Japanese grammar reference

216 grammar points

Japanese grammar points and conjugation forms, with their meaning, JLPT level, and kind. Sorted by JLPT level by default, easiest first. Each row links to its full explanation.

～が	but / however	N5	Pattern
～から	because / since	N5	Pattern
～く	adjective as adverb	N5	Conjugation
～くなる	becoming a state	N5	Pattern
～けど	but / however	N5	Pattern
～ことができる	be able to / can do	N5	Pattern
～する	verbalize a verbal noun	N5	Pattern
～た	plain past tense	N5	Conjugation
～たい	want to do something	N5	Pattern
～だけ	only / just	N5	Pattern
～たり	doing things like A and B	N5	Conjugation
～だろう／でしょう	probably (presumptive)	N5	Conjugation
～て／で	the connective te-form	N5	Conjugation
～ている	progressive / resultant state	N5	Pattern
～てから	after doing	N5	Pattern
～てください	polite request or instruction	N5	Pattern
～でしょう	probably (polite conjecture)	N5	Pattern
～てもいい	permission to do	N5	Pattern
～とき	when / at the time of	N5	Pattern
～ない	negative	N5	Conjugation
～ない	plain negative auxiliary	N5	Pattern
～ないでください	please don’t	N5	Pattern
～ないです	polite negative with desu	N5	Pattern
～になる	to become	N5	Pattern
～ので	because / since	N5	Pattern
～ます／です	polite style	N5	Conjugation
な-Adj+に	na-adjective adverbial	N5	Conjugation
～（さ）す	short causative, casual make / let	N4	Conjugation
～（さ）せられる	be made to do	N4	Conjugation
～（さ）せる	make or let someone do	N4	Conjugation
～（ら）れる	passive, is done / gets done	N4	Conjugation
～（ら）れる／～える	can, be able to	N4	Conjugation
～う／よう	let’s / I’ll (volitional)	N4	Conjugation
～かどうか	whether or not	N4	Pattern
～かもしれない	might / maybe	N4	Pattern
～くらい	approximate extent or degree	N4	Pattern
～ことがある	have experience / sometimes happens	N4	Pattern
～ことになる	it has been decided that	N4	Pattern
～さ	nominalizer of degree	N4	Pattern
～させる	causative form of suru	N4	Pattern
～し	and (listing reasons)	N4	Pattern
～しかない	only / no choice but	N4	Pattern
～すぎる	excessive action or quality	N4	Pattern
～そう	looks like or appears	N4	Pattern
～そうだ	I hear that or reportedly	N4	Pattern
～だから	so / therefore	N4	Pattern
～たばかり	just did	N4	Pattern
～たほうがいい	had better / better not	N4	Pattern
～ために	in order to / because of	N4	Pattern
～たら	if / when	N4	Conjugation
～だろう	probably or surely	N4	Pattern
～つもり	intend to / plan to	N4	Pattern
～てある	resultant state from intentional action	N4	Pattern
～ていく	go on doing / motion away	N4	Pattern
～ていただく	humbly receive favor of action	N4	Pattern
～ておく	do in advance / preparatory action	N4	Pattern
～てくる	come to do / motion toward speaker	N4	Pattern
～てくれる	receive favor from outsider	N4	Pattern
～てしまう	regret or thorough completion	N4	Pattern
～ては／では	if / when (and so)	N4	Pattern
～てはいけない	must not / prohibition	N4	Pattern
～てほしい	want someone to do	N4	Pattern
～ても／でも	even if / even though	N4	Pattern
～てもらう	receive favor of action	N4	Pattern
～と	when / whenever (natural result)	N4	Pattern
～という	called / named	N4	Pattern
～ところ	just did / in the middle of / just about to	N4	Pattern
