Particles

了 le 了 is not finished, it is a line you just crossed A line chalked on the floor, and the moment your foot lands on the far side. Before the line and after the line are not the same. Chinese 5 uses

着 zhe 着 is a paused frame, not an action You hit pause on a video. The motion has stopped, but the picture stays up on the screen. Chinese 5 uses

过 guo 过 is a stamp in your passport A stamp thumped into a passport. It proves you passed through once; it does not mean you are there now. Chinese 5 uses

的 de 的 is a tag you tie onto the thing A hand tying a small tag onto an object. Everything before 的 is what is written on that tag. Chinese 5 uses

得 de 得 is a window that opens behind the verb You say the verb, and a window swings open behind it. Through that window you see how it turned out. Chinese 5 uses

地 de 地 is the outfit you put on the verb The spot where you dress the verb. What is being done stays the same; only how it looks changes. Chinese 5 uses

up ʌp Why finishing a drink and raising your voice are the same word Something rises from the bottom: louder, bigger, visible, filled to the brim. English 5 uses

把 bǎ 把 is the hand that pulls the thing to the front A hand picking something up, setting it down in front of you, and then saying what was done to it. Chinese 5 uses

down daʊn How 'downward' ends up meaning 'no' Something drops from higher to lower, and its energy drops with it. English 5 uses

out aʊt Why 'we're out of coffee' has no coffee left in it What was shut inside crosses the edge — and once outside, it is either visible or gone. English 5 uses

被 bèi 被 is an arrow flying at you An arrow flying in and sticking into you. Not something you chose, but something that happened to you. Chinese 5 uses

在 zài 在 is one pin stuck in the map A hand pushing a pin into a map. People, actions and even times all sit on that pin. Chinese 5 uses

in ɪn Step inside and you are one of them Something outside crosses the line and is now held inside the frame. English 5 uses

就 jiù 就 says there is no gap between the two Two dots pushed flat against each other. Nothing has slipped in between: no waiting, no condition, no other option. Chinese 5 uses

on ɒn Stuck to something, and therefore still going Something rests on a surface, touching it, and does not come off. English 5 uses

才 cái 才 is the long blank stretch before you arrive A long empty stretch of road before the destination. Waiting, conditions, wrong turns: you get there only after crossing all of it. Chinese 5 uses

off ɒf The moment it comes loose, it goes dark Something that was attached breaks contact and comes loose. English 5 uses

是…的 shì…de 是…的 is a spotlight on something already done The event already stands on the stage. You switch on one spotlight and light up a single part of it: when, where, who, or how. Chinese 5 uses

over ˈəʊvər One arch, passing over the top Something rides up, passes the highest point, and comes down on the far side. English 5 uses

through θruː In one end, out the other You enter at one end, pass all the way inside, and come out at the far end. English 5 uses

back bæk One arrow, pointing back where it started Something that left retraces its path to the place it started from. English 5 uses

は wa Put up a sign before you speak: は Standing a small sign in front of your sentence: this is what we are talking about now. Whatever is not on the sign quietly stays outside. Japanese 5 uses

은/는 eun / neun Why Korean says 나는, not 내가 Switching on a stage light before you speak: this is what we are talking about now. Whatever the light misses goes dark on its own. Korean 5 uses

away əˈweɪ Far enough away is gone Something moves further and further from here until it is out of sight altogether. English 5 uses

이/가 i / ga 제가 vs 저는: the difference nobody explains Someone asks who did it, and your finger lands on exactly one person. Out of everything on the table, this one. Korean 5 uses

が ga が is a finger, not a topic A camera snapping into focus on one thing. Not that one — this one. Japanese 5 uses

along əˈlɒŋ Side by side along one line — from streets to getting on well Moving beside a line and following it in the same direction. English 5 uses

を o を is not the object marker. It is the path. A line your action sweeps along. Whatever that line touches takes を. Japanese 5 uses

across əˈkrɒs It isn't across until it reaches the other side A line cutting from one side of a wide surface to the far edge. English 5 uses

을/를 eul / reul Where the verb's hand lands The verb reaches out and closes its hand on something. 을/를 tags whatever the hand closes on. Korean 5 uses

onto ˈɑːntuː What happens when on and to become one word Something travels, touches a surface, and comes to rest on top of it. English 5 uses

