Parts of Speech in Japanese: The 10 Classes (品詞)
Japanese parts of speech are called 品詞 (hinshi). In 学校文法 (school grammar), they are the ten word classes used to sort every Japanese word by its grammatical job.12 This guide names all ten, places them on the two axes that explain why those ten exist, and connects the labels you see in Japanese textbooks with those used in textbooks for non-native learners.
Overview: What "Parts of Speech" Means in Japanese
品詞 is the Japanese translation of "parts of speech." 小学館's デジタル大辞泉 defines it as "文法上の職能によって類別した単語の区分け", meaning word categories sorted by grammatical function.3 The Japanese Wikipedia entry on 品詞 frames the same idea as "語を文法的(形態論的・統語論的)な基準で分類したグループ", or groups of words classified by morphological and syntactic criteria.2
The standard school-grammar inventory has ten classes: 名詞, 動詞, 形容詞, 形容動詞, 副詞, 連体詞, 接続詞, 感動詞, 助詞, 助動詞.12 Japanese-Japanese dictionaries tag every headword with one of these ten classes, using abbreviations such as 〔名〕, 〔動〕, 〔形〕, 〔形動〕, 〔副〕, 〔連体〕, 〔接続〕, 〔感〕, 〔助〕, and 〔助動〕.23
The main systematizer was 橋本進吉 (Hashimoto Shinkichi, 1882–1945). His framework, set out in 『国語法要説』 (Meiji Shoin, 1934), underlies the 1943 Ministry of Education textbook 『中等文法』 and every postwar 国語 textbook in Japanese middle and high schools.451 The earliest systematic Japanese classification is older still: 富士谷成章 (1738–1779) proposed a four-part system (名・挿頭・装・脚結) in the Edo period.3
Why the count varies (9, 10, or more)
If you compare textbooks, you may see three different counts for the same language.
Ten is the canonical figure in 学校文法 and the inventory used by Japanese dictionaries.123 Eleven appears in some dictionaries, notably デジタル大辞泉, when 代名詞 (pronoun) is promoted out of 名詞 to its own class.3 Eight (or a similarly small number) is what foreigner-aimed textbooks effectively present. They fold 助動詞 into "verb endings", "polite forms", and "copula", drop 連体詞 as a named class, and rename 形容動詞 as "na-adjective".67 The English Wikipedia article on Japanese grammar records that historical grammarians proposed counts ranging "from three parts to twelve", a span that reflects persistent disagreement over classification criteria.8
This article uses ten as its spine because that is the count you meet in dictionary part-of-speech tags.23
The two axes that organize the 10 classes
The ten classes are not just a flat list. They sit at the intersection of two structural axes, explained in the next section. See "The 2×2 Map" below for the full grid.
The 2×2 Map: Independent vs Dependent, Inflectable vs Not
Two questions split the ten classes cleanly. Can the word form a phrase unit on its own, or must it attach to something else? And does the word change form to match its grammatical role?
The first question is the 自立語 (jiritsu-go, independent) versus 付属語 (fuzoku-go, dependent or bound) axis. An 自立語 can form a 文節 (bunsetsu, phrase unit) on its own, while a 付属語 cannot stand alone and must attach to a preceding 自立語.191011 Hashimoto defined 文節 as the minimal phrase unit of speech, both semantic and phonological. It is the structural foundation of the whole ten-class cut.4
The second question is the 活用 (katsuyō, inflectable) versus 非活用 (hi-katsuyō, non-inflectable) axis. An inflectable word changes form according to its grammatical role (e.g., 食べる → 食べた), while a non-inflectable word does not.12
Cross the two axes and the ten classes drop into four quadrants.12910
| 活用あり (inflectable) | 活用なし (non-inflectable) | |
|---|---|---|
| 自立語 (independent) | 動詞, 形容詞, 形容動詞 | 名詞, 副詞, 連体詞, 接続詞, 感動詞 |
| 付属語 (dependent) | 助動詞 | 助詞 |
The same shape, drawn as a tree, makes the difference between the two 付属語 classes visible at a glance.
