watashi no teban da.

It is my turn.

Breakdown of watashi no teban da.

• 私わたし: I
• の: possessive case particle
• だ: to be
• 手番てばん: one's turn in a game

Questions & Answers about watashi no teban da.

What does 手番 mean here?

手番 means turn in the sense of a player's move/order in a game.

It is especially common in contexts like:

• board games
• card games
• chess/shogi/go
• turn-based systems

So 私の手番だ means It’s my turn or more literally It is my turn to play/move.

A helpful nuance:

• 手番 sounds a bit more like one’s move in play
• 番 or 順番 can be broader and more general

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What is the role of の in 私の手番?

Here, の links 私 and 手番 and shows possession or association.

So:

• 私 = I / me
• 私の = my
• 私の手番 = my turn

You can think of A の B as often meaning:

• B of A
• A’s B

So 私の手番 is literally my turn.

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Why is it 私の手番 and not 私は手番?