에 e Not seven meanings — one dot, five places to put it You put a single dot on a map. Only where the dot lands ever changes. Korean 5 uses

に ni One arrow, one point: に An arrow flying out and sticking into one spot. That single stuck point is に. Japanese 5 uses

에서 e-seo 에 vs 에서: what one extra syllable decides Draw a box around a place. Things happen inside the box — and when you step out of it, the box is where you came from. Korean 5 uses

で de で is not a place marker. It is the ground you act on. Laying down a field before anything happens. Everything then moves inside that field. Japanese 5 uses

upon əˈpɑːn The word that shows up in forms and in fairy tales The moment one thing comes to rest touching the top of another. English 5 uses

since sɪns Why one word for from then also means because A dot is marked in the past, and an unbroken line runs from that dot to now. English 5 uses

へ e へ never arrives. It only faces. Turning your body toward something. Nobody asks whether you got there — only which way you face. Japanese 5 uses

(으)로 (eu)ro One arrow, and (으)로 is finished Draw one arrow. Which way it points, what it travels on, and where it ends up — that is the whole particle. Korean 5 uses

와/과 wa / gwa 와/과 is not 'and', it is a piece of string A string tying two things so they stand shoulder to shoulder. What you do with the pair afterwards is the only thing that changes. Korean 5 uses

と to と is a string that ties two things side by side A string tying two things shoulder to shoulder. It shows you what is set against what. Japanese 5 uses

until ənˈtɪl The word that builds a wall where things stop Something runs along and stops dead at a wall built at one point. English 5 uses

도 do 도 is not 'also' — it is a hand adding one more A hand setting one more thing on a pile that already exists. Nothing new is started — something is added on top. Korean 5 uses

から kara から is a starting line, and that is all it is The mouth something starts coming out of. From there a line runs onward. Japanese 5 uses

throughout θruːˈaʊt The word that leaves no empty corner The inside of a boundary is filled from end to end, with not one corner left empty. English 5 uses

まで made まで is where you lift the pen off the line Drawing a line and lifting the pen. It runs that far and no further. Japanese 5 uses

만 man Draw one circle and erase everything outside it You draw a circle around one thing and erase everything outside it. Korean 5 uses

despite dɪˈspaɪt The word that crosses out what stands in the way Something clearly blocks the way, and the arrow draws a line through it and carries on. English 5 uses

부터 bu-teo 에 is a dot; 부터 is where the line starts The spot where your pencil first touches the paper before drawing a line. It says from here onward, not merely here. Korean 5 uses

も mo も puts one more thing on the same pile A hand setting one more thing on a pile that is already there. Everything lands in the same place. Japanese 5 uses

unlike ʌnˈlaɪk How to set two pictures side by side and say they do not match Two pictures are laid over each other and the lines refuse to match; one sticks out. English 5 uses

까지 kka-ji 까지 is a wall — and the wall is inside You are drawing a line and you set a wall down: stop here. Everything up to and including the wall counts. Korean 5 uses

の no の is not 'of'. It is a hook. A small hook that hangs the first word onto the second. It only tells you what belongs to what. Japanese 5 uses

aside əˈsaɪd One step out of the middle and over to the side Something in the middle of the path is picked up and shifted over to one side. English 5 uses

や ya や shows you two things and leaves the rest in the bag A hand pulling a couple of things out of a bag and leaving the rest inside. What came out is only a sample. Japanese 5 uses

apart əˈpɑːrt The picture of a gap opening between things Things that were touching move away from each other and a gap opens between them. English 5 uses

의 ui [e] The letter written 의 and said [e] A thread tied from the first word to the second, so the second one is pulled back and belongs to the first. Korean 5 uses

だけ dake Draw a line, erase the outside: だけ You draw a line around something and treat everything outside it as gone. Draw the line tight and it means "just this"; push it out as far as it goes and it means "as much as possible". Japanese 4 uses

forth fɔːrθ The word for stepping out where everyone can see What was behind or inside moves out to the front, where everyone can see it. English 5 uses

한테/에게 hante/ege Every arrow points at a person: 한테 and 에게 An arrow flying toward a person and landing in their hand. Korean 5 uses