanced ways to use の.
Together with other Particles
の does not only need to follow directly after nouns. It also sometimes comes after other particles. This is very helpful for keeping phrases short.
先生との会話
a conversation with the teacher
This is a common way in writing that longer sentences are squished into compact phrases.
大統領の到着
the president’s arrival
先生の決定
the teacher’s decision
However, just remember that anytime you try to shorten things there is always the possibility that some ideas will be lost. So, make sure that the context helps to make sense of what you are wanting to say.
But, if the context makes sense using の in Japanese is a powerful way to say a lot. You can also link phrases ending with の with other phrases with の to show complex relationships or descriptions.
アメリカのテレビ番組からの情報
information from an American television program
Leaving out Obvious words
Just like in English, in Japanese if you point at a hamburger and say, this is mine, no-one will think you are talking about the pizza in the fridge.
これは私の
this is mine
In Japanese, you can leave out the word following の if the situation makes it obvious what you are talking about.
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