～な	don’t (prohibitive)	N4	Conjugation
～ないで	without doing	N4	Pattern
～ながら	while / although	N4	Pattern
～なければならない	must / have to	N4	Pattern
～によると	according to	N4	Pattern
～のだ	it is that / explanation	N4	Pattern
～のに	although / despite	N4	Pattern
～のようだ	like / as if (simile)	N4	Pattern
～ば	provisional conditional “if”	N4	Conjugation
～ば／～たら	if / when (conditional)	N4	Pattern
～ばかり	just / only / nothing but	N4	Pattern
～まま	as is / unchanged state	N4	Pattern
～やすい	easy to do	N4	Pattern
～ようだ	seems / appears (conjecture)	N4	Pattern
～ようにする	try to / make sure to	N4	Pattern
～ようになる	come to / reach the point of	N4	Pattern
～らしい	seems or apparently	N4	Pattern
～頃	around the time of / when	N4	Pattern
～方	how to / way of	N4	Pattern
それで	and then / so	N4	Pattern
の（名詞化）	nominalizer の	N4	Pattern
命令形	direct command	N4	Conjugation
～いたす	humble form of suru	N3	Pattern
～うちに	while (still)	N3	Pattern
～おかげで	thanks to	N3	Pattern
～がち	tend to, often negative	N3	Pattern
～がる	show signs of feeling	N3	Pattern
～かわりに	instead of / in exchange for	N3	Pattern
～くせに	even though (reproach)	N3	Pattern
～こそ	precisely / exactly	N3	Pattern
～ことが多い	often does	N3	Pattern
～ことにする	decide to	N3	Pattern
～さえ	even	N3	Pattern
～される	passive or honorific suru	N3	Pattern
～ずに	without doing	N3	Pattern
～せいで	because of / due to (blame)	N3	Pattern
～そうにない	doesn’t look like it will	N3	Pattern
～だけでなく	not only X but also	N3	Pattern
～たち／～ら	plural suffix for people	N3	Conjugation
～たとたん	the moment that	N3	Pattern
～たびに	every time / each time	N3	Pattern
～ついでに	while you’re at it	N3	Pattern
～って	as for / called / they say	N3	Pattern
～っぽい	-ish / -like / tends to	N3	Pattern
～ておる	humble or archaic progressive	N3	Pattern
～てみる	try doing	N3	Pattern
～どころか	far from / let alone	N3	Pattern
～として	as / in the capacity of	N3	Pattern
～とは	what is X / regarding X	N3	Pattern
～なら	if / as for	N3	Pattern
～なんて	such a thing as / what	N3	Pattern
～において	in / at (formal)	N3	Pattern
～にくい	difficult to do	N3	Pattern
～について	about / regarding	N3	Pattern
～につれて	as / in proportion to	N3	Pattern
～にとって	for / from the standpoint of	N3	Pattern
～によって	depending on / by means of	N3	Pattern
～に違いない	must be / no doubt	N3	Pattern
～に過ぎない	nothing more than	N3	Pattern
～に決まっている	definitely / must be	N3	Pattern
～に対して	toward / in contrast with	N3	Pattern
～のに（使う／必要だ）	for the purpose of	N3	Pattern
～ば～ほど	the more … the more	N3	Pattern
～ばかりでなく	not only X but also	N3	Pattern
～はずがない	there’s no way / cannot be	N3	Pattern
～はずだ	should / is supposed to	N3	Pattern
～ふりをする	pretend to	N3	Pattern
～べき	should / ought to	N3	Pattern
～ほど	extent / the more X the more	N3	Pattern
～みたい	like or seems like	N3	Pattern
～め	on the somewhat X side	N3	Pattern
～ものだ	used to / it’s how things are	N3	Pattern
～ような	like / similar to	N3	Pattern
～ように	so that / in order to	N3	Pattern
～わけがない	there’s no way / impossible	N3	Pattern
～わけだ	that’s why / no wonder	N3	Pattern
