# Word Order

https://langs123.com/en/japanese/sentence-basics/word-order/
CEFR A1–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> The verb comes last and particles mark each word’s role; time, place and object stand before it, and a modifier stands before its noun. Put the verb last, and the other words with their particles before it: 私わたしはパンを**食****た****べます**。

## Summary

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pattern | subject + **は** + noun + **を** + verb | 私わたしは**パンを**食たべます。 | I eat bread. |
| Verb | The verb, or **です**, ends the sentence. | 私わたしは学生がくせい**です**。 | I am a student. |
| Particles | The particle marks the role, not the position. | いぬ**が**ねこ**を**見みます。 / ねこ**が**いぬ**を**見みます。 | The dog looks at the cat. / The cat looks at the dog. |
| Time and place | Time first, then place, then object, then the verb. | 私わたしは**けさ**、**うちで**パンを食たべました。 | I ate bread at home this morning. |
| Modifier | A modifier stands before its noun. | これは**小****ちい****さい**ねこです。 | This is a small cat. |
| Number | A number follows its noun and particle. | 私わたしはりんごを**ふたつ**食たべます。 | I eat two apples. |
| Dropped words | A subject that is clear stays unsaid, and so does **あなた**. | コーヒーを飲のみますか。 — はい、飲のみます。 | Do you drink coffee? — Yes, I do. |
| Free order | Particle phrases may swap; the verb stays last. | 私わたしはうちでパンを食たべます。 = 私わたしはパンをうちで食たべます。 | I eat bread at home. |
| Trap | Nothing but **か**, **ね** or **よ** follows the verb. | 私わたしはパンを**食****た****べます**。 | I eat bread. |
| Trap | **小****ちい****さい** and **日本****にほん****の** come before the noun they describe. | これは**日本****にほん****の**本ほんです。 | This is a Japanese book. |

## Overview

- The verb comes last: the sentence ends with it, or with **です**. 私わたしはパンを**食****た****べます**。 (I eat bread.)
- A particle after each word marks its role; the meaning follows the particles, not the position. いぬ**が**ねこ**を**見みます。 / ねこ**が**いぬ**を**見みます。 (The dog looks at the cat. / The cat looks at the dog.)
- A modifier stands before its noun, and the noun it describes comes last. これは**私****わたし****の****小****ちい****さい**ねこです。 (This is my small cat.)
- A question keeps the order and ends in **か**. See Questions.

## Form: the order of a sentence

| Form | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| subject + **は** + verb | アンナさんは**来****き****ます**。 | Anna is coming. |
| subject + **は** + noun + **を** + verb | 私わたしはパン**を**食たべます。 | I eat bread. |
| subject + **は** + noun + **へ** + verb | 私わたしはがっこう**へ**行いきます。 | I go to school. |
| subject + **は** + the time + noun + **で** + noun + **を** + verb | 私わたしはけさ、うち**で**パンを食たべました。 | I ate bread at home this morning. |
| noun + **は** + noun + **です** | 私わたしは学生がくせい**です**。 | I am a student. |

- Nothing follows the verb but **か**, **ね** or **よ**. アンナさんはパンを食たべ**ますか**。 (Does Anna eat bread?)
- The topic with **は** stands first. See は and が.

## Time and place

| Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Time before place, place before object | 私わたしは**けさ**、**うちで**パンを食たべました。 | I ate bread at home this morning. |
| A day word stands alone, with no particle | **あした**日本にほんへ行いきます。 | I am going to Japan tomorrow. |
| From the wide to the narrow: day, then hour | **日曜日****にちようび****の****十時****じゅうじ****に**ともだちにあいます。 | On Sunday at ten o’clock I meet a friend. |

- The times themselves are in Telling the Time; the particles を, に, で, へ in Particles を, に, で, へ.

## Particles carry the roles

| Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Swap the particles and the meaning swaps | いぬ**が**ねこ**を**見みます。 / ねこ**が**いぬ**を**見みます。 | The dog looks at the cat. / The cat looks at the dog. |
| Swap the phrases and the meaning stays | 私わたしはうちでパンを食たべます。 = 私わたしはパンをうちで食たべます。 | I eat bread at home. |

- The particles themselves: は and が, Particles を, に, で, へ, Particles と, も, の.

## Modifiers before the noun

| Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| adjective + noun | これは**小****ちい****さい**ねこです。 | This is a small cat. |
| noun + **の** + noun | これは**私****わたし****の**本ほんです。 / これは**日本****にほん****の**本ほんです。 | This is my book. / This is a Japanese book. |
| Number after the noun and its particle | 私わたしはりんごを**ふたつ**食たべます。 | I eat two apples. |

- The adjectives: い-Adjectives and な-Adjectives. The numbers: Counters. **この** and **その**: こそあど: This, That, Which.
- A whole clause can stand before a noun too. See 買った本: Clauses Before Nouns.

## Dropped words

| Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **あなた** stays unsaid: the question is enough | コーヒーを飲のみますか。 — はい、飲のみます。 | Do you drink coffee? — Yes, I do. |
| A subject that has been named carries over to the next sentence | きのう、ともだちにあいました。いっしょにごはんを食たべました。 | Yesterday I met a friend. We ate a meal together. |
| Casual speech also drops the particles | もう、ごはん食たべた？ | Have you eaten yet? |

- Casual speech uses the plain form. See The Plain Form.

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 私わたしは食たべますパンを。 | 私わたしはパンを**食****た****べます**。 | the verb comes last, after the object with its particle |
| あなたはコーヒーを飲のみますか。 | コーヒーを飲のみますか。 | **あなた** sounds blunt; when the listener is clear, the question stands without a subject |