Particles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

しか shika What's left after you erase everything: しか You rub everything out with an eraser and one thing is still sitting there. Not "good, I still have this" but "this is all there is" — the picture has a hole in it. Japanese

ばかり bakari The screen is wallpapered with one thing: ばかり The whole screen in front of you is papered over with one thing, edge to edge. It's so full of that one thing nothing else gets through. Japanese

ほど hodo Holding a ruler up to it: ほど You hold a measuring stick next to something and point at a mark: "up to here". The mark can be rough, it can be the very end of the stick, or it can be where you compare someone else. Japanese 4 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

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

くらい kurai A loose circle instead of a dot: くらい／ぐらい Instead of marking an exact dot, you draw a loose circle around roughly where it lands. That looseness is why it works for time, for brushing something off, and for naming a bare minimum. Japanese 4 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

など nado Show one, wave at the rest: など You lift one thing out of a box, leave the rest inside, and wave a hand at them as your voice trails off. The point is that you refuse to pin anything down. Japanese

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

より yori Drawing a line at your feet: より You draw a line on the ground and declare "from here". Sometimes you measure how far above that line something sits; sometimes you simply set off from it. Japanese

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

か ka A fork in the road, still open: か A road splits in two and nothing has decided which way yet. Hand that undecidedness to the person in front of you and it's a question; leave it sitting inside your sentence and it becomes "I don't know". Japanese

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

ね ne Rolling the ball over and waiting: ね At the end of your sentence you roll a ball gently towards the other person and wait for them to catch it. It signals that you two are standing on the same spot, not that you're talking at them. Japanese 4 uses

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

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

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

よ yo Putting it in their hand: よ You hold something the other person doesn't have and push it across to them. A gentle push is a kindness; a hard shove is shoving it in their face. Japanese 4 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

께 kke The same arrow, one notch higher: 께 The same arrow to a person, but aimed a notch above their eye level — the angle of handing something up with both hands. 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

보다 boda Whatever comes before 보다 is the ruler, not the story Two things stood side by side, with a line drawn at the height of one. Everything the sentence cares about happens above that line. Korean 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