Classification of words Flashcards
To recognize the basic categories of Japanese words and their functions, by sound and sight.
Name and meaning of: 単語
NAME: word MEANING: a generic, broad name for all Japanese words
Name and meaning of: 付属詞 (extra credit, not key word)
NAME: attaching words MEANING: words that prefix or suffix to other words and cannot stand alone in a sentence
Name and meaning of: 自立語 (extra credit, not key word)
NAME: independent words MEANING: words that can stand on their own
Name and meaning of: 活用する
NAME: to inflect, to conjugate MEANING: a verb that indicates that a word has various inflections (conjugations)
Name and meaning of: 用言
NAME: inflecting words, conjugating words MEANING: a broad classification of words for all inflecting words: na-nouns, adjectives, and verbs *The 用 is from 活用する
Name and meaning of: 体言
NAME: substantives, nouns MEANING: a broad classification that means a word names something (people, places, things, ideas, etc.) *The 体 means “body”
Name and function of: 助詞
NAME: particle (joshi), “helping word” FUNCTION: non-inflecting, attaching words (although they aren’t prefixes or suffixes, they are tightly bound to a word or phrase and meaning nothing without that word or phrase. They have a variety of functions: indicate the grammatical role of a word, relate words/phrases, provide emphasis, and so on.
Name and function of: 助動詞
NAME: auxiliary word (jodoushi), predicate suffix FUNCTION: inflecting words that suffix to other inflecting words (adjectives, adverbs, but mostly verbs or other auxiliary verbs) and bring a wide and rich range of nuances and other meanings to words
Name of: 形容動詞
NAME: I prefer just to use keiyoudoushi for this class but you will hear me say “na-nouns” sometimes — this word has a number of English equivalents, depending on the grammar book used
Name of: 形容詞
NAME: adjective
Name of: 動詞
NAME: verb
Name and function of: 感動詞
NAME: exclamations, exclamatory particles FUNCTION: they bring emphasis to a word, phrase, or sentence but what “emphasis” means is sometimes counter-intuitive. We will learn a different way to think about this word group but it is true that this is a very common dictionary term
Name and function of: 副詞
NAME: adverbs, adverbial particles FUNCTION: modifies a 用言 *While these words are classified as particles they don’t look like the usual one- or two-syllable particles you are used to. They look like normal words or phrases.
連体詞 (extra credit, not key word)
Name: Literally “a word that attaches to a noun,” I don’t want to give this a name because we don’t have this type of word in English. If I ever use the word, it will be “rentaishi.” It is a short phrase that modifies a noun and usually cannot itself be modified: あの〜、我が〜、いわゆる〜 and so on. If you are interested, see the Japanese Wiki for 連体詞. The full description of the various types is there.
Meaning of: 名詞
MEANING: Refers to the name of an object, person, place, concept, or such.
Name and function of: 接続詞
NAME: conjunctions or conjunctive particles (“conjunction” means a brining together) FUNCTION: relates words or phrases in a sentence
What are nouns?
When we say 名詞 or noun we might be referring to the name of an object, person, place, concept, or such.
What are adjectives?
Adjectives, for us, are words that modify 用言
What are adverbs?
Adverbs, for us, are words that modify 用言
What are verbs?
Verbs are words that indicate action or states
What is a predicate?
In English “the part of a sentence or clause containing a verb and stating something about the subject” In Japanese this would be “the part of a sentence or clause containing a 用言 and stating something about the subject.” In Japanese the subject-predicate pair is 主語述語（しゅごじゅつご）. I sometimes say “shugo” for subject and “jutsugo” for predicate. I sometimes erroneous say “What is the subject-verb” pair when I should say “What is the subject-predicate pair?” Just a bad habit of mine.
Can this word be a subject or predicate: 用言
SUBJECT/AGENT: No PREDICATE: yes
Can this word be a subject or predicate: 体言
SUBJECT/AGENT: Yes PREDICATE: No
Can this word be a subject or predicate: 助詞
SUBJECT/AGENT: No PREDICATE: No
