Breakdown of nihongo ha omosiroi gengo desu.
はha
topic particle
ですdesu
to be
日本語nihongo
Japanese (language)
面白いomosiroi
interesting
言語gengo
language
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Questions & Answers about nihongo ha omosiroi gengo desu.
Why is は used after 日本語 instead of が or を?
- は is the topic marker. It introduces 日本語 as “the thing we’re talking about.”
- が marks the grammatical subject when you’re emphasizing new information or answering “What…?”
- を marks a direct object and isn’t used for descriptions.
So 日本語は… means “As for Japanese, …,” which fits a general statement about the language.
Why does the sentence end with です? What happens if I drop it?
- です is the polite copula, equivalent to “is” in polite speech.
- In casual/plain style you’d use だ:
日本語は面白い言語だ。 - You can also say simply 日本語は面白いです (“Japanese is interesting”).
- Omitting です/だ altogether (日本語は面白い言語) sounds abrupt or like a heading.
Why is 面白い placed before 言語? Don’t adjectives usually follow nouns in Japanese?
- In Japanese, adjectives–both い-adjectives and な-adjectives–come before the nouns they modify, just like in English.
- 面白い言語 literally means “interesting language.” The adjective precedes the noun.
What type of adjective is 面白い, and how does it change in different forms?
- 面白い is an い-adjective (dictionary form ends in い).
- It can:
• Modify nouns: 面白い本 “interesting book”
• End a sentence: この本は面白い。
• Change form:- Past: 面白かった / 面白かったです
- Negative: 面白くない / 面白くないです
Why include 言語 when 日本語 already means “Japanese language”?
- 日本語 alone does mean “Japanese (language),” so 日本語は面白いです is perfectly natural.
- Adding 言語 makes the structure explicit—“Japanese” → “is an interesting language”—and gives practice with the noun 言語.
What are the readings and meanings of 日本語, 面白い, and 言語?
- 日本語 (にほんご, Nihongo): “Japanese language”
- 面白い (おもしろい, omoshiroi): “interesting,” “amusing”
- 言語 (げんご, gengo): “language”
What’s the real difference between topic (は) and subject (が), and why does it matter here?
- は introduces 日本語 as the topic/context: “As for Japanese, …”
- が highlights or identifies a new subject: “It is Japanese that …”
- Using が here (日本語が面白い言語です) would sound like you’re answering “Which language is interesting?” rather than making a general statement.