Japanese Conjunctions Overview: Clause-Linkers (接続助詞) vs. Sentence-Connectors (接続詞)

Japanese conjunctions come in two grammatically distinct families. Some are particles attached to the end of a clause inside one sentence (接続助詞: けど, から, ので, のに). Others are standalone words that open a new sentence (接続詞: しかし, でも, そして, ところで).¹² First, identify the family. It decides where the word can sit and whether you stay in one sentence or start another.

This page maps both families and gives you a chooser. For deeper detail on each connector, follow the dedicated articles linked from this hub.

Overview: Two Ways to Connect, One Job

Japanese has two devices for connecting ideas, and they belong to two different parts of speech (品詞). One is the 接続助詞 (setsuzoku-joshi, "conjunctive particle"); the other is the 接続詞 (setsuzokushi, "conjunction").¹²

A 接続助詞 is a particle (助詞). It attaches to a conjugating word (or its equivalent) and links the clause before it to what comes after, showing the meaning relation between the two.¹ A 接続詞 works differently. It is a free-standing, non-conjugating word that picks up the preceding sentence and carries on to the next one, showing their relation.²

The key difference is dependence. A 接続詞 is an independent word (自立語) that can stand on its own as a phrase unit. A 接続助詞 is a bound particle that cannot stand alone and must attach to a predicate.¹²

The category names are grammar labels, not vocabulary

接続助詞 and 接続詞 are terms from Japanese school grammar (国文法), not JLPT vocabulary. Learners meet the members (から, でも, and the rest) at N5 long before they meet the category names. Treat the kanji terms here as an orientation map, not as words to drill.

Because the same logical relation can be expressed either way, the first decision is structural, not semantic. "But" can be a clause-internal けど or a sentence-initial でも. "So" can be a clause-internal から or a sentence-initial だから. Choose the family first, then the member.³⁴

The Two Families

Clause-Linkers Inside One Sentence (接続助詞)

A 接続助詞 attaches to the end of a clause, after a conjugating word or auxiliary, and fuses that clause to the following one inside a single sentence.¹⁵ Its position is fixed: clause-final, glued to the predicate it follows.

Common members of this family in modern spoken Japanese include けれども (けれど/けど), が, のに, ので, から, し, て, and ながら.¹⁵ This hub focuses on four: けど (contrast), から (cause), ので (cause), and のに (counter-expectation).

今日きょうは忙いそがしいけど、明日あしたは暇ひま。³
"I'm busy today, but free tomorrow."

ここは、うるさいから、あまり好すきじゃない。³
"It's noisy here, so I don't like it very much."

Because a 接続助詞 is a bound particle, it cannot start a sentence on its own. At a sentence head it would have nothing to attach to.¹

Non-conjugating words need a linking element first

A plain noun or na-adjective cannot take some of these particles directly. けど takes だ (今日は暇だけど), while ので and のに take な before them. The な in なので and なのに is not a typo. It is the attributive form the particle requires.⁶

ここは静しずかなので、好すき。³
"It's quiet here, so I like it."

田中たなかさんは、先生せんせいなのに、とても若わかいです。³
"Despite being a teacher, Tanaka-san is very young."

Within this family, register slides. For the same contrastive job in one sentence, が is slightly more formal and けど is fairly casual.³

Sentence-Connectors That Open a Sentence (接続詞)

A 接続詞 is an independent, non-conjugating word. It stands at the head of a new sentence, after a full stop, and points back to the previous sentence to show how the next one relates to it.²⁷ Reference dictionaries group the family by relation: 順接 (consequence: だから, したがって), 逆接 (contrast: しかし, けれども), 累加 (addition: また, および), and 選択 (choice: あるいは, もしくは).²

This hub focuses on four members: しかし (contrast, formal), でも (contrast, casual), そして (sequence and addition), and ところで (topic shift).⁴

気温きおんは低ひくく寒さむいです。しかし、花はなが咲さきました。⁴
"The temperature is low and it's cold. However, flowers bloomed."

外そとは暖あたたかい。でも、風かぜは冷つめたい。⁴
"It's warm outside. But the wind is cold."

しかし leans formal and written; でも leans casual and spoken, for the same contrastive job across two sentences.⁴

私わたしはりんごを食たべます。そしてみかんも食たべます。⁴
"I'll eat an apple. And then I'll eat an orange, too."

