Some have been studying Japanese for a long time but have never stopped to analyze the words or terms used to refer to Japanese grammar or the classification of words in the language and the like. In this article, we will share a complete glossary of grammar terms in the Japanese language. You will know how to say verb, adjectives, nouns and other similar words in the Japanese language itself.
The word we use to talk about grammatical terms or classes of Japanese words is hinshi [品詞] which can indicate the part of a speech, a lexical class or category, similar to the English word Parts of Speech.
Main terms of Japanese grammar
Below we will see a complete list of Japanese grammar terms:
Responsive Table: Roll the table sideways with your finger >>
| English | Japanese | Romaji |
| Word; language | 言葉 | kotoba |
| Phrase | 文 | bun |
| Grammar | 文法 | bunpou |
| Language; language | 言語 | gengo |
| Verb | 動詞 | doushi |
| Noun | 名詞 | meishi |
| Temporal noun | 時相名詞 | jisoumeishi |
| Pronoun | 代名詞 | daimeishi |
| Personal pronoun | 人称代名詞 | ninshoudaimeishi |
| Adjective (-i) | 形容詞 | keiyoushi |
| Adjective (-na) | 形容動詞 | keiyoudoushi |
| Adverb | 副詞 | fukushi |
| Particles | 助詞 | joshi |
| Bonding particles | 係助詞 | kakarijoshi |
| Marking particles; cause | 格助詞 | kakujoshi |
| Conjugation | 接続詞 | Setsuzokushi |
| Form | ～形 | ～kei |
| Numeral | 数字 | suuji |
| Abbreviation; acronym | 略語 | ryakugo |
| Place name | 地名 | chimei |
| Classification; category | 分類 | bunrei |
| Interjection | 感動詞 | kandoushi |
| Counter | 助数詞 | josuushi |
| Subject | 主語 | shugo |
| Predicate | 述語 | jutsugo |
| Plural form | 複数 | fukusuu |
Terms related to Japanese speaking and writing
Below we will see some words and terms related to Japanese speaking and writing:
Responsive Table: Roll the table sideways with your finger >>
| English | Japanese | Romaji / Kana |
| Kanji; Ideograms | 漢字 | かんじ |
| Hiragana | 平仮名 | ひらがな |
| Katakana | 片仮名 | カタカナ |
| Kana | 仮名 | kana |
| Radical | 部首 | bushu |
| Roman letters | ロマ時 | romaji |
| Stroke order | 筆順 | hitsujun |
| Number of strokes | 画数 | kakushuu |
| Vertical writing | 縦書 | tategaki |
| Horizontal writing | 横書 | yokogaki |
| Punctuation | 句読点 | kudouten |
| Circles and marks | 半濁点 | handakuten |
| Vowel | 母音 | boin |
| According to | 子音 | shiin |
| Dialects | 方言 | hougen |
| Accent | 訛り | namari |
| Pronunciation | 発音 | hatsuon |
| Common language | 共通語 | kyoutsuugo |
| Colloquial language | 口語 | kougo |
| Polite language | 丁寧語 | teineigo |
| Humble language | 敬語 | keigo |
| Casual language | タメ語 | tamego |
| Slang | 俗語 | zokugo |
To understand more about circles and brands read our article on dakuten and handakuten.
Talking about Japanese verbs
The word verb in Japanese is pronounced doushi [動詞] which uses the movement and change ideogram [動] and the words or part of sentences [詞] ideogram. Fortunately, in Japanese there are not a million verb conjugations in Japanese, we will list the ones below:
Responsive Table: Roll the table sideways with your finger >>
| English | Japanese | Romaji |
| Intransitive verb | 自動詞 | jidoushi |
| Transitive verb | 他動詞 | tadoushi |
| Potential verb | 可能動詞 | kanoudoushi |
| Static Verb | 状態動詞 | joutaidoushi |
| Causative form | 使役形 | shiekikei |
| Passive form | 受け身形 | ukemikei |
| Imperative form | 命令形 | meireikei |
| Unreal shape | 未然形 | mizenkei |
| Continuous form | 連用形 | ren’yōkei |
| Terminal shape | 終止形 | shūshikei |
| Attributive form | 連体形 | rentaikei |
| Hypothetical form | 仮定形 | kateikei |
| Dictionary form | 辞書形 | jishokei |
| Group 1 | 五段 | godan |
| Group 2A | 上一段 | kami ichidan |
| Group 2B | 下一段 | shimo ichidan |
The terminal and attributive forms are basically the same, and both are dictionary forms or simple forms.
