～の
Turn a verb or clause into a noun
You’ll be able to turn verbs and clauses into nouns so they work as sentence subjects.
本を読むのは楽しいです。
hon o yomu no wa tanoshii desu.
What do you think this sentence means?
Reading books is fun.
Turn an action or description into a “thing”
The nominalizer の lets a verb phrase or clause behave like a noun. This makes it possible to talk about doing something as the subject or object of a sentence.
宿題をするのを忘れました。
shukudai o suru no o wasuremashita.
I forgot to do my homework.
Verb plain-form clause + の
Put の after a plain-form verb clause to turn the action into a noun. Once nominalized, particles such as は, が, and を can mark its role in the sentence.
本を読むのが好きです。
hon o yomu no ga suki desu.
I like reading books.
日本語を話すのは難しいです。
nihongo o hanasu no wa muzukashii desu.
Speaking Japanese is difficult.
料理するのを手伝います。
ryouri suru no o tetsudaimasu.
I help with cooking.
の between nouns vs の after a clause
Between two nouns, の links them. After a whole clause, の turns that clause into a noun so it can take a particle of its own.
の, makes a noun
本を読むのが好きです。
hon o yomu no ga suki desu.
I like reading books.
の turns 本を読む into a thing that can take が.
の, links nouns
これは私の本です。
kore wa watashi no hon desu.
This is my book.
の joins 私 to 本.
朝早く起きるのは大変です。
asa hayaku okiru no wa taihen desu.
Getting up early in the morning is hard.
日本語で日記を書くのは難しいです。
nihongo de nikki o kaku no wa muzukashii desu.
Writing a diary in Japanese is difficult.
家族と晩ご飯を食べるのは楽しいです。
kazoku to bangohan o taberu no wa tanoshii desu.
Eating dinner with my family is fun.
13 more examples in the grammar path — free for a limited time.