Two cover terms sit on top of these quadrants. The inflectable independent classes (動詞, 形容詞, 形容動詞) are collectively called 用言 (yōgen).2 The non-inflectable independent classes built around 名詞 and its subclasses 代名詞 and 数詞 are collectively called 体言 (taigen) when they can be the subject.2
助動詞 is the only class in the grid that is both dependent and inflectable. That is why ない and た are categorized as 助動詞 rather than 助詞, even though they look like suffixes on a verb. 助詞 by definition do not inflect, but ない and た do (ない → なかった, なくて; た → たら, たろう).12
The 10 Classes, One by One
Each subsection below names the class with its Japanese term, gives a one-sentence definition, shows canonical examples, and flags one common beginner trap.
名詞 (meishi): Nouns
A 名詞 is an independent, non-inflectable word that can serve as the subject of a sentence. In 学校文法, the class 名詞 includes the subclasses 代名詞 (pronouns) and 数詞 (numerals).23
Standard 国語 references cite 学生, 本, 東京, 日本, 私 as canonical examples.2
学生です。6
"I am a student."
本を読みます。6
"I read a book."
東京は大きい。7
"Tokyo is big."
Japanese has no grammatical articles and no obligatory plural, which fits 名詞 being a non-inflectable class.82 Here, 代名詞 (私, あなた, これ, それ, あれ) and 数詞 (一, 二, 三, 一つ) belong inside 名詞. Foreigner grammars often promote them to separate part-of-speech tags, and デジタル大辞泉's eleven-class count promotes 代名詞 to a standalone class.23
動詞 (dōshi): Verbs
A 動詞 is an independent, inflectable 用言 that expresses action, existence, or change of state. Its unmarked dictionary form ends in /u/.82 Canonical examples include 食べる, 行く, する, 来る, 書く.26
ご飯を食べる。6
"I eat rice."
学校へ行きます。6
"I go to school."
日本語を勉強します。6
"I study Japanese."
Japanese is SOV (subject-object-verb) and head-final, so a 動詞 in its conjugated form normally closes its clause.8 The conjugation classification (五段 godan, 一段 ichidan, カ変 ka-irregular, サ変 sa-irregular) is internal to 動詞. It is not a part-of-speech distinction; every godan and every ichidan verb is the same part of speech.82
形容詞 (keiyōshi): i-Adjectives
A 形容詞 is an independent, inflectable 用言 whose dictionary form ends in /-i/. It inflects without help from the copula.82 Standard references cite 高い, 寒い, 楽しい, 大きい, おいしい.2
今日は寒い。6
"It is cold today."
映画は楽しかった。6
"The movie was fun."
このケーキはおいしい。7
"This cake is delicious."
The past tense replaces 〜い with 〜かった, and the negative replaces 〜い with 〜くない. Neither form uses a copula, which is exactly what distinguishes 形容詞 from 形容動詞.82 The English Wikipedia article notes that 形容詞 "conjugate identically to the negative form of verbs." That morphology is why a European-style "adjective" label is only a partial fit.8
形容動詞 (keiyō-dōshi): na-Adjectives
A 形容動詞 is an independent, inflectable 用言 that describes a property in meaning but inflects through the copula in form: 静かだ, 静かな, 静かに, 静かだった.213 Hashimoto Shinkichi established the class as a separate part of speech. The name, literally "adjectival verb", signals that the inflection is verb-like, even though the meaning is adjectival.13 Standard examples include 静か(な), 元気(な), 便利(な), きれい(な), 同じ.13
この街は静かだ。6
"This town is quiet."
元気な子供です。6
"He is an energetic child."
駅は便利でした。6
"The station was convenient."
形容動詞 and "na-adjective" name the same class. School grammar uses 形容動詞 because the class inflects through the copula, which is verb-like behavior. Foreigner-aimed textbooks use "な-adjective" to flag the attributive な form. The Japanese Wikipedia entry on 形容動詞 spells out the renaming: in JFL education, 形容動詞 is generally introduced as な-adjective.13
副詞 (fukushi): Adverbs
A 副詞 is, in the Japanese Wikipedia entry's wording, "自立語で活用がなく、主語にならない語のうち、おもに用言(動詞、形容詞、形容動詞)を修飾することば." In other words, it is an independent, non-inflectable word that cannot be the subject and that primarily modifies a 用言.14 Japanese 副詞 sit before the word they modify.14
School grammar recognizes three subclasses.14
- 状態の副詞 (manner): すぐに, ゆっくり, はっきり.
