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Learn Hardcore Japanese: kaisya ga apuri wo kaihatusita. - The company developed an app.

Hardcore Japanese
/Securing an online account after a suspicious login
/kaisha ga apuri o kaihatsushita.

kaisha ga apuri o kaihatsushita.

会社かいしゃ　が　アプリ　を　開発かいはつした。kaisha ga apuri o kaihatsushita.

The company developed an app.

Breakdown of kaisha ga apuri o kaihatsushita.

direct object particle

subject particle

会社かいしゃkaisha

Questions & Answers about kaisha ga apuri o kaihatsushita.

Why is が used after 会社? Why not は?

が marks 会社 as the grammatical subject of the verb 開発した.

So in this sentence:

会社が = the company (as the one doing the action)
アプリを = the app (as the thing being acted on)
開発した = developed

If you used は instead, the nuance would change. は introduces the topic, while が identifies the subject more directly.

Compare:

会社がアプリを開発した。
= The company developed the app.
Focus on the company as the doer.
会社はアプリを開発した。
= As for the company, it developed the app.
This sounds more like you are talking about the company as a topic, perhaps in contrast with something else.

Both can be natural, but が is a very straightforward choice when simply stating who did the action.

What does を do here?

Nihon-shiki romanizationwatasi ha tyuugoku kara kimasita

Hepburn romanizationwatashi wa chuugoku kara kimashita

開発かいはつkaihatsu

product or software development

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を marks the direct object of the verb.

In this sentence:

アプリを = the app as the thing that was developed

The verb 開発する means to develop, and the thing being developed is marked with を.

So:

会社が = the company did it
アプリを = the app received the action
開発した = developed

This is one of the most basic sentence patterns in Japanese:

A が B を Verb

= A does Verb to B

Why is the verb at the end?

Because Japanese normally uses subject–object–verb word order, unlike English, which usually uses subject–verb–object.

English:

The company developed the app.

Japanese:

会社がアプリを開発した。
literally: Company subject app object developed

The verb usually comes at the end of the clause in Japanese. That is one of the biggest structural differences from English.

What form is 開発した?

開発した is the plain past affirmative form of 開発する.

Breakdown:

開発する = to develop
開発した = developed / did develop

This is a suru-verb:

noun: 開発 = development
verb: 開発する = to do development / to develop

Then it changes like this:

開発する = develop / will develop
開発した = developed
開発しない = do not develop / will not develop
開発しなかった = did not develop

Why is it した and not しました?

した is the plain form, while しました is the polite form.

So:

開発した。 = plain style
開発しました。 = polite style

The sentence you were given is in plain style, which is common in:

dictionary examples
casual writing
conversations with friends
textbook grammar examples

If you wanted to make the whole sentence polite, you would say:

会社がアプリを開発しました。

Both mean the same thing, but the level of politeness is different.

Does アプリ literally mean app?

Yes. アプリ is a very common Japanese shortened form of アプリケーション, which comes from English application.

In modern Japanese, アプリ usually means:

phone app
software app
application program

It is written in katakana because it is a loanword.

Why is 会社 in kanji but アプリ in katakana?

Japanese uses different writing systems for different kinds of words.

Here:

会社 is a native/common Japanese word usually written in kanji
アプリ is a loanword, so it is written in katakana

This mixture is completely normal in Japanese. A single sentence can contain:

kanji for core vocabulary
hiragana for particles and endings
katakana for foreign loanwords

So this sentence is a very typical example of mixed Japanese writing.

Are the spaces normal in Japanese?

No. In normal Japanese writing, this sentence would usually be written without spaces:

会社がアプリを開発した。

Spaces are often added in learning materials to help beginners see the parts more clearly.

So the spaced version is for study, not standard writing.

How do I know which word is singular or plural? Is it app or apps?

Japanese nouns usually do not show singular/plural the way English nouns do.

So アプリ could mean:

app
apps

The exact meaning depends on context.

The same is true for 会社:

company
companies

In this sentence, English translation may use the company and the app, but Japanese itself does not force that distinction here.

Why is there no word for the or a?

Japanese does not have articles like English a, an, and the.

So:

会社 can mean a company, the company, or just company
アプリ can mean an app, the app, or just app

Context tells you which English article makes the most sense.

That is why translating Japanese into natural English often requires adding words that are not explicitly present in the Japanese sentence.

Can 会社 be left out?

Yes, if it is already clear from context.

Japanese often omits information that speakers already understand. So if everyone already knows who developed the app, you could simply say:

アプリを開発した。

This could mean:

(Someone) developed the app.
(We/they/the company) developed the app.

Japanese frequently leaves out the subject when it is obvious.

Is 開発する specifically to develop, or can it mean other things too?

It mainly means to develop, especially in contexts like:

software
technology
products
land/resources
new methods

In this sentence, because the object is アプリ, the meaning is naturally to develop an app.

So 開発した sounds like:

created and built it
worked on it as a product
developed it technically

It is a very common business and tech word.

How would this sentence look in non-past form?

The non-past form is:

会社がアプリを開発する。

This can mean:

The company develops apps.
The company will develop an app.

Japanese non-past can refer to:

present habitual action
future action

Context decides which is intended.

By contrast:

会社がアプリを開発した。 = The company developed the app.

How is 開発した pronounced?

It is pronounced:

かいはつした
kaihatsu shita

Breakdown:

開発 = かいはつ
した = shita

So the whole sentence is:

かいしゃがアプリをかいはつした。
kaisha ga apuri o kaihatsu shita

A small pronunciation note: を is pronounced basically like お in modern Japanese, even though it is written を as a particle.

Is this a complete natural sentence on its own?

Yes. It is grammatically complete and natural.

It is a simple statement with:

a subject: 会社が
an object: アプリを
a verb: 開発した

So it works perfectly well as a standalone sentence meaning that the company developed the app.

In real-life conversation, Japanese might omit some parts if they are obvious, but as a clear full example sentence, this is very natural.

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