The Core Particles II
Japanese Grammar 1
Chapter 6 · The Core Particles II: と, や, から, まで, より, も
🏷️ The Core Particles II — と・や・から・まで・より・も
Chapter 5 gave you the five particles that mark the main jobs in a sentence. This chapter adds the ones that connect, limit and compare: と and や for "and", から and まで for "from" and "until", より for "than", だけ and しか for "only", and the two small sentence-ending words ね and よ that shape how a sentence sounds. By the end you can say most everyday things in Japanese, apart from the verb forms that come in Chapter 8.
1. と: "and" and "with"
| Meaning | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| and (complete list) | パンと たまごを かいます。 pan to tamago o kaimasu | I buy bread and eggs. (only those two) |
| with (accompanying) | ともだちと えいがを みます。 tomodachi to eiga o mimasu | I watch a film with a friend. |
| with (a partner in the action) | せんせいと はなします。 sensei to hanashimasu | I talk with the teacher. |
2. や: "and so on"
や lists examples, with the sense "A, B, among others". It is often followed by など ("etc.") at the end.
| Japanese | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| パンや たまごを かいます。 | pan ya tamago o kaimasu | I buy things like bread and eggs. |
| りんごや みかんなどを たべます。 | ringo ya mikan nado o tabemasu | I eat apples, mandarins and so on. |
| と (complete) | や (examples) |
|---|---|
| パンと たまご → exactly bread + eggs | パンや たまご → bread, eggs, maybe more |
3. から and まで: "from" and "until"
から marks the starting point and まで the end point. They work for both time and place, together or separately.
| Use | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| time, a span | くじから ごじまで はたらきます。 kuji kara goji made hatarakimasu | I work from nine to five. |
| place, a journey | とうきょうから おおさかまで しんかんせんで いきます。 Tōkyō kara Ōsaka made shinkansen de ikimasu | I go from Tokyo to Osaka by bullet train. |
| starting point only | あしたから べんきょうします。 ashita kara benkyō shimasu | I'll study from tomorrow. |
| end point only | ごじまで まちます。 goji made machimasu | I'll wait until five. |
4. より: "than"
Comparison uses より after the thing that is less: A は B より [adjective] です = "A is more [adjective] than B". The adjectives themselves are taught in Chapter 9; here are a few as vocabulary.
| Japanese | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| このかばんは あのかばんより たかいです。 | kono kaban wa ano kaban yori takai desu | This bag is more expensive than that one. |
| エディンバラは とうきょうより ちいさいです。 | Edinbara wa Tōkyō yori chiisai desu | Edinburgh is smaller than Tokyo. |
| でんしゃの ほうが バスより はやいです。 | densha no hō ga basu yori hayai desu | The train is faster than the bus. |
The pattern A の ほうが B より ... ("A is the more ... one, compared with B") puts the winner first and is very common in speech.
5. も again: with numbers and question words
You met も as "also" in Chapter 4. Two more uses are essential:
| Use | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| After a number: "as many as" | ともだちが さんにんも きました。 tomodachi ga sannin mo kimashita | As many as three friends came. |
| Question word + も + negative: "none, not any" | だれも いません。 dare mo imasen なにも たべません。 nani mo tabemasen | There is nobody. I don't eat anything. |
| どこへも いきませんでした。 doko e mo ikimasen deshita | I didn't go anywhere. |
Notice that after だれ, なに the particle が or を disappears (だれも), but after へ, に or で it stays (どこへも, どこにも).
6. だけ and しか: "only"
Both limit something to a single thing or amount, but they are built differently.
| だけ | しか | |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | positive or negative | always negative |
| Feeling | neutral "only, just" | "only, and that's not much / not enough" |
| Example | コーヒーだけ のみます。 kōhī dake nomimasu I drink only coffee. | コーヒーしか のみません。 kōhī shika nomimasen I drink nothing but coffee. |
| With numbers | ひとりだけ います。 There is just one person. | ひとりしか いません。 There is only one person (a pity). |
| Money | ひゃくえんだけ あります。 I have just 100 yen. | ひゃくえんしか ありません。 I have only 100 yen (not enough). |
だけ and しか replace が and を, but sit before に, で, へ and similar particles: ここでだけ koko de dake ("only here").
7. ね and よ: the sentence-final voices
Two tiny words at the very end of a sentence change how it sounds: they are essential to speaking naturally and add no grammar.
| Word | Role | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ね | asks for agreement, shares a feeling | いい てんきですね。 ii tenki desu ne | Nice weather, isn't it? |
| ね | confirms something | あした いきますね。 ashita ikimasu ne | You're going tomorrow, right? |
| よ | gives new information, a gentle assertion | あした いきますよ。 ashita ikimasu yo | I am going tomorrow, you know. |
| よ | warns, reminds | もう くじですよ。 mō kuji desu yo | It's already nine, you know! |
🗣️ In Use — つかいかた
The particles in real exchanges. Read each aloud.
① Shopping
② Work hours
③ Small talk
📋 Quick Reference
| Particle | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| と | and (complete); with | パンと たまご · ともだちと |
| や | and so on | りんごや みかん |
| から | from | くじから |
| まで | until, as far as | ごじまで |
| より | than | バスより はやい |
| も | also; as many as; none (with question words) | だれも いません |
| だけ | only | コーヒーだけ |
| しか | only (with negative) | ひとりしか いません |
| ね / よ | agreement / information | いい てんきですね |
✍️ Practice — れんしゅう
Try each one, then click to check.
1. Fill in: ともだち__ えいがを みます。 ("I watch a film with a friend.")
Show answer
と: ともだちと えいがを みます。
2. Say "I eat apples, mandarins and so on."
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りんごや みかんなどを たべます。
3. Say "I work from nine to five."
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くじから ごじまで はたらきます。
4. Say "I'll be home by six." Which is right, まで or までに?
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ろくじまでに かえります。 A deadline takes までに.
5. Say "The train is faster than the bus."
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でんしゃは バスより はやいです。 (or でんしゃの ほうが バスより はやいです。)
6. Say "Nobody came."
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だれも きませんでした。
7. Say "There is only one person" in two ways, with だけ and with しか.
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ひとりだけ います。 and ひとりしか いません。 (しか needs the negative.)
8. Which ends the sentence naturally: いい てんきですね or いい てんきですよ, if you want your listener to agree?
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ね: it asks for agreement. よ gives information the listener may not know.
9. Correct: ひゃくえんしか あります。
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ひゃくえんしか ありません。 しか always takes a negative verb.
10. Say "I didn't eat anything."
Show answer
なにも たべませんでした。