How to Make Complex Japanese Sentences with One Easy Step

Learning Japanese can be very complex and difficult during the beginning stages. All one can think about is speaking in more complicated complex sentences to give off the impression of sounding similar to a native. Japanese has been noted by many scholars as being one of the hardest languages still spoken today, but this does not mean one must take years to sound educated in the language. My trick when beginning was to learn the simple grammatical structure of ~no ha~ da/desu.

Using the term ~no ha~ da/desu will transform your simple sentence structures into advanced ones that will even impress natives. All this can be done without spending hours cramming; it is nothing more than learning this one simple grammar rule.

Numerous You Tube videos showcase "how to speak Japanese in one word" or "How to speak fluent Japanese without speaking". Although good for a grin and/or maybe a giggle or two, these videos can not really help your Japanese sound more fluent. Unfortunately these quickie lessons promise the results, it is just not reasonable to rely simply on nodding and/or replying with the same word in a thirty minute conversation with a native Japanese person.

My first language was English and I remember sitting in English class learning about complex sentences; it had to be one of the most thrilling moments in English when I learned how to switch a sentence around. For example, "The cat ate my homework." could be switched into "It was my homework the cat ate." Along with many other things that make my world spin, I am still dumbfounded as to why I found this new grammar rule to be deserving of the highest merit while in English class so many years ago. Nonetheless, I find doing the same in Japanese to be just as indispensable and thrilling. Using ~no ha~ da/desu makes Japanese so much easier that those You Tube videos cringe in embarrassment.

As a refresher for those that have been out of school for a while, a complex sentence is one that contains both a dependent clause and an independent clause. It sounds difficult but it basically just means that you are putting two simple sentences together. Please do not confuse this with compound sentences though, one sentence must be dependent. If you are still in the clueless department, please dust off those English textbooks from many years ago or simply perform an Associated Content search for a more in-depth explanation.

Now that you know the basic meaning of a complex sentence, let's get started on using them in Japanese. The grammar term ~no ha~ da/desu translates into something new, or it is or the time when. It contains a few different meanings since it can be placed between two clauses to make one combined sentence structure.

Formation of the complex sentence:

{Sentence 1 ending with an adverb- independent} no ha {Important Information sentence- dependent} da/desu.

Example 1:

When was it that you went to Japan?

Anata ga nihon ni itte no ha itsu desu ka.

Example 2:

It was 2 years ago that I went to Japan.

{Watashi ga nihon ni itta} no ha {2 nen mae} da/desu.

Example 3:

Who was the worst in your Japanese class?

Nihongo kurasu de ichiban warui no ha dare desu ka.

Example 4:

Nihongo kurasu de ichiban warui no ha watashi desu.

Once you have a complete understanding of this simple sentence structure, you will be speaking/writing more fluent than ever. Even if this is the one complex sentence structure you use, your Japanese will sound more smooth and educated. Using ~no ha~ da/desu is not only simple but it does work when trying to make your Japanese go from beginner to intermediate overnight!