Speaker-marking enders

Stage 4Sentence endings & intentChunk 8 of 27 · items 402–405 of 484

Variants of yo and ne that you'll hear constantly from friends and in dramas, each marking the speaker as young, male, rough, feminine or from Kansai. Mid-sentence sa is fine in moderation and yo na is normal if you're a man; zo and the rising wa are mostly for recognising, not copying.

Mix-ups

zo and wa both take the place of yo: zo pushes, falling wa just announces your own move or reaction, and rising wa is the feminine one. sa fills pauses inside a sentence the way mid-sentence ne does, and yo na is simply a masculine yo ne.

sa

polite desu necasual onlydrama rank #88*

like, you know (filler)

さPlay ですねPlay

Dropped after a phrase to hold the listener's attention while you talk (ano sa = hey, listen; kinou sa, ...). Both genders use it, younger speakers especially. At the end of a sentence it sounds offhand and leans masculine (nantoka naru sa = eh, it'll work out).

casualPlay

kinou sa, tanaka-san ni atta n da

So yesterday, I ran into Tanaka-san.

昨日さ、田中さんに会ったんだ

politePlay

kinou desu ne, tanaka-san ni atta n desu yo

So yesterday, I ran into Tanaka-san.

昨日ですね、田中さんに会ったんですよ

It replaces da, never follows it (sou sa, not *sou da sa). Tacked onto every phrase it sounds sloppy; mid-sentence ne does the same job more softly.

Learn first: ne

yo na

polite desu yo nemasculinedrama rank —none

right? (masculine)

よなPlay ですよねPlay

The masculine counterpart of yo ne. It checks or agrees with something you both believe (sou da yo na = yeah, exactly). Men say it all the time with friends; women mostly say yo ne.

casualPlay

ashita yasumi da yo na?

We're off tomorrow, right?

明日休みだよな？

politePlay

ashita wa yasumi desu yo ne?

Tomorrow's a day off, right?

明日は休みですよね？

Said to yourself, it's a rueful 'yeah, I guess' (muri da yo na...). Polite speech has only desu yo ne, so the gender difference disappears.

Learn alongside: da, ka, ne, yo, yo neLearn first: yo ne, naa

wa

polite desu ne / -masu nefeminineKansaidateddrama rank #75

I'll..., then (falling, announcing) / soft assertion (rising, fem)

わPlay ですね／〜ますねPlay

Two endings that sound alike. Said falling, it announces your own decision or reaction (jaa, iku wa; muri da wa); it is Kansai, gender-neutral and now common among young people everywhere. Said rising, it is the soft feminine assertion of older women and drama characters, dated in real Tokyo speech.

casualPlay

jaa, iku wa

Okay, I'm off, then. (falling wa)

じゃあ、行くわ

politePlay

jaa, ikimasu ne

Okay, I'll be off, then.

じゃあ、行きますね

Polite speech drops it (jaa, ikimasu ne; muri desu ne), though Kansai speakers keep it (ikimasu wa). It is unrelated to the topic particle wa (kore wa). Record and drill only the falling wa; the rising one is the feminine wa.

Learn alongside: zoLearn first: yo

zo

polite desu yo / -masu yoroughmasculinedrama rank #82

I'm telling you! (rough)

ぞPlay ですよ／〜ますよPlay

A forceful masculine yo for warnings, rallying a group and announcements (abunai zo!, iku zo!). You hear it constantly from fathers, coaches, bosses and drama heroes; recognise it, but say yo.

casualPlay

jaa, iku zo

Okay, we're going. Come on!

じゃあ、行くぞ

politePlay

jaa, ikimasu yo

Okay, we're going now.

じゃあ、行きますよ

Pepping yourself up (yoshi, ganbaru zo) is the mildest use, and women say that too. ze (ikou ze, yatta ze) is its swaggering cousin, always aimed at a buddy and never said to yourself; most men only say it jokingly.

Learn alongside: waLearn first: yo