てにをは

also: テニヲハ

て

に

を

は

Meanings

noun

Japanese particles; postpositions

usually written using kana alonegrammar

Refers to Japanese grammatical particles (joshi) such as て, に, を, は, which mark grammatical relations. Often used in discussions of grammar or writing style.

日本にほん語ごのてにをはの使つかい方かたは難むずかしい。
The usage of Japanese particles is difficult.
この文ぶん章しょうはてにをはがおかしい。
The particles in this sentence are strange.

See all 3 example sentences ›

Kanji

天heavens, sky, imperial
爾you, thou, second person
遠distant, far
波waves, billows, Poland
弖phoneme only, (kokuji)
乎question mark, ?

Related words

助じょ詞し
助詞 is the standard linguistic term for particles; てにをは is a more traditional, colloquial way to refer to them, often used when discussing writing style or particle choice.

Written forms

てにをはUsage88%
Standard kana spelling; the word is usually written in kana.
テニヲハUsage13%
Katakana spelling, sometimes used for emphasis or in technical contexts.
天て爾に遠を波は
ateji (phonetic kanji usage)rarely-used kanji form
Ateji kanji form; rarely used.
弖て爾に乎を波は
ateji (phonetic kanji usage)rarely-used kanji form
Ateji kanji form; rarely used.
天て爾に乎を波は
ateji (phonetic kanji usage)rarely-used kanji form
Ateji kanji form; rarely used.

Etymology

From the names of four common Japanese particles: て, に, を, and は. The term has been used traditionally to refer to particles in general.