The group 1 is a group of verbs that end with consonants like kaeru [帰る]. O group 2A verbs that end in iru as miru [見る]. O group 2B are verbs that end in eru, but they have 2 hiragana as taberu [食べる]. That was a pretty basic explanation without mentioning exceptions or going into detail.
Other terms related to the Japanese language
In 2015 I had done a similar article, but without any organization. I also decided to share the table of that 2015 article that has many interesting words. So there may be some item repeated in the table below.
Responsive Table: Roll the table sideways with your finger >>
| English | Japanese | Romaji |
| accent | アクセント | akucento |
| accent | 強弱アクセント | kyoojaku akucento |
| characterization adjective | 属性形容詞 | zokusee keeyooshi |
| feeling adjective | 感情形容詞 | kanjoo keeyooshi |
| adjective-i | い形容詞 | i keeyooshi |
| adjective-na | な形容詞 | na keeyooshi |
| adjective | 形容詞 | keeyooshi |
| name | 連体詞 | lentaishi |
| concordant adverb | 陳述副詞 | tinjutsu fukushi |
| adverb of intensity | 程度副詞 | teedo fukushi |
| mode adverb | 状態副詞 | jootai fukushi |
| adverb | 副詞 | fukushi |
| Latin / Roman alphabet | ローマ字 | looma-ji |
| antonym | 反義語 | hanguigo |
| part of speech | 品詞 | hinshi |
| nominal complement | 連体修飾語 | lentai shuushokugo |
| verbal complement | 連用修飾語 | leny00 shuushokugo |
| complement | 修飾語 | shuushokugo |
| conjunction | 接続詞 | setsuzokushi |
| consonant | 子音 | shiin |
| context | 文脈 | bunmyaku |
| contextual demonstrative | 文脈指示詞 | bunmyaku shijishi |
| demonstrative | 指示詞 | shijishi |
| colloquial / informal style | 普通体 | futsuutai |
| polished / formal style | 丁寧体 | teeneetai |
| sentence structure | 構文 | koobun |
| grammatical / phrasal structure | 文型 | bunkee |
| euphonia, phonetic contraction | 音便 | onbin |
| expression of gratitude | 恩恵表現 | onkee hyooguen |
| treatment expressions | 待遇表現 | taiguu hyooguen |
| Bend | 活用する | katsuy00 suru |
| phonogram | 仮名 | kana |
| ba shape; conditional form | ば形 | bakee |
| basic / infinitive form | 辞書形 | jishokee |
| bending form | 活用形 | katsuyookee |
| intentional form, verbal inflection that expresses possibility / ability | 可能形 | kanookee |
| intentionally | 意向形 | ikookee |
| masu shape | ます形 | maçukee |
| form nai | ない形 | naikee |
| ta shape; conclusive / past, informal | た形 | takee |
| form you | て形 | tekee |
| affirmative sentence | 肯定文 | kooteebun |
| causative voice phrase | 使役文 | shiekibun |
| passive phrase | 受身文 | ukemibun |
| interrogative phrase | 疑問文 | guimonbun |
| negative phrase | 否定文 | hiteebun |
| phrase | 短文 | tanbun |
| future | 未来 | mirai |
| namesake | 同音異義語 | dooon’iguigo |
| ideogram, grass logo, kanji | 漢字 | kanji |
| interjection | 感動詞 | kandooshi |
| letter, spelling | 文字 | moji |
| respect language | 敬語 | keego |
| polite / formal language | 丁寧語 | teeneego |
