Mission—Team—FAQ—Privacy—Terms—Sponsors—Grammar—Typing Course—Donate

© 2026 Elon Automation B.V.

Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasitati ha seigi wo mamoru. - We uphold justice.

Hardcore Japanese
/Hosting a board-game night with friends
/watashitachi wa seigi o mamoru.

watashitachi wa seigi o mamoru.

Word

私わたしたち　は　正義せいぎ　を　守まもる。watashitachi wa seigi o mamoru.

Meaning

We uphold justice.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Japanese

Lesson

Hosting a board-game night with friends

Breakdown of watashitachi wa seigi o mamoru.

direct object particle

私わたしたちwatashitachi

守まもるmamoru

Questions & Answers about watashitachi wa seigi o mamoru.

How do you read this sentence?

It is read:

わたしたちはせいぎをまもる。

Word by word:

私たち = わたしたち
は = pronounced わ here
正義 = せいぎ
を = pronounced お in modern Japanese
守る = まもる

Why is は pronounced wa instead of ha?

When は is used as the topic particle, it is pronounced wa, not ha.

So in this sentence:

私たち = we
は = topic marker, pronounced wa

This is one of the first pronunciation exceptions learners meet in Japanese. The spelling stays は, but the pronunciation changes because it is functioning as a particle.

What does 私たち mean exactly? Is たち the plural?

Nihon-shiki romanizationwatasi ha tyuugoku kara kimasita

Hepburn romanizationwatashi wa chuugoku kara kimashita

正義せいぎseigi

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have hundreds of Japanese lessons and thousands of exercises.

Start learning Japanese

Start learning Japanese now

Yes. 私たち means we, and たち is a common suffix used to make a pronoun refer to a group.

私 = I / me
私たち = we / us

However, Japanese does not always need an explicit plural marker the way English does. In many situations, Japanese can leave number vague if the context already makes it clear.

Also, たち does not work exactly like an English plural -s in every case. It is often used with people, especially pronouns.

Why is は used after 私たち?

は marks the topic of the sentence.

So 私たちは means something like:

As for us, ...
We, ...

In natural English, we usually just translate it as we.

This is an important point: は does not always mean the grammatical subject in the same way English does. It marks what the sentence is about. In this sentence, the topic is 私たち.

Why is を used after 正義?

を marks the direct object of the verb.

Here:

正義 = justice
を = marks justice as the thing being protected
守る = protect / defend / uphold

So 正義を守る means protect justice or uphold justice.

A very common pattern in Japanese is:

noun + を + verb

where the noun is the thing directly affected by the action.

Why does the verb come at the end?

Japanese basic sentence order is usually Subject/Topic – Object – Verb.

So:

私たち = we
正義を = justice + object marker
守る = protect

That gives:

私たちは正義を守る。

This is normal Japanese word order. Unlike English, the verb usually comes at the end of the sentence.

What tense is 守る here? Is it present or future?

守る is in the plain non-past form.

In Japanese, the non-past can mean:

present: we protect justice
future: we will protect justice
sometimes a more general or habitual idea: we stand for protecting justice / we uphold justice

The exact meaning depends on context. Japanese does not force you to choose between present and future as clearly as English often does.

Is this sentence plain or polite?

It is plain style because the verb is 守る.

A polite version would be:

私たちは正義を守ります。

So:

守る = plain
守ります = polite

The plain form is very common in dictionaries, casual speech, slogans, fiction, and statements of principle.

What nuance does 守る have here?

守る often means:

to protect
to defend
to safeguard
to uphold
to keep or observe in some contexts

With 正義, it often sounds more natural in English as protect justice, defend justice, or uphold justice.

So this is not necessarily only physical protection. It can also suggest standing up for justice as a principle.

Can 私たち be omitted?

Yes. Japanese often omits subjects or topics when they are understood from context.

So you could also say:

正義を守る。

That could mean:

We protect justice
I protect justice
They protect justice
or even something like Protect justice

depending on the situation.

Japanese frequently leaves out information that English normally states explicitly.

Do Japanese normally write spaces like this?

No. Normal Japanese writing usually does not use spaces between words.

So the standard written sentence is:

私たちは正義を守る。

The spaced version:

私たち　は　正義　を　守る。

is mainly for learners, readability, or teaching materials.

Is 正義 a common everyday word?

正義 is a real and common word, but it sounds a bit weighty or idealistic compared with very basic everyday vocabulary.

It often appears in contexts like:

morality
law
hero stories
political or philosophical discussion
slogans

So 私たちは正義を守る。 can sound strong, dramatic, or like a mission statement, depending on context.

Could が be used instead of は here?

Yes, but the nuance changes.

私たちは正義を守る。 = As for us, we protect justice / a general statement about us
私たちが正義を守る。 = We are the ones who protect justice / more emphasis or contrast

So は presents 私たち as the topic, while が can put stronger focus on who is doing the action.

Both are grammatical, but they are not identical in feeling.

Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io