～わけではない	it doesn’t mean that	N3	Pattern
～わけにはいかない	cannot (for social reasons)	N3	Pattern
～間に	during / while	N3	Pattern
～後で	after (doing)	N3	Pattern
～始める	begin to / start doing	N3	Pattern
～出す	suddenly start to	N3	Pattern
～前に	before / ago (temporal)	N3	Pattern
～続ける	keep / continue doing	N3	Pattern
お／ご～ください	honorific request	N3	Pattern
ところが	however / unexpectedly	N3	Pattern
ところで	by the way / incidentally	N3	Pattern
まるで	just like / as if	N3	Pattern
～うる / ～える	be possible or conceivable	N2	Pattern
～がい	worth doing	N2	Pattern
～かける	halfway / about to	N2	Pattern
～かねない	might well / is liable to	N2	Pattern
～かねる	cannot / find it hard to	N2	Pattern
～かのよう	as if / as though	N2	Pattern
～げ	appearance of a feeling	N2	Pattern
～ざるを得ない	have no choice but to	N2	Pattern
～ずにはいられない	can’t help but	N2	Pattern
～たあげく	after all that, ended up	N2	Pattern
～たきり	ever since (no change)	N2	Pattern
～だらけ	covered in / full of	N2	Pattern
～た末（に）	after much … finally	N2	Pattern
～っぱなし	leave (on / undone)	N2	Pattern
～てばかり	do nothing but	N2	Pattern
～といっても	although I say / even so	N2	Pattern
～どころではない	not the time/place for	N2	Pattern
～ところを	in the act of / scene of	N2	Pattern
～とする	try to / about to, suppose that, as a role	N2	Pattern
～ながらも	even though / while	N2	Pattern
～にあたって	on the occasion of	N2	Pattern
～にしては	for / considering	N2	Pattern
～にしても	even if / even though	N2	Pattern
～にもかかわらず	in spite of / despite	N2	Pattern
～に加えて	in addition to	N2	Pattern
～に関して	regarding / concerning	N2	Pattern
～に基づいて	based on / according to	N2	Pattern
～に限らず	not limited to / not just	N2	Pattern
～のあまり	so much that	N2	Pattern
～ばかりに	simply because / just because	N2	Pattern
～ものの	although / but	N2	Pattern
～ようがない	no way to / cannot possibly	N2	Pattern
～をめぐって	over / concerning	N2	Pattern
～を込めて	with (feeling / effort)	N2	Pattern
～を問わず	regardless of	N2	Pattern
～以上（は）	now that / seeing that	N2	Pattern
～一方だ	keeps on -ing (one-way trend)	N2	Pattern
～一方で	on the one hand / while	N2	Pattern
～限り	as much as / to the limit	N2	Pattern
～最中	in the middle of	N2	Pattern
～際に	at the time of / on the occasion of	N2	Pattern
～次第	as soon as	N2	Pattern
～上で	after / upon doing	N2	Pattern
～切る	do completely / to the end	N2	Pattern
～反面	while / on the other hand	N2	Pattern
あまりに（も）	so much that / excessively	N2	Pattern
あまりの～に	such excessive …	N2	Pattern
～がたい	hard to do, literary	N1	Pattern
～が早いか	no sooner than	N1	Pattern
～きらいがある	has a tendency to	N1	Pattern
～ことなしに	without ever doing	N1	Pattern
～ずくめ	nothing but / full of	N1	Pattern
～つつ	while simultaneously, literary	N1	Pattern
～つつある	in the process of	N1	Pattern
～てやがる	vulgar contemptuous auxiliary	N1	Pattern
～とあって	given that / since (special occasion)	N1	Pattern
～ともなると	when it comes to being	N1	Pattern
～ながらに	in a state of / while remaining	N1	Pattern
～なり	as soon as	N1	Pattern
～べく	in order to (formal)	N1	Pattern
～や否や	the instant that	N1	Pattern

216 entries. Updated 28 August 2026.