The case or relation of the noun to the other words of a sentence is generally designated by a particle or post-position placed after it; thus, the
| Nominative or subjective by wa or ga. | Hito wa, a man. |
| Genitive by no or ga. | Hito no, of a man. |
| Dative by ni or ye. | Hito ni, to a man. |
| Accusative or objective by wo. | Hito wo, a man. |
| Vocative by yo, ya, kana. | Hito yo, man; or, oh, man! |
| Ablative by kara, yori, de, wo motte, ni, nite.[1] | Hito de, by a man. |
The plural is only designated when it is emphatic, or refers to a class; for this purpose various words and forms are employed. For persons, the words domo, tachi, kata, ra, nado, nazo, shu, tō, following; or by duplicating the word, as, ware-ware, hito-bito, shimo-jimo, shita-jita, reki-reki, hi-bi, tokoro-dokoro, sho-sho, etc.; or for persons or things by the words, ban, hyaku, su, sho, preceding the word.
Gender is designated by a different word; as, otoko, onna, nan, nyo; or in the case of animals and birds by prefixing the particles, me, and o, contractions of mesu, osu, as, me-ushi, a cow; o-ushi, a bull; me-uma (pron. mem-ma) a mare; o-uma (pron. omma) a stallion.
Diminutives are formed by prefixing ko, a child, or little; as, ko-bune, a little boat; ko-ushi, a calf; ko-uma, a colt; ko-bashi, a little bridge; ko-ishi, a pebble; ko-yama, a hill.
Ō, a contraction of ōkii, great, big, is prefixed to nouns as an amplifying particle; as ō-yama, a big mountain; ō-kaze, a high wind; ō-bune, a large ship; ō-nami, high waves; ō-ame, a heavy rain; ō-ishi, a large stone.
Nouns expressing abstract qualities are formed by suffixing the particle sa to the root of the adjective; as, shiro-sa, the whiteness; kuro-sa, the blackness; taka-sa, the height; omo-sa, the weight; kurushi-sa, the painfulness. Sometimes by the use of koto: as, yuki no shiroi koto, the whiteness of the snow; umi no fukai koto, the depth of the sea; or by the attributive form of the adjective only.
The root form of verbs are also nouns; as, yorokobi, joy; ikari, anger; urami, enmity; nikumi, hatred; nokori, the remainder; amari, the surplus.
Adjective.
The adjective has no declension, or undergoes no change to express either case, number, gender, or comparison. To the root of the adjective the syllables i, ki, ku, shi are affixed, in order to designate its relations or character in a sentence. The syllable ki, or i,—which is but a contraction of ki,—affixed to the root of the adjective designates the attributive form, as:—
- ↑ For a more particular illustration of these particles, as well as all the words used in this grammar, the reader is referred to the Dictionary.
