Particle drop in colloquial Japanese
  • Sakura May 2012
    The use of particles is one of the most prominent features of the Japanese language. However, in colloquial Japanese, particles are often dropped.

    So you may hear, for example:
    私、 これ食べる。Watashi, kore taberu.  
    (I’ll eat this.)
    Instead of     わたしはこれを食べる。Watashi wa kore o taberu.

    Another example:
    田中さん、買い物行く？ Tanaka san, kaimono iku? 
    (Mr. Tanaka, are you going to go shopping?)
    Instead of     田中さんは買い物に行く？Tanaka san wa kaimono ni iku?

    You might be thinking, “I don’t even have to use particles? Then I won’t use them anymore!” But wait a second!

    First of all, it is not the case that any particle can be dropped. Depending on the kinds of sentences or contexts, some particles cannot be dropped. You need to be an advanced level speaker in order to know which particle can be dropped and which cannot. Second, particle drop is limited to casual everyday conversation. In formal exchange, spoken or written, particles should always be used.

    So I do not recommend intentionally dropping particles when you speak Japanese. However, knowing that native speakers often drop particles helps. When you interact with native speakers, something like the examples above might be just what you’re going to hear. So you can be at least ready for it. You know that it happens, so you won’t get confused about the lack of particles!  
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