Japanese Particles は, が, を, に, で for Bangla Speakers — Learn Them Through Sentence Patterns

The first month after I landed in Japan, I spoke painfully slowly. Every sentence, I'd pause — should I use は or が here? を or に? Then one day my sensei said, "Stop memorising particles. Wire them into sentences." That's when it clicked.

If you're prepping for JLPT N5–N4, or planning to apply to a Japanese language school, this is for you. Bangla doesn't have particles, so our brains take a bit longer to absorb them. But trust me — once you see the patterns, it gets easy.

1. は vs が — Topic vs Focus

Simple rule: は marks the topic, が marks the subject or focus.

• 私はバングラデシュ人です — I'm Bangladeshi (introducing myself; the topic is "I")
• 誰が来ましたか？ — 田中さんが来ました — Who came? Tanaka-san came (the answer is the focus, so が)

Here's a small story. When I was living in Japan, a Japanese friend once asked me, 「バングラデシュ料理は辛いですか？」 — Is Bangladeshi food spicy? The は is there because the topic is Bangladeshi food. If she'd asked 「何が辛いですか？」 — What's spicy? — the answer would be 「カレーが辛いです」 — Curry is spicy.

Remember: は talks about known information, が introduces new information. This exact distinction shows up in JLPT questions.

2. を — The Target of Action

を marks the object — what the action is done to.

• 本を読みます — I read a book
• ご飯を食べます — I eat rice
• 日本語を勉強します — I study Japanese

Notice: in Bangla we say "বই পড়ি" — object before verb. Japanese does the same: object + を + verb. So for Bangla speakers, を is actually the easiest one.

3. に vs で — Place, Time, Direction

This is where most students slip. Here's a simple trick:

Use に when:

• Time: ７時に起きます — I wake at 7
• Direction/destination: 学校に行きます — I go to school
• Existence: 部屋に猫がいます — There's a cat in the room

Use で when:

• Location of action: 図書館で勉強します — I study at the library
• Means: バスで行きます — I go by bus
• Language: 日本語で話します — I speak in Japanese

Real example. When I lived in Japan, I used to get off at Nishi-Kasai Station on the Tozai metro line. Lots of Bangla-speaking families live there. To say "I get off at Nishi-Kasai" — 「西葛西で降ります」 — で marks the place of action. But 「西葛西に行きます」 means "I'm going to Nishi-Kasai" — に marks the destination.

4. Practice Through Sentence Patterns — What to Do This Week

Reading alone won't help. Spend 15 minutes daily on this:

• Write 5 new sentences every day — each using at least two of は, が, を, に, で
• Read them aloud, record yourself, listen back
• Solve 10 JLPT N5 grammar questions per week from any prep book
• Check our JLPT guide for Bangladeshi students to see what each level requires

One more thing — for studying in Japan, having JLPT N5 or N4 helps a lot. Language schools prefer N5, and when you apply for the COE (Certificate of Eligibility), proof of language ability matters. At our office, plenty of students get stuck exactly on these particles.

5. Watch Out — Honest Trade-offs

A real caution: if you only memorise rules, you'll freeze when you actually speak. I've seen students pass JLPT N4 but can't order in a shop in Japan — because they never practised sentence patterns out loud.

Also, Bangla has separate words like ami, tumi, she — Japanese particles do that job. So translating directly from Bangla will fail about 90% of the time. Instead, copy Japanese sentence patterns exactly.

Broadly speaking, before you worry about the cost of studying abroad, get your language ready. Tuition in Japan runs roughly 600,000–800,000 yen per year (approximate — varies by school), plus living costs. The good news: many students cover a chunk through scholarships and part-time work. And having JLPT N5 makes getting a student visa smoother — a lot of people don't know that.

Closing Nudge

Tonight, do one small thing: take a notebook, write five Japanese sentences — each with at least two of は, が, を, に, で. Tomorrow morning, read them aloud in front of a mirror. Do this for a month and you'll surprise yourself.

I counsel students at Inochi Global Education Institute. Our Dhaka office is in North Badda, Pragati Sarani — just 13 minutes from the Japan Embassy. If you want to talk through particles, JLPT planning, or the whole process of studying in Japan, come by our study-in-Japan guidance service — we'll chat over tea, no pressure.