Breakdown of watasi no ie ha eki kara tikai desu.
はha
topic particle
ですdesu
to be
私watasi
I
のno
possessive case particle
駅eki
station
家ie
house
からkara
starting point particle
近いtikai
close
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Questions & Answers about watasi no ie ha eki kara tikai desu.
What does the particle の do in this sentence?
It links two nouns, marking possession/association: 私の家 = “my house” (literally “house of me”). It’s the default way to say “X’s Y.”
Why is は used after 家? What does it mark?
は marks the topic: the thing you’re talking about. 私の家は… means “As for my house, …” It sets the context rather than simply marking the grammatical subject.
Could I use が instead of は here?
私の家が駅から近いです is grammatical but adds emphasis/contrast on “my house” as the subject, often presenting new or corrective information (“It’s my house that’s close…”). For a neutral statement about a known topic, は sounds more natural.
Why is から used with 近い? Doesn’t から mean “from” or “because”?
Here から follows a noun (駅) and means “from,” marking the point you measure distance from: 駅から近い = “close from the station” (natural in Japanese). The “because” meaning shows up when から follows a clause (e.g., 雨だから行かない). In this sentence it clearly means “from.”
Can I say 駅に近い instead of 駅から近い? What’s the difference?
Both are common and correct.
- X は Y に近い: X is near Y (pure proximity).
- X は Y から近い: From Y, X is close (emphasizes the starting point/accessibility). With 遠い (“far”), から is strongly preferred: 駅から遠い. 駅に遠い is rare/literary.
How do I rephrase it with の近く?
Use the noun 近く (“vicinity”): 私の家は駅の近くです. Pattern: X は Y の近くです. Meaning is essentially the same as “X is near Y.”
Why is です used after an i-adjective like 近い?
For politeness. い-adjectives (like 近い) can end a sentence by themselves in plain style (近い). Adding です makes the sentence polite (近いです). You cannot say 近いだ.
How do I make it negative or past?
- Negative (plain/polite): 近くない / 近くないです; also 近くありません (more formal).
- Past (plain/polite): 近かった / 近かったです.
- Past negative: 近くなかった / 近くなかったです; also 近くありませんでした.
Can I drop 私の or です in casual speech?
Yes. Omit obvious info in Japanese:
- 家は駅から近い。 (plain)
- うちは駅から近いよ。 (casual; うち = “my place/home”) Keep です for polite contexts: 家は駅から近いです。
How do I pronounce the whole sentence?
わたしの いえは えきから ちかいです. The particle は is pronounced “wa.” Readings: 私(わたし), 家(いえ), 駅(えき), 近い(ちかい).
Is 家 read いえ or うち here? Which should I use?
In 私の家, it’s normally いえ. うち is a different word that also means “home/my place.” You can say うちは駅から近いです (natural, casual). If you write 私の家, read it わたしのいえ.
Does 駅 always mean a train station?
Typically yes—train/subway stations. A bus stop is バス停, and a bus terminal is バスターミナル.
What’s the difference between 近い and 近く?
- 近い: i-adjective “near/close.” Example: 駅に近いマンション (an apartment near the station).
- 近く: noun/adverb “vicinity/nearby.” Examples: 駅の近く, 近くにコンビニがある.
Japanese usually has no spaces. Why are there spaces here?
They’re for learners to show word boundaries. Normally you’d write 私の家は駅から近いです。 with no spaces.
Can I say 駅からは近い? What does the extra は do?
Yes. 駅からは近い adds contrast: “As for from the station, it’s close (but in some other respect it isn’t).” The extra は makes “from the station” a contrastive topic.
How would I say “There’s a station near my house”?
Use an existence sentence: 私の家の近くに駅があります。 Pattern: place + に + thing + が + ある/いる.
How do I say how many minutes it takes from the station?
駅から徒歩5分です。 or 駅から歩いて5分です。 (“It’s a 5-minute walk from the station.”)
Is 駅まで近い natural?
Not by itself. まで means “up to/to” and needs a starting point. You can say ここから駅まで近い (“From here to the station is a short distance”), but people often prefer 駅が近い or 駅まで歩いて5分 to be clear.