16 docs tagged with "conjunctions-and-connectives"

How to say "or" in Japanese: casual か between nouns, formal または in writing, literary もしくは, the 〜か〜か pattern, and the legal hierarchy nuance.

Japanese conjunctions explained: the two families (clause-linking 接続助詞 like から, けど vs sentence-initial 接続詞 like しかし, でも) and how to choose the right one.

～ながら attaches to the verb masu-stem to mean "while doing" two actions at once, and ～ながら(も) means "although." Forms, the same-subject rule, and nuance.

The connective particle が links clauses like けど but more formally, and softens prefaces in ですが/のですが. See how it differs from subject-marker が.

から vs ので both mean "because" in Japanese. Learn the subjective–objective split, the な-form connection trap, command restrictions, and だから vs なので.

けど, けれど, and けれども are one soft "but" on a casual-to-formal scale. Learn the form, the register order, and how けど softens and prefaces in Japanese.

Say "on top of that" in Japanese with しかも and それに: それに for neutral addition, しかも for emphatic "what's more," plus same-polarity piling and register.

そして, それで, それから all gloss as "and" or "then," so learners conflate them. Here is the one-line split: narrative そして, result それで, sequence それから.

ただし adds a proviso or exception; もっとも concedes a qualifying "that said." Learn both N2 connectives, ただしʼs 但し書き legal register, and もっとも vs 最も.

ため, せい, and おかげ all mean "because of" but split by moral framing: せい assigns blame, おかげ gives credit, ため stays neutral. Learn how to pick the right one.

つまり, すなわち, and 要するに all reframe a point in Japanese. Learn which one restates, which one summarizes, and the casual-to-formal register ladder for each.

でも and しかし both open a sentence with "but," split by register. Learn the casual versus formal rule, the けど parallel, and which でも this one is.

ところが marks an unexpected turn ("however, and yet"); ところで shifts the topic ("by the way"). Learn both N3 discourse pivots and ところが's tense behavior.

のに means "even though," but unlike けど it carries frustration or disappointment. Learn the connection rule, the no-command restriction, and when to use it.

ば…ほど is how Japanese says "the more X, the more Y." Learn the V-ば + 辞書形 + ほど formation, adjective and noun variants, and set phrases like 考えれば考えるほど.

Learn how to say furthermore in Japanese with また, さらに, and その上: parallel addition, climactic escalation, and the emphatic "on top of that" piling.