What is “node” in Japanese?
“Node” is a Japanese conjunctive particle. Native speakers use it in a sentence to give the reason for something. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know it as it is quite often used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain it in detail with example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “node” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “node”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “node”.
- node – ので : a conjunctive particle used to give the reason for something. This is often translated into English as “because”, “since”, or “as”.
Native speakers use this particle mainly in two ways, I think: to give the reason for something in a sentence; to join two phrases or sentences which can make a cause-and-effect structure. I will explain these two usages through the example sentences below. It’s also worth mentioning here that the word preceding this particle is normally in its plain form: we don’t have to conjugate verbs, adjectives, and auxiliary verbs.
Example #1: how to use “node” to give a reason
kyou wa tenki ga warui node – 今日は天気が悪いので (きょうはてんきがわるいので)
Because the weather is bad today.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kyou – 今日 (きょう) : a noun meaning ‘today’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works as a topic marker after “kyou” to put a focus on it.
- tenki – 天気 (てんき) : a noun meaning ‘weather’ in Japanese.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “tenki” to make the subject in the sentence.
- warui – 悪い (わるい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘bad’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “node”. In this example, it works after the i-adjective, “warui”, to give the reason. It has been reflected as “because” in translation. Unfortunately, we need to read the Japanese sentence until its end to understand that it states the reason, because “node” is used at the end. This point would be a bit difficult to Japanese learners, I think. They cannot see how important the sentence they are reading is until the end.
Example #2: another usage of “node”
kyou wa tenki ga warui node, boku wa dekake nai – 今日は天気が悪いので、僕は出かけない (きょうはてんきがわるいので、ぼくはでかけない)
Because the weather is bad today, I will not go out.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is mainly used by boys and young males.
- wa – は : the same as explained in the last example. In this example, it works after “boku” to make the subject in the latter part.
- dekake – 出かけ (でかけ) : one conjugation of the verb, “dekakeru”, which means ‘to go out’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese nai form. In the example, this is used after “dekake” to deny its meaning, ‘to go out’.
This is another typical usage of “node”. In this example, it is used to join two sentences which can make a cause-and-effect structure. I think, however, its essential role is still the same. It gives the reason why “boku” will not go out.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “node”. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- node – ので : a conjunctive particle used to give the reason for something. This is often translated into English as “because”, “since”, or “as”. Native speakers use this particle mainly in two ways, I think: to give the reason for something in a sentence; to join two phrases or sentences which can make a cause-and-effect structure. It’s also worth mentioning here that the word preceding this particle is normally in its plain form: we don’t have to conjugate verbs, adjectives, and auxiliary verbs.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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