kounyuusha ga haraimashita.

The buyer paid.

Breakdown of kounyuusha ga haraimashita.

• が: subject particle
• 払はらう: to pay
• 購入者こうにゅうしゃ: a buyer

Questions & Answers about kounyuusha ga haraimashita.

How do you read this sentence?

It is read:

こうにゅうしゃ が はらいました。

• 購入者 = こうにゅうしゃ
• が = が
• 払いました = はらいました

A natural Romanization would be Kōnyūsha ga haraimashita.

What does 購入者 mean literally?

購入者 is a noun meaning purchaser or buyer.

It is made of:

• 購入 = purchase
• 者 = person

So literally, it is the person who purchased.

This is a fairly formal or business-like word.

Why is が used here?

が marks the grammatical subject of the sentence.

So in 購入者が払いました, 購入者 is the one who performed the action of paying.

A common way to think about it is:

• 購入者が = the buyer is the one who...
• 払いました = paid

In many contexts, が can also add a sense of identifying or emphasizing the subject.

Why not use instead of ?