ところで is built from the noun ところ ("place") and the case particle で, and it is used to change the topic in a conversation.⁸⁴

ところで、今週末こんしゅうまつは何なにか予定よていありますか。⁴
"By the way, do you have any plans this weekend?"

The Same Meaning in Both Families

Many relations have both a clause-internal member and a sentence-initial member with roughly the same meaning. They differ mainly in structure: whether you stay in one sentence or start a new one. They often differ in register, too.³⁴

Contrast is the clearest case. The clause-internal けど pairs with the sentence-initial でも.

お腹なかが空すいたけど、食たべ物ものがない。⁶
"I'm hungry, but there's no food."

Cause works the same way. The clause-internal から pairs with the sentence-initial だから, which reference dictionaries list under 接続詞 順接.²⁴

明日あしたは日曜日にちようびだから仕事しごとはしません。⁴
"Tomorrow is Sunday, so I won't work."

The pairing is a register ladder as well as a structural one. Within contrast, the clause-internal side runs けど (casual) to が (more formal), and the sentence-initial side runs でも (casual) to しかし (formal).³⁴

Connectors by Relation

The table below maps these connectors by the logical relation they express. Each row gives the family, a register note, and a JLPT band. Use it to scan for the relation you need. Detailed explanations of each form are in the dedicated articles.

Relation	接続助詞 (clause-internal)	接続詞 (sentence-initial)	Register note	JLPT band
Contrast / adversative (逆接)	けど / けれども / が15	でも / しかし24	けど casual to が/しかし formal34	N5 (のに N4)9
Cause / reason (順接)	から / ので15	だから / それで24	から subjective to ので objective and softer6	から N5; ので N5-band; それで N49
Concession / counter-expectation	のに15	ところが26	のに adds complaint or surprise; ところが marks an unexpected result6	のに N4; ところが N369
Sequence (継起)	て1	そして / それで / それから24	そして is neutral sequence and addition4	そして N5; それで N49
Addition (累加)	し1	また / さらに / その上2	さらに and その上 lean written9	また N3-band; さらに N39
Restatement	(none)	つまり / すなわち / 要するに	summary or rephrasing10	つまり N3-band
Disjunction (選択)	(none)	または / もしくは / あるいは2	written and formal choice9	または N49
Qualification	(none)	ただし / もっとも	formal proviso	N2
Simultaneity / concessive	ながら5	(none)	clause-internal only	N4/N3
Topic shift	(none)	ところで48	conversational pivot4	N38

Some clause-internal cells are empty on purpose. In the consulted sources, restatement, disjunction, and qualification are expressed by sentence-initial 接続詞. No single clause-internal particle fills the same role.

How to Choose a Connector

Choose a connector in three steps: structure first, relation second, register last.

The first question is structural. A 接続助詞 must attach to a clause-ending predicate and cannot open a sentence. A 接続詞 is a free word that opens a new one.¹² Settle that first. Then pick the relation, then adjust for register: けど to が for clause-internal contrast, でも to しかし for sentence-initial contrast, から to ので for cause (ので is softer, more objective, and more polite).³⁶⁴

Nuance and Usage Contexts

A few cross-cutting contrasts trip learners early. This overview keeps each one brief. The dedicated articles cover them in depth.

Subjective versus objective cause (から versus ので). ので is more objective and softer than から, which states the speaker's personal reason more directly. Because ので softens the speaker's stance and sounds more polite, it is preferred when asking permission, making an excuse, or speaking to guests. から is freer in sentences with prohibitions, commands, and questions.⁶

Neutral versus charged concession (けど versus のに). が, けど, けれど, and けれども express contrast without implying complaint or surprise. のに (and なのに) implies both. けど is the neutral contrastive. のに is the emotionally charged one.⁶

お腹なかが空すいたのに、食たべ物ものがない。⁶
"I'm hungry, and yet there's no food."

Register sliding within a family. For clause-internal contrast, けど is casual and が is more formal.³ Within the けど family itself, けど is casual and colloquial. けれども is more formal and appears most often in writing or formal speech.¹¹

映画えいがを見みるのは楽たのしいけれども、チケットが高たかい。¹¹
"Watching movies is fun, but tickets are expensive."

