These word classification terms can help the learner understand grammatical concepts from Japanese books and when asking a grammar question to a Japanese person. Review the terms and then take a quiz at the bottom of this page.
名詞
meishi
noun
(猫 neko cat, 本 hon book, 飛行機 hikouki plane…)
動詞
doushi
verb
(食べる taberu to eat, 考える kangaeru to think, 話す hanasu to speak…)
形容詞
keiyoushi
adjective
(青い aoi blue, かわいい kawaii cute, きれい kirei beautiful…)
副詞
fukushi
adverb
~形
~kei
~form
(For example: て形 te-form, ない形 nai-form (negative form), ます形 masu-form…)
代名詞
daimeishi
pronoun
(彼 kare he, 彼ら karera they, あなた anata you)
人称代名詞
ninshou daimeishi
personal pronoun
自動詞
jidoushi
intransitive verb
(Example: 始まる an activity begins)
他動詞
tadoushi
transitive verb
(Example: 始める someone or something begins something)
可能動詞
kanou doushi
potential verb
状態動詞
joutai doushi
stative verb
助詞
joshi
particles
(such as は、が、を、へ、etc.)
使役
shieki
causative
(~seru or ~saseru)
受け身
ukemi
passive
(~reru or ~rareru)