- 程度の副詞 (degree): とても, もっと, 少し, かなり.
- 呼応の副詞 / 陳述の副詞 (correlative): きっと... だ, 決して... ない, たぶん... だろう.
とても寒いです。6
"It is very cold."
ゆっくり話してください。6
"Please speak slowly."
決して忘れません。7
"I will never forget."
呼応の副詞 require a specific corresponding form: 決して pairs with a negative, きっと pairs with assertion, and たぶん pairs with the conjectural だろう or でしょう.14 Some manner adverbs take an optional と (ゆっくりと, はっきりと). This と is not the case particle と.14
連体詞 (rentaishi): Pre-noun Adjectivals
A 連体詞 is an independent, non-inflectable word that modifies only 体言 (nouns) and cannot serve as a predicate.15 The class is closed. The Japanese Wikipedia entry estimates roughly fifty commonly used 連体詞 in modern Japanese, depending on how one counts and whether literary forms are included.15
The class sorts by morphological shape.15
- の-type: この, その, あの, どの, ほんの, 当の, 例の.
- が-type: 我が, 我らが.
- る-type: いわゆる, ある, とある, あらゆる, いかなる, かかる.
- な-type: 大きな, 小さな, おかしな, いろんな, ひょんな.
- ぬ-type: あらぬ, よからぬ.
あの人は先生です。6
"That person is a teacher."
大きな声で話す。7
"Speak in a loud voice."
いわゆる常識です。7
"It is what is called common sense."
連体詞 have no exact European equivalent. They are sometimes glossed as "prenominal" or "attributive".15
大きな is a 連体詞: it has no inflection and attaches only to a following noun. 大きい is a 形容詞 with full inflection (大きかった, 大きくない). 大きな cannot stand as a predicate (the form 大きなだ is ungrammatical) and cannot inflect (no 大きなかった). 大きな声 is correct. For predicate use, reach for 大きい instead.15
接続詞 (setsuzokushi): Conjunctions
A 接続詞 is an independent, non-inflectable part of speech. In the Japanese Wikipedia entry's wording, it "文と文、節と節、句と句、語と語など文の構成要素同士の関係を示す", meaning that it indicates the relationship between sentence components (sentences, clauses, phrases, or words).16
School grammar groups 接続詞 by the relation they signal.16
- 順接 (natural consequence): だから, そのため, それで.
- 逆接 (contrast): しかし, けれども, ところが, でも.
- 並列・添加 (addition / parallel): そして, および, かつ, また.
- 対比・選択 (alternation): または, あるいは, それとも.
- 説明 (explanation): なぜなら, つまり, すなわち.
- 転換 (topic shift): さて, ところで, では.
雨が降った。しかし、出かけた。6
"It rained. However, I went out."
寒い。だから、コートを着る。6
"It is cold. So I will wear a coat."
紅茶、または、コーヒーをください。7
"Please give me tea or coffee."
接続詞 are distinct from 接続助詞 (conjunctive particles, e.g., から, ので, ば, て). A 接続詞 stands alone at the head of its clause. A 接続助詞 attaches to a preceding 用言.1716 If a connective requires a preceding verb stem or 用言 form (て-form linkages, から-clauses, ので-clauses), it is a 接続助詞, not a 接続詞.1716
感動詞 (kandōshi): Interjections
A 感動詞 is an independent, non-inflectable word expressing emotion, response, or address. The Japanese Wikipedia entry adds the structural test: a 感動詞 "主語、述語、修飾語になることも他の語に修飾されることもない." In other words, it cannot serve as subject, predicate, or modifier, and cannot be modified by another word.18
The class sorts into five subgroups.18
- 感動 (emotion): ああ, おお, まあ, あら.
- 応答 (response, aizuchi): はい, いいえ, うん, ええ.
- 呼びかけ (calling out): もしもし, ちょっと, おい, ねえ.
- 挨拶 (greetings): おはよう, こんにちは, こんばんは, さようなら, ありがとう.
- かけ声 (calls / exertion): えい, よいしょ, それ.
ああ、きれいだ。6
"Ah, how beautiful."
はい、わかりました。6
"Yes, I understood."
おはようございます。6
"Good morning."
