Happy Sunday Japanophiles! Herewith the 55th issue of the Hai Japan Newsletter — your Weekly Dose of Japan!

Today, we’re simply going through some grammar:

Understanding the Particle し (shi)

The particle し is often used to emphasize a list of parallel or sequential elements, similar to "and what's more" or "not only... but also..." in English.

Table of Contents

1. The Basics

2. Patterns of Use

   • い-adjective + し

   • な-adjective or Noun + だ + し

   • Verb + し

3. し and the Particle も

4. し for Indicating Reasons/Causes

5. Beyond the Basics

   • んだし for Giving Explanatory Reasons

   • し、しで for Emphasizing the Cause of a Negative Situation

   • Ending a Sentence with し for Weakening/Stressing a Statement

The Basics

The particle し functions similarly to "...and what's more" in English. It connects two or more sentences (or clauses) with the nuance of adding related information.

Example:

花子は優しいし、かしこい。

Hanako is generous and smart.

While the て-form (優しくて、かしこい) can also be used, し adds emphasis to the fact that Hanako possesses multiple positive traits.

If you want to list more than two traits, simply repeat し:

花子は優しいし、かしこいし、かわいらしい。
(Hanako is generous, smart, and charming.)

A sentence may also end with し to imply "...and there's more," as in:

花子は優しいし、かしこいし、かわいらしいし...
(Hanako is generous, smart, charming, and... [you know?])

Patterns of Use

い-Adjective + し

し can directly follow an い-adjective in any tense:

この道は暗いし、危ない。
(This street is dark and dangerous.)

Negative form:

この道はもう暗くないし、危なくない。
(This street is no longer dark and dangerous.)

Past form:

この道は暗かったし、危なかった。
(This street was dark and dangerous.)

な-Adjective or Noun + だ + し

For な-adjectives and nouns, だ is added before し:

私の彼氏は、有名だし、モデルだし、かっこいい。
(My boyfriend is famous, a model, and cool.)

Past form:

私の彼氏は、有名だったし、モデルだったし、かっこよかった。
(My boyfriend was famous, a model, and cool.)

Verb + し

し can follow verbs in various forms:

うちの犬は、テレビも見るし、新聞も読む。
(Our dog watches TV and reads the newspaper.)

Potential form:

うちの犬は、テレビも見れるし、新聞も読める。
(Our dog can watch TV and read the newspaper.)

し and the Particle も

Since both し and も group related ideas, they are often used together:

この靴は、デザインも可愛いし、値段も安い。
(These shoes have a cute design and are inexpensive.)

し for Indicating Reasons/Causes

し can function like "so" in English:

天気もいいし、ピクニックに行かない。
(The weather is nice, so why don't we go for a picnic?)

Unlike から or ので, し implies multiple unstated reasons.

Beyond the Basics

んだし for Giving Explanatory Reasons

んだ is often added for an explanatory tone:

もうすぐ二十歳になるんだし、もう少ししっかりしたら。
(Now that you're almost twenty, why don't you get a little more organized?)

し、しで for Emphasizing Negative Situations

長いし、面白くないしで、ほんと、帰りたかったよ。
(It was long and boring, and I really wanted to leave.)

Ending a Sentence with し for Weakening/Stressing Statements

Ending a sentence with し makes it more ambiguous:

次の日試験があるし...
(I have an exam the next day, so... [I can't go.])

マジで嫌だし。
(I really hate it!)

This can express frustration, hesitation, or emphasis depending on context and tone.

That’s all folks!

Let me know if you enjoyed this simple grammar run-through :)

Have a great Sunday!