の indicates possession
Sentence Structure Pattern
- の [ Noun ]
English Meaning
my [ Noun ] our [ Noun ] her [ Noun ] him [ Noun ] their [ Noun ]
One of the most basic uses of "の" is to indicate possession.
This corresponds to someone's or my, our, her, him, their in English.
It's positioned between the subject and the predicate, indicating that the subject owns the predicate, or there's some relationship between the subject and the predicate.
Japanese
これは私の本です。
English
This is my book.
Informal or Formal
Informal
Formal
Spoken or Written language
Spoken
Written
※ My personal impressions are quantified and may vary from person to person.
の indicates the subject of a relative clause
Japanese
東京の天気はどうですか？
English
What's the weather like in Tokyo?
Informal or Formal
Informal
Formal
Spoken or Written language
Spoken
Written
※ My personal impressions are quantified and may vary from person to person.
の indicates an apposition
Japanese
友達の太郎は日本人です。
English
My friend Taro is Japanese.
の indicates a modified pronoun
Sentence Structure Pattern
- の + Noun
English Meaning
one this that mine
"の" can be used as a pronoun to refer to a previously mentioned thing or situation.
It corresponds to "one" "that" "this" in English.
Japanese
赤いのが欲しい。
English
I want the red one.
Informal or Formal
Informal
Formal
Spoken or Written language
Spoken
Written
※ My personal impressions are quantified and may vary from person to person.
の is used to nominalize verbs and sentences
Japanese
本を読むのが好きです。
English
I like reading books.
Informal or Formal
Informal
Formal
Spoken or Written language
Spoken
Written
※ My personal impressions are quantified and may vary from person to person.
At the end of a sentence to express a question or soften a command
Sentence Structure Pattern
- 〜 の？
English Meaning
isn't it?, is it?, are they?, aren't they?
By adding "の" at the end of a sentence, you can turn the entire sentence into a question.
It's primarily used in spoken language and not commonly used in formal situations.
In English, this corresponds to "is it?" "aren't they?" and so forth.
Informal or Formal
Informal
Formal
Spoken or Written language
Spoken
Written
※ My personal impressions are quantified and may vary from person to person.