The term 感動詞 became standard after 大槻文彦 used it in 1889, displacing the earlier 感嘆詞.18 Aizuchi (はい, ええ, うん, そう) are classified as 感動詞 even though they function as conversational backchannels rather than standalone utterances. Greetings (こんにちは, さようなら, ありがとう) are also 感動詞 in school grammar, even though foreigner-aimed textbooks present them as "expressions" or "set phrases".186
助詞 (joshi): Particles
A 助詞 is 付属語 (bound, cannot stand alone) and 非活用 (non-inflectable). It attaches to a preceding word to express grammatical relationships.17 Colloquially, the class is called 「てにをは」, a name derived from the way classical Chinese annotation systems noted these elements.17
School grammar uses a four-way subclassification.17
- 格助詞 (case particles): が, を, に, へ, で, から, より, と, の.
- 係助詞 / 副助詞 (binding / adverbial): は, も, こそ, さえ, しか, だけ, ばかり, ほど.
- 接続助詞 (conjunctive): ば, から, ので, が, けれども, て, のに, ても.
- 終助詞 (sentence-final): か, ね, よ, な, わ, ぞ, の.
私は学生です。6
"I am a student."
学校で勉強します。6
"I study at school."
田中さんも来ますか。6
"Will Tanaka-san come too?"
行きたいけれども、時間がない。7
"I want to go, but I do not have time."
助詞 do not inflect; 助動詞 do. The same surface position can be filled by either class. In 食べた, た is a 助動詞 (inflectable: たろう, たら). In 食べたい, たい is also a 助動詞. But in 食べてから, から is a 助詞.1712
助動詞 (jodōshi): Auxiliary Verbs
A 助動詞 is 付属語 (bound) and 活用 (inflectable). It attaches to a preceding 用言 or to another 助動詞 and adds grammatical meaning such as tense, voice, mood, politeness, negation, or conjecture.12 As noted in the 2×2 map, 助動詞 is the unique class that is both dependent and inflectable.112
The canonical inventory, sorted by meaning, covers most of the items that foreigner-aimed textbooks distribute across "verb endings", "polite forms", "negative", and "copula".12
- Negation: ない, ぬ (ん).
- Past / completion: た (だ after voiced consonants).
- Politeness: です, ます.
- Passive / potential / honorific / spontaneous: (ら)れる.
- Causative: (さ)せる.
- Conjecture / volition: う, よう, まい, だろう / でしょう.
- Desire: たい.
- Hearsay / appearance / likelihood: そうだ, ようだ, らしい, みたいだ.
- Copula (assertion): だ / です.
The copula です / だ is itself a 助動詞 in 学校文法, marking 断定 (assertion).12
行きません。6
"I do not go."
行きました。6
"I went."
雨が降りそうだ。7
"It looks like it will rain."
日本語が話せる。7
"I can speak Japanese."
ない, た, ます, です, られる, and せる are 助動詞, not 助詞, because they all inflect: ない → なかった, なくて; た → たら, たろう; ます → ました, ません; です → でした, でしょう. 助詞 by definition cannot inflect.1712
School Grammar vs. Japanese-as-a-Foreign-Language Grammar
The same Japanese word often carries two different part-of-speech labels in two different books. This section names the two systems and shows the mapping.
