〜のもの
~ no mono
In Japanese, the phrase 〜のもの (~ no mono) is used to say that something belongs to someone.
This phrase indicates that an object is the property of a specific person. In Japanese, the possessed object generally follows the possessor. You can use the particle の to indicate ownership by placing it between the possessor and the possessed object. Furthermore, certain possessive pronouns can be formed by using a noun plus の as an adjective before the object being possessed.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the possessive particle の and the noun もの, which means 'thing'.
Which one should you use?
While 〜の is the standard way to show possession (for example, Tanaka-san no hon for 'Tanaka's book'), 〜のもの is used more emphatically to emphasize that the object is the actual property or possession of the person.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase a complete, polite sentence, you add です at the end to form 〜のものです.
How do you pronounce it?
~ no mono
Did you know?
- The word もの can also be used as a grammatical marker to express a reason or a cause. While it sounds the same as the 'thing' in your phrase, in this context it functions as a particle to explain why something happened.
- To say something is 'mine' in a very casual or masculine way, speakers often replace のもの with the word もん 'mon', which is a phonetic contraction used in informal speech.
- In Japanese, the particle の can indicate possession without actually implying ownership, such as in watashi no namae for 'my name'. Because a name is not a 'thing' you own, the word もの would be grammatically incorrect here.
Examples in context
- 私 の 本My book
- 田中 の 車Tanaka's car
- これは私のものです。Kore wa watashi no mono desu.
