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Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasitati ha seizi no hanasi wo sita. - We talked about politics.

Hardcore Japanese
/Taking a first-aid course
/watashitachi wa seiji no hanashi o shita.

watashitachi wa seiji no hanashi o shita.

私わたしたち　は　政治せいじ　の　話はなし　を　した。watashitachi wa seiji no hanashi o shita.

We talked about politics.

Breakdown of watashitachi wa seiji no hanashi o shita.

direct object particle

possessive case particle

私わたしたちwatashitachi

Questions & Answers about watashitachi wa seiji no hanashi o shita.

Why is は used after 私たち?

は marks 私たち as the topic of the sentence.

So 私たちは means something like as for us or more naturally in English, just we.

In this sentence:

私たちは = we
政治の話をした = talked about politics

A key point: は is not exactly the same as an English subject marker. It marks what the sentence is about, which often becomes the subject in English.

Why is の used in 政治の話?

Here, の links two nouns together.

政治 = politics
話 = talk, story, discussion

So 政治の話 literally means a talk/story/discussion of politics, and more naturally:

a discussion about politics
political talk
talk about politics

In Japanese, noun + の + noun is a very common pattern. Depending on context, it can show:

possession: 私の本 = my book
category/type: 日本の車 = Japanese car
content/topic: 政治の話 = talk about politics

Nihon-shiki romanizationwatasi ha tyuugoku kara kimasita

Hepburn romanizationwatashi wa chuugoku kara kimashita

話はなしhanashi

政治せいじseiji

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Why is を used with 話?

Because 話 is being treated as the thing that was done.

The pattern is:

話をする = to have a talk / to talk / to discuss

So in this sentence:

政治の話をした = talked about politics / had a discussion about politics

Even though English uses the verb talk, Japanese often expresses this with the noun 話 plus the verb する.

So literally, it is closer to:

did a discussion about politics

but the natural English translation is simply:

we talked about politics

Why does the sentence use 話をした instead of just 話した?

Both are possible, but they are not exactly the same structure.

1. 話をした

This uses:

話 = talk/discussion
する = do

So it means to have a talk or to discuss.

2. 話した

This is the verb 話す in the past tense, meaning spoke or talked.

So:

政治の話をした = had a discussion about politics
政治について話した = talked about politics

Both can be natural.
The sentence you were given focuses a little more on the discussion/topic itself.

What is the difference between 政治の話をした and 政治について話した?

They are very similar, but the grammar is different.

政治の話をした

Literally: did political talk / had a discussion about politics

政治の話 is a noun phrase
then をした means did / had

政治について話した

Literally: talked concerning politics

政治について = about politics
話した = talked

Both can be translated as talked about politics.

A small nuance:

政治の話をした can feel like we had a conversation/discussion on the topic of politics
政治について話した more directly means we spoke about politics

In many situations, the difference is small.

Why is した at the end?

Because Japanese verbs usually come at the end of the sentence.

した is the past plain form of する.

する = do
した = did

So the sentence ends with the action, and the tense is shown there.

That means the whole sentence is in the past:

私たちは政治の話をした。
We talked about politics.

Japanese does not usually mark past tense on every word. The final verb carries that information.

Is 話 here a story or a conversation?

It can mean several related things, depending on context:

story
talk
conversation
discussion

In 政治の話, the most natural meaning is:

talk about politics
discussion of politics

It does not usually mean a fictional story here.
Because of the context and the use of をした, it clearly means some kind of conversation or discussion.

Could 私たち be omitted?

Yes, very often.

Japanese frequently leaves out subjects and topics when they are already clear from context.

So in a real conversation, someone might simply say:

政治の話をした。

That could still mean:

We talked about politics
I talked about politics
They talked about politics

depending on context.

Including 私たち makes the subject/topic explicit: we.

Is this sentence formal or casual?

It is in the plain style because it ends with した, not しました.

した = plain past
しました = polite past

So:

私たちは政治の話をした。 = plain style
私たちは政治の話をしました。 = polite style

The plain style is not automatically rude. It is commonly used:

in casual conversation
with friends/family
in diary-style writing
in narration
in informal written Japanese

Does 私たち always mean we?

Usually yes, but it literally means we / us as a group including the speaker.

In this sentence, 私たちは is naturally we.

A useful detail: Japanese often does not have to state pronouns as much as English does. So when 私たち is included, it may be there for clarity, emphasis, or contrast.

For example:

私たちは政治の話をした。 = We talked about politics.

This can sound like we did, perhaps as opposed to someone else.

Is the word order flexible, or does it have to be exactly this way?

Japanese word order is more flexible than English, but particles are what show each word’s role.

In this sentence:

私たち
- は = topic
政治の話
- を = object
した = verb

This order is very natural:

私たちは政治の話をした。

You may sometimes see variations for emphasis, but the standard learner-friendly order is topic + object + verb.

The important thing is that the particles tell you what each part is doing.

Why are there spaces between the words here?

They are almost certainly just for learning.

Normal Japanese writing usually does not put spaces between words like this:

私たちは政治の話をした。

Learner materials often add spaces to make the sentence easier to read:

私たち　は　政治　の　話　を　した。

So the spaces are not part of standard Japanese grammar. They are just a reading aid.

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