Breakdown of nihongo de kaiwa wo suruno ha muzukasii desu.
はha
topic particle
ですdesu
to be
をwo
direct object particle
日本語nihongo
Japanese (language)
でde
means particle
〜の〜no
verb nominalizer
難しいmuzukasii
difficult
会話kaiwa
conversation
会話 を するkaiwa wo suru
to have a conversation
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Questions & Answers about nihongo de kaiwa wo suruno ha muzukasii desu.
Why is で used after 日本語 instead of に?
で marks the medium or context in which an action takes place. Here it means “in Japanese” (the language used). Using に would suggest direction or target (“to Japanese”), which doesn’t fit “speaking in Japanese.”
What does 会話をする mean, and why not just 会話?
会話 is a noun meaning “conversation.” To express the action “to have a conversation,” you attach する (“to do”) to the noun and mark it with を. So 会話をする literally means “to do a conversation,” i.e. “to converse.”
Why is there a の after する?
The の here nominalizes the preceding verb phrase (会話をする) into a noun phrase. 会話をするの means “the act of having a conversation.” This allows the phrase to be treated as the topic with は and then described by 難しい.
Can I use こと instead of の for nominalization?
Yes. こと is a more formal or written nominalizer. You can say:
日本語で会話をすることは難しいです。
Both の and こと turn the verb phrase into a noun, with こと sounding slightly more formal.
What role does は play after the nominalized phrase?
After nominalization (会話をするの), は marks that entire phrase as the topic of the sentence. It signals “as for having a conversation in Japanese,” what follows is a comment—namely that it is difficult.
Why is です added after 難しい?
です is the polite copula, making 難しいです a polite statement. In casual speech you can drop です and simply say 難しい.
Could I say 日本語で話すのは難しいです instead of 会話をする?
Yes. 話すの (“the act of speaking”) is a common alternative.
日本語で話すのは難しいです。
This focuses on speaking in general, while 会話をする emphasizes the back‐and‐forth nature of a conversation.
Why is there no subject (like “I” or “we”) in this sentence?
Japanese often omits the subject when it’s clear from context. Here, “it is difficult to have a conversation in Japanese” implies the speaker or people in general without explicitly stating 私 or 私たち.