Nouns & Suffixes

Introduction

Japanese uses certain nouns grammatically — they attach to other words to create new meanings. Understanding these "grammatical nouns" and productive suffixes unlocks a huge amount of vocabulary.

These patterns are everywhere in written Japanese and formal speech.

Themes

All Japanese Grammar Advanced in This Chapter (15)

1. そのもの そのもの A phrase used after a noun or adjective to mean 'the very thing itself' or 'nothing other than that.' It emphasizes that something is exa...
2. それだけ それだけ An adverbial phrase meaning 'to that extent' or 'proportionately,' indicating that the degree of a result corresponds to a previously men...
3. それなりに・の それなりに A phrase meaning 'in its own way' or 'to a reasonable degree,' expressing that something has value, quality, or suitability appropriate t...
4. 自体 (じたい) じたい A dependent noun meaning 'itself' that is attached to a preceding noun to emphasize that the referent is the focus of discussion, often i...
5. 甲斐・かい・がい かい・がい A dependent noun meaning 'worth' or 'reward for effort,' indicating that doing something produces a meaningful or satisfying result. When...
6. の無さ・のなさ のなさ A nominalized phrase meaning 'the lack of' or 'the absence of,' used to turn the nonexistence or insufficiency of a quality into a noun t...
7. 並み (なみ) なみ A noun suffix meaning 'on par with,' 'matching the level of,' or 'comparable to,' used to indicate that something equals a particular sta...
8. 向け (むけ) むけ A suffix meaning 'aimed at,' 'intended for,' or 'designed for,' indicating the target audience or purpose of something.
9. 同士 (どうし) どうし A suffix meaning 'fellow,' 'among the same kind,' or 'with each other,' indicating that the action or relationship involves people or thi...
10. 単位で (たんいで) たんいで A phrase meaning 'in units of' or 'by the [unit],' indicating the smallest increment, scale, or grouping by which something is measured, ...
11. いかなる いかなる A formal noun modifier meaning 'what kind of' or 'no matter what,' used to question the nature of something or to express that a statemen...
12. いわゆる いわゆる A noun modifier meaning 'what is generally called' or 'so-called,' used to introduce a term that is widely known or commonly used, someti...
13. 何らかの (なんらかの) なんらかの A phrase meaning 'some kind of' or 'some form of,' used to indicate that the exact nature or identity of something is unspecified but its...
14. たかが たかが A noun modifier meaning 'mere,' 'only,' or 'just,' used when the speaker considers the referent trivial, insignificant, or not worth worr...
15. まで（のこと）だ までのことだ A phrase indicating either a resigned decision to cope with a negative situation ('I'll just have to...') or a minimizing explanation tha...