Japanese Grammar – Studying Japanese is hard. 🇯🇵

にほんご を べんきょう する____が むずかしい ね。

In Japanese, the word "こと" (koto) is used to nominalize verbs, turning them into noun phrases. This usage allows verbs to be treated as subjects or objects within a sentence. Let's break down the structure:

1. にほんご (nihongo) – Japanese (language)
2. を (wo) – object marker
3. べんきょう する (benkyou suru) – to study
4. が (ga) – subject marker
5. むずかしい (muzukashii) – difficult

When you say "にほんご を べんきょう すること が むずかしい," you're essentially transforming "studying Japanese" into a noun phrase, which then becomes the subject of the sentence. Here, "こと" (koto) is the nominalizer that turns the verb phrase "べんきょう する" (benkyou suru) into "べんきょうすること" (benkyou suru koto), meaning "the act of studying."

Thus, the sentence "にほんご を べんきょう すること が むずかしい ね。" translates to:

– "にほんご" (nihongo) – Japanese
– "を" (wo) – (object marker)
– "べんきょう すること" (benkyou suru koto) – studying (as a noun phrase)
– "が" (ga) – (subject marker)
– "むずかしい" (muzukashii) – difficult
– "ね" (ne) – (a sentence-ending particle adding a sense of seeking agreement)

Therefore, this construction expresses that studying Japanese itself (as an activity) is difficult.

Romanized:
"nihongo o benkyou suru koto ga muzukashii ne."

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