Nouns and の (no)

Please note that in the examples below, the topic has been omitted and indicated with parenthesis. We will cover topics under は (ha/wa)

Nouns

Japanese Nouns Overview
Have no singular nor plural.
Do not use articles like “a” or “the”.
Use the の(no) particle to modify nouns.

Nouns are the same as in English, representing a person, place, thing, or idea. However, they do not have a plural form, meaning that all nouns could be both singular or plural. There are also no articles like “a” or “the” to help you. Context will determine whether it is plural or not. If you haven’t already, check out the essential vocab page and read the noun section.

Examples:

• ねこ(neko)- (a/the) Cat(s)
• がっこう(gakkou) – (a/the) School(s)
• ほん (hon) – (a/the) book(s)
• えんぴつ (enpitsu) – pencil

の(no)

Connecting Nouns
Noun の Noun

Nouns and pronouns connect to other nouns using the の (no) particle. This functions as a label.

• わたしの　ねこ (watashi no neko) – My cat.
• ぼくの　がっこう (boku no gakkou) – My school.
• がっこうの　ほん (gakkou no hon) – (the) school‘s book.
  
• みどりの えんぴつ (midori no enpitsu) – The green pencil. (green here is a noun in Japanese).