よ

よ Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: Particle

Essential Meaning: I’m telling you (expresses conviction)

Construction: Sentence + よ

Notes:

• よ is a sentence-final particle that conveys conviction. It is used to express information that is assumed to NOT be known by the hearer. ね, on the other hand, is used to seek confirmation about some information that is assumed to be known by the hearer.
  • E.g. おいしいですよ。[This cake is delicious.] This sentence assumes that the hearer hasn’t tried the cake yet. In other words, the knowledge of the deliciousness of the cake is (presumably) not shared between speaker and hearer.
  • E.g. おいしいですね。[This cake is delicious, isn’t it?] This sentence assumes that the hearer HAS tried the cake. In other words, the knowledge of the deliciousness of the cake IS (presumably) shared between speaker and hearer.

• The sentence that precedes よ can be any type of sentence other than a question, because it is contradictory to use a particle that indicates certainty when seeking information.
  • E.g. *読よみますかよ。[Are you reading, you know?] よ is incompatible with interrogative sentences.

• よ can follow an imperative sentence in order to make the request more forceful.
  • E.g. 読よみなさいよ。[Read it.]
  • E.g. 読よんでくださいよ。[Read it, please.]
  • E.g. 読よめよ。[Read it.]

• ね can follow よ to express the idea of “I assert X. Don’t you agree?“. In other words, ね can be used to soften the forceful connotation of よ.
  • E.g. この本ほんは面白おもしろいですよね。[This book is interesting, don’t you think?]
  • E.g. アメリカまで十時間じゅうじかんはかかりますよね。[It takes 10 hours to get to America, don’t you agree?]

• よね can also be used to seek confirmation of some fact from some third party when speaking to a second party. (i.e. “Hello Person 1, I assert X. Isn’t that right, person 2?“)
  • E.g. 加藤かとうさんはロシア語ごができますよね。[Kato-san can speak Russian. Isn’t that right, Kato-san?]

• There are some subtle differences between the sexes when using sentence-final particles in informal speech. Namely:
  • (1) Males tends to say Predicate + よ, while females may insert わ between the predicate and よ to feminize the sentence (e.g. だわよ).
    • E.g. Masculine: 静しずかだよ。[It’s quiet, you know.]
    • E.g. Feminine: 静しずかだわよ。[It’s quiet, you know.]
    • E.g. Masculine: 話はなすよ。[I will speak, you know.]
    • E.g. Feminine: 話はなすわよ。[I will speak, you know.]
  • (2) With のだ, males tend to say んだよ, while females tend to say のよ.
    • E.g. Masculine: 話はなすんだよ。[I’m speaking, you know.]
    • E.g. Feminine: 話はなすのよ。[I’m speaking, you know.]
    • E.g. Masculine: 静しずかなんだよ。[It’s quiet, you know.]
    • E.g. Feminine: 静しずかなのよ。[It’s quiet, you know.]

Example Sentences:

坂本さかもとさんはタバコを吸すわないよ。[Sakamoto-san doesn’t smoke tobacco, you know.]

とてもおもしろいですよ。[It’s very interesting, you know.]

A: あの人ひとはそんな本ほんを買かわないでしょう。B: いいえ、買かいますよ。[A: That person probably won’t buy that book, will he? B: No, he will buy it.]

WILD Examples:

***YouTube videos may be region-locked depending on your country of origin. If you experience issues, please try using a VPN set to a United States IP address.***