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A は B だ。 (A wa B da.)
This is a very common construction in Japanese. Most of the time
は (wa) denotes the subject of the sentence, but sometimes it should
be translated completely separate from the rest of the sentence.
Therefore 田中さんはお茶です。 (Tanaka-san wa o-cha desu.) can be translated
as "Mr. Tanaka is tea." or "Where it's Mr. Tanaka
concerned, it is tea." Without context this sentence doesn't
make much sense, but this sentence could be a response to any of
these questions:
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What would Mr. Tanaka like to drink?
田中さんは何を飲みますか。 (Tanaka-san wa nani wo nomimasu ka.)
Mr. Tanaka will have tea.
田中さんはお茶です。 (Tanaka-san wa o-cha desu.)
What does Mr. Tanaka prefer? Milk or tea?
田中さんは何がいいですか。牛乳ですか。お茶ですか。
(Tanaka-san ha nani ga ii desu ka. Gyuunyuu desu ka. O-cha
desu ka.)
Mr. Tanaka prefers tea.
田中さんはお茶です。 (Tanaka-san wa o-cha desu.)
What does Mr. Tanaka hate most?
田中さんは何が一番嫌いですか。 (Tanaka-san wa nani ga ichiban kirai desu
ka.)
Mr. Tanaka hates tea the most.
田中さんはお茶です。 (Tanaka-san wa o-cha desu.) |
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Variations are also possible:
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Who ordered the tea?
お茶は誰ですか。 (O-cha wa dare desu ka.)
Mr. Tanaka ordered the tea.
お茶は田中さんです。 (O-cha wa Tanaka-san desu.)
When's the best time to visit Japan?
日本はいつ行けばいいですか。 (Nihon wa itsu ikeba ii desu ka.)
For Japan the best time is spring.
日本は春だ。 (Nihon wa haru da.) |
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This extremely versatile construction can also be used in combination
with the past tense and negatives.
Orientation nouns
In the Japanese language nouns are used to indicate a location rather
than prepositions. Because these words are nouns they can be used
with a variety of particles.
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In front is the station.
前は駅です。 (Mae wa eki desu.)
I'm walking across the front.
前を歩く。 (Mae wo aruku.) |
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Like the orientation nouns 上 (ue), 中 (naka), and 下 (shita), when
combining these words with the particle の (no) you should keep in
mind that switching words changes the meaning of the sentence.
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車の後ろ (kuruma no ushiro)
behind the car
後ろの車 (ushiro no kuruma)
the last car |
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Any word that indicates a location is used in the same way. |
