LEARN + JAPANESE / 109 of 186 JLPT N4
The One That Is の
の can stand in for a noun that’s already clear from context, “the one that,” letting you describe it with an adjective or clause without repeating the noun itself.
I'll take the black one.
The one I always eat is good.
Hint · 힌트
黒いの stands in for something like 黒いかばん, “the black bag,” with の replacing かばん once it’s already clear from context what’s being discussed, avoiding a clunky repeat of the same noun.
For pizza, which is better, the big one or the small one?
For plates, which is better, the paper ones or the plastic ones?
Hint · 힌트
紙の, プラスチックの here attach の directly to a noun instead of an adjective, meaning “the paper one,” “the plastic one,” letting you compare two variants of the same item without saying its name twice.
It's the one inside this box.
Hint · 힌트
のです at the end of a sentence like this answers “which one” directly, naming the referent through a description rather than its name, a natural, efficient way to point something out in conversation.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| black | |
| this kind of | |
| sweet | |
| paper | |
| plastic | |
| box | |
| sweater | |
| wine | |
| to wear | |
| which (of two) | |
| to choose | |
| to compare | |
| to distinguish | |
| kind, type | |
| pronoun | |
| to repeat | |
| to omit, abbreviate | |
| to point at, indicate | |
| to pick up | |
| context |
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