Breakdown of nihongo wa omoshiroi gengo desu.
はwa
topic particle
ですdesu
to be
日本語nihongo
Japanese (language)
面白いomoshiroi
interesting
言語gengo
language
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have hundreds of Japanese lessons and thousands of exercises.
Questions & Answers about nihongo wa omoshiroi 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.