What gakkō bunpō (学校文法) is
学校文法 is the Hashimoto-derived grammar codified in the 1943 Ministry of Education textbook 『中等文法』. Every postwar 国語 textbook used in Japanese middle and high schools inherited it, and Japanese-Japanese dictionaries use it to tag parts of speech.14 It uses the ten-class inventory, the 自立語 / 付属語 axis, the 活用 / 非活用 axis, and the 文節 phrase unit. This article uses it as its spine.14
What gendai / nihongo bunpō (現代文法 / 日本語文法) is
The descriptive cut developed for teaching Japanese to non-native speakers is the system used by Genki, Minna no Nihongo, Tobira, and the broader JFL (Japanese as a Foreign Language) reference literature.67 It typically introduces "na-adjective" for 形容動詞, splits 助動詞 across "verb endings", "polite forms", "auxiliaries", and "copula", and rarely names 連体詞 as a class.6713 The Japanese Wikipedia entry on 形容動詞 spells out the renaming explicitly: in JFL education, 形容動詞 is generally introduced as な-adjective.13
Side-by-side mapping table
| 学校文法 (10-class) | Foreigner-grammar label | Where it shows up in JFL textbooks |
|---|---|---|
| 名詞 | noun | "Noun" |
| 動詞 | verb | "Verb"; further split into Group 1 / 2 / 3 (= 五段 / 一段 / 不規則) |
| 形容詞 | i-adjective | "い-adjective" |
| 形容動詞 | na-adjective | "な-adjective" |
| 副詞 | adverb | "Adverb" |
| 連体詞 | (often unnamed) prenominal | usually presented as fixed expressions (この, その, あの, etc.) |
| 接続詞 | conjunction | "Conjunction" |
| 感動詞 | interjection | "Interjection" or "expression" |
| 助詞 | particle | "Particle"; subclassed by function in JFL too |
| 助動詞 | (split) | distributed across "polite form" (ます), "copula" (です), "negative" (ない), "past" (た), "passive / causative", "auxiliary" |
The school-side terms come from the Japanese Wikipedia entries on 学校文法, 品詞, and 形容動詞.1213 The foreigner-side terms represent standard JFL references.67
Good to know
大きな is a 連体詞, 大きい is a 形容詞
The forms look almost identical, but they belong to different classes. 大きな is a closed-class 連体詞: it cannot inflect and cannot serve as a predicate, so the predicate form 大きなだ does not exist and there is no past form 大きなかった. 大きい is a 形容詞 with full inflection. The fix is to use 大きい when the word stands as a predicate.15
その犬は大きい。15
"That dog is big."
形容動詞 takes な before a noun, not の
If you read 静か as a noun-like stem, you may try 静かのへや for "quiet room." 形容動詞 takes な in the attributive position, not の. Only true 名詞 take の. The correct attributive is 静かなへや.136
静かな部屋です。6
"It is a quiet room."
助動詞 ない vs 形容詞 ない
Both forms inflect, which is why they are easy to confuse. The 助動詞 ない is the negation suffix attached to 動詞 (食べない, 行かない). The 形容詞 ない is the standalone adjective meaning "not exist" or "lack" (お金がない). The first is 付属語 and cannot stand alone; the second is 自立語 and can.12
お金がない。12
"I have no money."
Greetings count as 感動詞
In 学校文法, おはよう, こんにちは, さようなら, and ありがとう are tagged 感動詞 (interjection). JFL textbooks typically present them as "expressions" or "set phrases" instead. The labels point at the same forms; the school-grammar label is the one a Japanese dictionary will use.186
Eight-class roll-call mnemonic
A compact way to drill the eight independent classes is the roll-call "what, what does, how, how copula-style, how done, which, and-but-or, oh": 名詞 (what), 動詞 (what does), 形容詞 (how), 形容動詞 (how, copula-style), 副詞 (how done), 連体詞 (which), 接続詞 (and-but-or), 感動詞 (oh). Then add the two 付属語: 助詞 (glue) and 助動詞 (inflecting glue). The order mirrors the sequence most 国語 textbooks use to introduce them. It also forces you to name each class once before stepping back to the 2×2 grid.1
形容動詞 means "adjectival verb" because it inflects through the copula
The class name was coined to capture morphology, not meaning. A 形容動詞 has adjectival meaning ("quiet", "convenient"), but its inflection is verb-like, running through なり / たり in classical Japanese and through だ / です in modern Japanese. Hence the compound name: adjectival in meaning, verbal in inflection.13
てにをは is the old name for particles
助詞 was historically called てにをは, after the four kana strings that appeared most often in classical Chinese annotation marks (kunten). The modern technical name 助詞 displaced てにをは as Japanese-style grammar developed in the Meiji period. The older term still appears in writing about classical grammar and in idiomatic Japanese (e.g., 「てにをはがおかしい」, "the particles are off").17
See also
- How Japanese Grammar Works: A Big-Picture Overview
- Japanese Adjectives Overview: The Two Classes (い-形容詞 vs な-形容詞)
- Polite vs. Plain Japanese: です/ます vs. だ (丁寧体・普通体)
- Topic vs. Subject in Japanese: The Hidden Slot
- Dropped Subjects in Japanese: Pro-Drop Explained