Japanese Particle Quiz With Answers: 15 Questions Explained

This Japanese particle quiz has 15 questions on wa, ga, o, ni, de, to, made, made ni, kara, no and ya, from beginner to early intermediate level. Fill in every blank first, then use the answer key, which explains each particle in one line and notes the two questions where more than one answer works.

By Trinh Ngoc Dieu · Founder of Unihongo 9 min readPublished October 26, 2026

Quiz me on particles Compare plans

UnihongoJLPT

公園で遊ぶplay in the park

What you need to know

Particles are short, but they carry the structure of every Japanese sentence: who does what, where, when, with whom and until when. Learners often know each particle's main job and still choose the wrong one, because English uses one preposition where Japanese uses two (at can be ni or de), or none where Japanese needs one (I understand Japanese needs ga). This quiz covers the decisions that cause the most real mistakes: ni or de for places, wa or ga with question words, o for paths and exits, made or made ni for time limits, and ya for incomplete lists. It also includes one question with two correct answers, because real Japanese sometimes allows both, and knowing that is part of knowing particles. After the questions you will find the answer key, a closer look at the ni and de split, score bands and a plan for practising particles in sentences you actually use. The quiz works for N5 to N3 learners.

Fifteen questions on the particles learners confuse most

Ni marks where something is; de marks where something happens

A question word as subject takes ga, never wa

Made is until; made ni is by, a deadline

Four particles in four short phrases

Here are four short phrases, each built around one particle from the quiz. Read them aloud and notice how much the single particle tells you: an activity in a place, a destination, something that exists, and a person you ask.

Keep these four in mind while you take the quiz. Many questions are variations on them.

Four picture cards with particle phrases: play in the park, go to the station, there is a dog, ask my mother. — De for action, ni for destination, ga with iru, ni for the person you ask.

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
公園で遊ぶ	kōen de asobu	play in the park
駅に行く	eki ni iku	go to the station
犬がいる	inu ga iru	there's a dog
母に聞く	haha ni kiku	ask my mother

Questions 1-5: place, means and company

Choose one particle for each blank. Say the full sentence aloud with your choice before moving on; a wrong particle often sounds wrong before you can explain why.

1. 「毎日電車 ___ 会社に行きます。」 (a) で (b) に (c) を (d) が
2. 「机の上 ___ 本があります。」 (a) で (b) を (c) へ (d) に
3. 「友だち ___ 映画を見ました。」 (with a friend) (a) に (b) を (c) と (d) が
4. 「この道 ___ まっすぐ行ってください。」 (a) に (b) で (c) が (d) を
5. 「田中さん ___ どの人ですか。」 (a) は (b) が (c) を (d) に

Questions 6-10: time, limits and material

6. 「誰 ___ 来ましたか。」 (a) は (b) が (c) を (d) に
7. 「毎朝七時 ___ 起きます。」 (a) で (b) に (c) を (d) が
8. 「家から駅 ___ 歩いて十分です。」 (a) までに (b) で (c) を (d) まで
9. 「レポートは金曜日 ___ 出してください。」 (a) までに (b) まで (c) で (d) から
10. 「このいすは木 ___ 作りました。」 (a) に (b) を (c) で (d) が

Questions 11-15: verbs that choose their particle

In this set the verb decides the particle. Question 11 has two correct answers, so read its instruction carefully.

11. Choose TWO correct answers: 「先生 ___ 本を借りました。」 (a) に (b) から (c) で (d) を
12. 「八時に部屋 ___ 出ます。」 (a) で (b) が (c) を (d) に
13. I bought apples, oranges and other things: 「りんご ___ みかんを買いました。」 (a) や (b) と (c) も (d) の
14. 「マリアさんは日本語 ___ 話せます。」 (a) で (b) に (c) へ (d) が
15. 「これは私 ___ 傘です。」 (a) が (b) の (c) に (d) と

Answer key: the particle and the reason

One point per question. For question 11, you need both answers for the point.

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
電車で会社に行きます。	Densha de kaisha ni ikimasu.	1 (a) de marks the means: by train
机の上に本があります。	Tsukue no ue ni hon ga arimasu.	2 (d) ni marks where something exists
友達と映画を見ました。	Tomodachi to eiga o mimashita.	3 (c) to: together with a friend
この道をまっすぐ行ってください。	Kono michi o massugu itte kudasai.	4 (d) o marks the path you move along
田中さんはどの人ですか。	Tanaka san wa dono hito desu ka.	5 (a) wa: Tanaka is the known topic
誰が来ましたか。	Dare ga kimashita ka.	6 (b) a question word as subject takes ga
七時に起きます。	Shichiji ni okimasu.	7 (b) ni marks a clock time
駅まで歩いて十分です。	Eki made aruite juppun desu.	8 (d) made: as far as the station
金曜日までに出してください。	Kin'yōbi made ni dashite kudasai.	9 (a) made ni: by Friday, a deadline
木で作りました。	Ki de tsukurimashita.	10 (c) de marks the material
先生から本を借りました。	Sensei kara hon o karimashita.	11 (a) and (b): ni and kara both mark the lender
部屋を出ます。	Heya o demasu.	12 (c) o marks the place you leave
りんごやみかんを買いました。	Ringo ya mikan o kaimashita.	13 (a) ya: examples from a longer list
日本語が話せます。	Nihongo ga hanasemasu.	14 (d) ga with a potential verb
私の傘です。	Watashi no kasa desu.	15 (b) no shows whose it is

Questions 5 and 6 are a pair worth remembering. In Tanaka san wa dono hito desu ka, Tanaka is already known and you ask which person he or she is. In dare ga kimashita ka, the unknown part is the subject itself, so it takes ga. A question word never takes wa as the subject.

