Happy Sunday Japanophiles, Herewith the 23nd issue of the Hai Japan Newsletter — your Weekly Dose of Japan!

Hey, it’s good to see you!

How’s your week been?

Mine’s been pretty good. I’ve completed Konosuba (Anime) and it’s been so fun (I’m actually depressed that it’s finished haha).

Now I’m watching Kaiju No. 8 which also great!

Today, we’re simply going through some grammar.

This is going to be a bit harder than last week, but you don’t have to master everything today — it’s good to just be introduced to these concepts and there’s no doubt everything will eventually click as you get exposed to more Japanese.

Anyway, without further ado!

Conjunctive Particles が (ga)・けど (kedo) (from Tofugo.com)

Conjunctive particles が (ga) and けど (kedo) are often used similarly to the English word "but."

They can also link context to whatever comes next.

Table of Contents

• The Basics

• Patterns of Use

  • Connecting Sentences

  • が and けど for Contrast

  • が and けど for Providing Context

• Beyond The Basics

  • Variations of けど

  • が and けど at The End of Sentences

The Basics

Conjunctive particles が (ga) and けど (kedo) are similar to "but" in English — they connect two contrasting sentences.

白ワインは好きですが、赤ワインはあまり好きではないです。 Shiro wain wa suki desu ga, aka wain wa amari suki dewa nai desu. I like white wine but I am not a big fan of red wine.

Ok, here's the catch: Unlike "but" in English, が (ga) and けど (kedo) can also be used to provide context to what you're about to say.

For example, when asking someone a favor, you can use が (ga) to provide the context behind your request when it might come off as out of the blue otherwise.

ペン持ってないんだけど、貸してくれない？ Pen motte nain da kedo, kashite kurenai? I don't have a pen with me. Can you lend me one?

が (ga) and けど (kedo) work in pretty much the same way, but が (ga) carries a more formal nuance, while けど (kedo) feels more colloquial.

が (ga) is overall more suitable for writing but is still used in conversation, combined with the polite form (です/ます style).

Patterns of Use

Connecting Sentences

The most common use of が (ga) and けど (kedo) is to connect two sentences.

Here’s an example for clarity:

[ロウソクを付けた] が [キッチンはまだ暗い]。 [Rousoku o tsuketa] ga [kicchin wa mada kurai]. 

[ロウソクを付けた] けど [キッチンはまだ暗い]。 [Rousoku o tsuketa] kedo [kicchin wa mada kurai]. 

[I lit candles] but [the kitchen is still dark].

See how が (ga) and けど (kedo) connect the two sentences? This is the role of a conjunctive particle.

One thing to note is that な-adjectives (na-adjectives) and nouns can't be directly attached to が (ga) or けど (kedo).

They need だ (da) or です (desu), resulting in forms like だが (daga), ですが (desu ga), だけど (dakedo), and ですけど (desu kedo).

For example, with the noun 夏 (natsu, summer):

[夏です] が [今日は涼しいです]。 [Natsu desu] ga [kyou wa suzushii desu]. [夏だ] けど [今日は涼しい]。 [Natsu da] kedo [kyou wa suzushii]. [It's summer] but [it's cool today].

The same applies to な-adjectives. For example, using the な-adjective しずか (shizuka, quiet):

[夜は静かです] が [昼はうるさいです]。 [Yoru wa shizuka desu] ga [hiru wa urusai desu]. 

[夜は静かだ] けど [昼はうるさい]。 [Yoru wa shizuka da] kedo [hiru wa urusai]. 

[It's quiet at night] but [it's loud during the day].

が (ga) and けど (kedo) for Contrast

The most typical use of が (ga) and けど (kedo) is to illustrate ideas that contrast, like "but" does in English.

母さんはコンサートに来たが、姉は来なかった。 

Kāsan wa konsaato ni kita ga, ane wa konakatta. 

My mother came to the concert, but my older sister didn't.

Here's another example.

When it's raining, you might not expect to see children playing outside, but most kids can't resist a good puddle!

So, if your kids love to get muddy and wet, が (ga) and けど (kedo) can be used to illustrate such situations where what follows is contradictory to what comes before.

雨が降っているけど、子供たちは外で遊んでいる。 Ame ga futte iru kedo, kodomotachi wa soto de asonde iru. It's raining, but the children are playing outside.

が (ga) and けど (kedo) for Providing Context

In addition to connecting contrasting ideas, が (ga) and けど (kedo) are often used to add context to what you're about to say.

For example, if you're at a convenience store with your boss during a break and realize that you left your wallet at the office, you might say:

財布を忘れてしまったんですが、５００円貸してもらえませんか？ Saifu o wasurete shimattan desu ga, gohyaku-en kashite moraemasen ka? I forgot to bring my wallet. Would you lend me 500 yen?

If you cut straight to the point and say "Would you lend me 500 yen?" your boss might feel the need to ask why you need it. This can be avoided by providing context before making your request. In other words, it's a thoughtful gesture to use が (ga) to explain why you're asking a favor instead of just asking outright.

You may also have noticed that が (ga) and けど (kedo) follow んです (n desu) or んだ (n da). Since んです (n desu) and んだ (n da) are used for providing explanations, they are a good match — you'll often see them paired with が (ga) and けど (kedo).

Beyond The Basics

Variations of けど (kedo)

Although they're less common than けど (kedo), you may sometimes encounter these variants: けれども (keredomo), けども (kedomo), and けれど (keredo).

In fact, けれども (keredomo) is the original form, and the others are its short forms. They're all still colloquial, especially compared to が (ga), but they contain different levels of formality — けれども (keredomo) has the highest level of formality, followed by けども (kedomo), けれど (keredo), and けど (kedo).

が (ga) and けど (kedo) at The End of Sentences

Even though I explained earlier that conjunctive particles are used to connect two sentences, you might sometimes see が (ga) and けど (kedo) at the end of a sentence, not followed by anything. This actually happens with all conjunctive particles in Japanese.

Using が (ga) or けど (kedo) at the end of a sentence can create different effects, like giving the listener flexibility in how to respond, making what you've said sound like an afterthought, sounding less confrontational, expressing uncertainty, etc.

A typical example is when you're making a reservation.

もしもし。予約したいんですけど…。 Moshi moshi. Yoyaku shitain desu kedo… Hello. I'd like to make a reservation…

When you use けど (kedo) to add context and end a sentence, you open up the possibility of how the listener can respond. This is commonly used for making requests, asking for permission, extending invitations, asking for favors, and more.

What けど (kedo) does here is provide context, indicating that you want to make a reservation. However, since けど (kedo) ends the sentence, what it's missing is what the context is leading to, which could be a request like "Can I book a table for two tonight?" or a question like "Is there any availability?"

By pausing at けど (kedo) and not saying anything after that, you're not specifying what exactly you're asking for. Instead, you're leaving it vague so that the listener can respond in a way that's convenient for them. Instead of specifying your request to achieve the goal of making a reservation, you're implying that you want the staff to decide the next move to make it happen.

So, in response to the phrase 予約したいんですけど (yoyaku shitain desu kedo), the restaurant staff have the freedom to choose how to respond, like "What date?" or "How many guests?" depending on how they want to handle the reservation process going forward — in a way, this is a considerate way of communicating.

That’s all folks!

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

Have a great Sunday!