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Grammar detail: prepositions in Japanese

prepositions in Japanese
259 words
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In English, prepositions are words that are used before a noun phrase and serve to give the noun phrase a relationship with the remainder of the containing clause. For example, in the sentence "I went into the house", into is a preposition.
Japanese functions somewhat differently. The most important difference is that Japanese words which serve the same function as the English preposition often follow the noun phrase they modify. (In English, this is called a postposition; the term for both prepositions and postpositions is adposition.)
The second most important difference is that the role of the preposition is often split between multiple words, one or more of which is a standard Japanese particle.
The most common prepositions in English are above, across, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, by, down, from, in, into, near, of, off, on, to, toward, under, upon, with and within. Here are a few examples of their Japanese equivalents.
Above
When describing something that is physically above something else, the noun
うえ
is used. Since it is a noun, it is linked to other nouns using the particle の. Since the resulting item describes a location, the particle に as a location marker may be required.
やま
うえ
くも
えた

We saw clouds above the mountain.
When describing something that is figuratively above something else, the noun
いじょう
以上
is used. 以上 does not customarily require の to link it to other nouns (although it can be used), and since the result is not a physical location, に is not required. Essentially 以上 functions as a suffix.
しゅうにゅう
収入
いじょう
せいかつ
生活
する
Do not live above your income.
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Kanji used in this grammar

ジョウ   ショウ   うえ above   うわ- above   あげる to raise   あがる to rise   かみ first half, upper part   のぼ to climb   のぼせる to bring up, to raise   のぼ to bring up   
イ    (prefix) or   
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