| mimesis | 擬態語 | guitaigo |
| Arabic numeral | アラビア数字 | arabia suuji |
| Arabic numeral | 算用数字 | san’yoo suuji |
| numeral in kanji | 漢数字 | kan suuji |
| ordinal numeral | 序数詞 | joçuushi |
| numeral | 数詞 | suushi |
| onomatopoeia | 擬音語 | guiongo |
| main sentence | 主文 | shubun |
| subordinate clause | 従属文 | juuzokubun |
| word of Chinese origin | 漢語 | kango |
| word of foreign origin | かたかな語 | katakanago |
| word of foreign origin | 外来語 | gairaigo |
| word of Japanese origin | 和語 | wago |
| hybrid word | 混種語 | konshugo |
| polysemic word | 多義語 | taguigo |
| independent word / expression | 独立語 | dokuritsugo |
| composite particle | 複合助詞 | fukugoo joshi |
| connective particle | 接続助詞 | setsuzoku joshi |
| highlight particle | 取立助詞 | toritate joshi |
| final particle | 終助詞 | shuujoshi |
| particle indicating case / function | 格助詞 | kakujoshi |
| pause marker particle | 間投助詞 | kantoo joshi |
| particle | 助詞 | joshi |
| past | 過去 | kako |
| coordination period | 重文 | juubun |
| period consisting of | 複文 | fukubun |
| simple period | 単文 | tanbun |
| prefix | 接頭語 | settoogo |
| gift | 現在 | guenzai |
| indefinite pronoun | 不定代名詞 | futee daimeeshi |
| interrogative pronoun | 疑問代名詞 | guimon daimeeshi |
| personal pronoun | 人称代名詞 | ninshoo daimeeshi |
| pronoun | 代名詞 | daimeeshi |
| pseudo-noun | 形式名詞 | keeshiki meeshi |
| Japanese syllabary | 五十音図 | gojuuonzu |
| synonym | 類義語 | luiguigo |
| contracted sound | 拗音 | yooon |
| long sound | 長音 | ty000n |
| occlusive sound | 促音 | sokuon |
| sound | 濁音 | dakuon |
| deaf sound; “clear” sound | 清音 | seeon |
| abstract noun | 抽象名詞 | tyuushoo meeshi |
| common noun | 普通名詞 | futsuu meeshi |
| proper noun | 固有名詞 | koyuu meeshi |
| noun | 名詞 | meeshi |
| flexional suffix; verbal assistant | 助動詞 | jodooshi |
| numeral suffix | 助数詞 | joçuushi |
| suffix | 接尾語 | setsubigo |
| subject (of prayer) | 主語 | shugo |
| auxiliary term (functional) | 付属語（機能後） | fuzokugo (kinoogo) |
| independent / lexical term | 自立語（内容語） | jiritsugo (naiyoogo) |
| modified term | 被修飾語 | hi shuushokugo |
| tonicity | 高低アクセント | kootee akucento |
| modesty verb | 謙譲動詞 | kenjoo dooshi |
| respect verb; auxiliary verb or verb expressing gratitude | 恩恵動詞 | onkee dooshi |
| respect word | 尊敬動詞 | sonkee dooshi |
| intransitive verb | 自動詞 | jidooshi |
| verb that expresses possibility / ability | 可能動詞 | kanoo dooshi |
| transitive verb | 他動詞 | tadooshi |
| verbs that express give and take; benefit verb | 授受動詞 | juju dooshi |
| open vowel | 開口母音 | kaikoo boin |
| closed vowel | 閉鎖母音 | heeça boin |
| vowel | 母音 | boin |
![All about the particle no [の] in Japanese Language](https://i0.wp.com/skdesu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/particula-no.jpg?resize=250%2C175&ssl=1 "All about the particle no [の] in Japanese Language")
