What does “demo” mean in Japanese?
In the Japanese language, there is an imported word which originally came from the word, “demonstration”. In this blog, however, I will focus on “demo” as a pure Japanese word. Japanese people normally use as three different parts of speech. As a conjunction, it is used like the English conjunction, “but”. As a conjunctive particle, it is used to connect two sentences. As a binding particle, it is often used to provide an extreme example or to make a simple offer. I will explain these three different types of Japanese “demo” with example sentences. Let’s get started!Contents
- “Demo” as a Japanese conjunction
- Example #1: how to use “demo” at the beginning of a sentence
- “Demo” as a conjunctive particle
- Example #2: how to use “demo” as a conjunctive particle
- “Demo” as a binding particle
- Example #3: how to use “demo” as a binding particle
- Summary: “demo” in Japanese
“Demo” as a Japanese conjunction
Let me start with “demo” as a conjunction.- demo – でも : a conjunction used at the beginning of a sentence which has a different meaning than the preceding sentence does. It is often translated into English as “but”, “yet”, or “however”.
Example #1: how to use “demo” at the beginning of a sentence
anata to umi ni iki tai. demo ashita wa shigoto – あなたと海に行きたい。でも明日は仕事 (あなたとうみにいきたい。でもあしたはしごと)
I want to go to the sea with you. But I have work tomorrow.
I want to go to the sea with you. But I have work tomorrow.
- anata – あなた : a pronoun meaning ‘you’ in Japanese.
- to – と : a case particle used to indicate a person being together with the speaker or someone else. It is similar to the English preposition, “with”. In the example, it is used after the pronoun, “anata”, to indicate the person with whom “watashi” wants to go to the sea.
- umi – 海 (うみ) : a noun meaning ‘(the) sea’ in Japanese.
- ni – に : a case particle used to indicate a particular place to which someone or something goes. In the example, it is put after the noun, “umi”, to indicate the particular place to which “watashi” wants to go.
- iki – 行き (いき) : one conjugation of the verb, “iku”, which means ‘to go’ in Japanese. It has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- tai – たい : an auxiliary verb put after a verb to make its desire form. Probably it is well known as a part of Japanese tai form. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “iki”, to make its desire form, “iki tai”, which means ‘to want to go’.
- ashita – 明日 (あした) : a noun meaning ‘tomorrow’ in Japanese. It is a noun, but can be used like an adverb and inserted almost anywhere in a sentence to say “tomorrow”. In the example, it is used as an adverb.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, it is put after the noun, “ashita”, as a topic marker to put a focus on “tomorrow”.
- shigoto – 仕事 (しごと) : a noun meaning ‘work’ or ‘job’ in Japanese.
Each Japanese sentence in this example doesn’t have the subject word, as it has been omitted. Japanese people often omit the subject word in a sentence when it can be understood from the context. In addition, they prefer indirect expressions to direct ones which contain words referring to people.
“Demo” as a conjunctive particle
Next, then, let me explain “demo” as a conjunctive particle.- demo – でも : a conjunctive particle connecting a conditional sentence to its following sentence with adding the meaning of ‘even if’ or just ‘if’. Normally, the two sentences have different or opposite meanings. When this particle follows a simple declarative sentence, it can add the meaning of ‘but’ or such. But, it quite often follows a conditional.
Then, let me explain how to use this conjunctive particle through the example sentence below.
Example #2: how to use “demo” as a conjunctive particle
ashita ga ame demo kare wa umi ni iku – 明日が雨でも彼は海に行く (あしたがあめでもかれはうみにいく)
Even if it rains tomorrow, he will go to the sea.
Even if it rains tomorrow, he will go to the sea.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is put after the noun, “ashita”, to make the subject word in the first clause.
- ame – 雨 (あめ) : a noun meaning ‘rain’ in Japanese.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : the same as explained in the last example. In this example, it is put after the pronoun, “kare”, to make the subject word in the second clause.
- iku – 行く (いく) : a verb meaning ‘to go’ in Japanese.
“Demo” as a binding particle
So far, I’ve explained the two different types of “demo”. In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain another type of “demo” – it is a binding particle. Strictly speaking, it is not really the same as the others because it consists of the two smaller parts: “de” and “mo”. Let me explain both parts in detail, one by one.- de – で : one conjugation of the auxiliary verb, “da”, which is used after a noun, adverb, or word equivalent to a noun to make a declarative sentence.
- mo – も : a binding particle often used to add the meaning of ‘also’, ‘as well’, or ‘too’ to the preceding word.
Example #3: how to use “demo” as a binding particle
natsu wa yoru demo atsui – 夏は夜でも暑い (なつはよるでもあつい)
It is hot even at night in the summer.
It is hot even at night in the summer.
- natsu – 夏 (なつ) : a noun meaning ‘summer’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : the same as explained in the last examples. In this example, it is put after the noun, “natsu”, to make the subject word in the sentence.
- yoru – 夜 (よる) : a noun meaning ‘night’ in Japanese.
- atsui – 暑い (あつい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘hot’ in Japanese.
Summary: “demo” in Japanese
In this blog post, I’ve explained the three different types of “demo” in detail, one by one. Let me summarize them as follows.- demo – でも : a conjunction used at the beginning of a sentence which has a different meaning than the preceding does. It is often translated into English as “but”, “yet”, or “however”.
- demo – でも : a conjunctive particle connecting a conditional sentence to its following sentence with adding the meaning of ‘even if’ or just ‘if’. Normally, the two sentences have different or opposite meanings. When this particle follows a simple declarative sentence, it can add the meaning of ‘but’ or such. But, it quite often follows a conditional.
- demo – でも : a binding particle often used to provide an extreme example or to make a simple offer.
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