Why sentence-initial connectors feel heavier. しかし is the formal-register contrastive used at a sentence head, against the casual でも.⁴ This fits the grammar: 接続詞 are independent words that restart and re-anchor the discourse. As a result, they carry more weight than a particle fused inside a clause.²

日本人にほんじんは時間じかんに厳きびしいです。ところが、遅刻ちこくする人ひともいます。⁶
"Japanese people are strict about time. However, there are people who run late too."

Good to know

"Particle or conjunction?" is a real question for が and けど

が and けど are 接続助詞 (conjunctive particles), not members of the standalone 接続詞 family, even though English glosses both as "but." The modern-language lists in both 『精選版 日本国語大辞典』 and 『デジタル大辞泉』 place が and けれども (けれど) inside the 接続助詞 family.¹⁵ So when you see "but" in an English translation, the Japanese behind it may be a clause-internal particle rather than a sentence-opener.

が also has a second, unrelated use as the subject-marking case particle (格助詞). The conjunctive-particle が attaches after a complete predicate to link clauses. The case-particle が attaches to a noun to mark the subject. Same shape, two different particles.¹

In its 接続詞 use, ところで clearly derives from the noun ところ ("place") plus the case particle で. Its "by the way" topic-shift reading is a fixed extension of that literal origin.⁸

Sentence-initial connectors are easy to overuse

Learners coming from English often start nearly every sentence with a 接続詞, especially そして or しかし. That habit produces choppier text than native norms. 接続詞 are independent words that re-anchor the discourse each time, while 接続助詞 fuse clauses inside one sentence and connect more quietly.¹² When a thought can stay inside one sentence with a clause-linking particle, that is usually the smoother choice.

The "two members, one meaning" memory hook

Pairing each clause-internal connector with its sentence-initial cousin can cut the memory load. けど (接続助詞) and でも (接続詞) both do contrast. から (接続助詞) and だから (接続詞 順接) both do cause. ので pairs with それで or なので for cause and result.¹²⁴ Learn a pair as a unit, and note which member stays inside the sentence. That is faster than learning eight unrelated words.

See also

• The Connective Particle が: "But" and the Soft Preface in Japanese
• Japanese Conditionals Overview: と, ば, たら, なら (Which "If" to Use)
• Japanese Speech Levels: Plain, Polite, Formal, and Literary Register
• How Japanese Grammar Works: A Big-Picture Overview

References

Footnotes

1. 小学館. 『デジタル大辞泉』, entry 「接続助詞」. Via Kotobank. https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%8E%A5%E7%B6%9A%E5%8A%A9%E8%A9%9E-548264 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷

2. 小学館. 『デジタル大辞泉』, entry 「接続詞」. Via Kotobank. https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%8E%A5%E7%B6%9A%E8%A9%9E-87632 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷

3. Kim, Tae. "Compound Sentences." Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese. https://guidetojapanese.org/learn/complete/conjunctions ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

4. JapanesePod101. "Japanese Conjunctions: Learn Japanese Linking Words." https://www.japanesepod101.com/blog/2020/01/16/japanese-conjunctions/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²²

5. 小学館. 『精選版 日本国語大辞典』, entry 「接続助詞」. Via Kotobank. https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%8E%A5%E7%B6%9A%E5%8A%A9%E8%A9%9E-548264 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

6. Wasabi. "Major Conjunctions in Japanese." Wasabi: Learn Japanese Online. https://wasabi-jpn.com/magazine/japanese-grammar/major-conjunctions-in-japanese/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

7. 小学館. 『精選版 日本国語大辞典』, entry 「接続詞」. Via Kotobank. https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%8E%A5%E7%B6%9A%E8%A9%9E-87632 ↩

8. Bunpro. Grammar point 「ところで」. https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/%E3%81%A8%E3%81%93%E3%82%8D%E3%81%A7 (limitation: language-learning platform; used for JLPT level and structural framing) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

9. JLPT Sensei. "Complete Japanese Conjunctions List." https://jlptsensei.com/complete-japanese-conjunctions-list/ (limitation: aggregator, used only for JLPT-level tagging, not for example sentences) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

10. Coto Academy. "Complete List of Japanese Conjunctions." https://cotoacademy.com/complete-japanese-conjunction/ ↩

11. Bunpro. Grammar point 「けれども」. https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/%E3%81%91%E3%82%8C%E3%81%A9%E3%82%82 (limitation: language-learning platform; used for register note, JLPT level, and one verified example) ↩ ↩²