Question 12 also accepts kara in real life (heya kara deru), but it is not among the options. O suggests leaving a place behind, while kara stresses the starting point.

Ni or de? The split that causes most errors

English uses at or in for both, so learners guess. Japanese asks a different question: is something simply there, or is something happening there? Existence verbs (iru, aru, sumu) and destinations take ni. Actions (eat, study, work, play) take de.

One verb shows the split clearly. Sumu takes ni (Tōkyō ni sunde iru), but hataraku takes de (Tōkyō de hataraite iru), because living is a state of being somewhere, while working is an activity.

A classroom board comparing ni and de: a book on a desk, playing in a park, getting up at seven and going by train. — Ni for where something is and when, de for where something happens and how.

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
東京に住んでいます。	Tōkyō ni sunde imasu.	I live in Tokyo.
東京で働いています。	Tōkyō de hataraite imasu.	I work in Tokyo.
駅の前で待っています。	Eki no mae de matte imasu.	I'm waiting in front of the station.
駅の前にカフェがあります。	Eki no mae ni kafe ga arimasu.	There's a café in front of the station.

One common exception catches intermediate learners: events. Even though aru usually takes ni, a party, a meeting or a concert that takes place somewhere takes de, because an event is something that happens: kōen de omatsuri ga aru, there is a festival in the park.

Score bands for particles

Score	Particle level	Next step
13-15	Particles are reliable	Work on wa and ga in longer texts
9-12	Mostly right, some pairs blur	Drill the pairs you missed with contrasting sentences
5-8	Main uses known, details missing	One particle a day, with five sentences about you
0-4	Particles still feel random	Learn each particle's main job with one model sentence

If you are preparing for the JLPT, particles appear in grammar, reading and listening alike. A full paper on the JLPT mock test page at unihongo.com/jlpt-mock-test shows how much particle errors are costing you across all sections.

Wa and ga: what the quiz only touched

Questions 5 and 6 touched the most discussed pair in Japanese grammar. A full explanation takes a whole article, but three rules cover most sentences you will meet at N5 to N3.

First, wa marks a topic that both speakers already have in mind, and the new information comes after it. Second, ga marks new or focused information, especially the answer to who or what. Third, inside a describing clause, the subject takes ga even when the main sentence uses wa: watashi ga katta hon wa omoshiroi, the book I bought is interesting.

Wa can also show contrast. Niku wa tabemasu ga, sakana wa tabemasen means I do eat meat, but not fish. The contrast is what the second wa adds.

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
誰がケーキを食べたの？	Dare ga kēki o tabeta no?	Who ate the cake? (casual)
弟が食べたよ。	Otōto ga tabeta yo.	My little brother did.
私が買った本は面白い。	Watashi ga katta hon wa omoshiroi.	The book I bought is interesting.
肉は食べますが、魚は食べません。	Niku wa tabemasu ga, sakana wa tabemasen.	I eat meat, but not fish.

Make particles automatic

Ask Mocchi: "/quiz me on ni and de with places, ten questions, and explain each answer." Mocchi quizzes you, explains the choice each time, and remembers the pairs you mix up so the next quiz targets them.
Follow up with "/explain" on any sentence from a book or article where a particle surprises you; Mocchi breaks the sentence down part by part.
Then play Sentence Builder on unihongo.com/games, where you put words in order. Building sentences forces you to place the particles yourself, which is closer to speaking than picking from four options.

Key points

A practical way to improve

Particles improve fastest when you use them about your own day. After marking the quiz, write five sentences about yesterday, each with a different particle from the questions you missed: where you were (ni), where you ate (de), who you met (to), how you travelled (de) and when you had to finish something (made ni). Read them aloud, then rewrite each one with the wrong particle and say why it fails. Paste the correct versions into Mocchi with /correct; Mocchi will mark any particle slips, explain them and keep track of which particles you tend to mix up so later quizzes target them.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Which Japanese particles are the hardest?

Many learners find wa and ga the hardest, followed by ni and de. Wa and ga depend on information and focus rather than grammar alone, and ni and de split the job that English does with at and in. Practising them in pairs, with short contrasting sentences, helps more than learning each one alone.

Can both ni and kara mark the person you receive from?

Yes, with verbs like morau, kariru and narau, both are correct: sensei ni hon o karita and sensei kara hon o karita. Kara is preferred when the source is an organisation or a place, such as ginkō kara okane o karita.

Is nihongo o wakarimasu wrong?

The standard form is nihongo ga wakarimasu, and that is what textbooks and the JLPT expect. With potential verbs such as hanaseru, both ga and o are heard in everyday speech, but ga is the safe choice on tests.

What is the difference between to and ya?

To lists everything: ringo to mikan o katta means you bought apples and oranges, nothing else. Ya gives examples from a longer list: ringo ya mikan o katta means you bought apples, oranges and other things. Ya often comes with nado at the end.