What are Relative Clauses?
Relative clauses in Japanese are phrases that modify nouns, similar to English "who," "which," or "that" clauses. However, Japanese doesn't use relative pronouns - instead, the modifying clause comes directly before the noun in plain form.
私が読んだ本
"The book that I read"
昨日買った服
"The clothes (I) bought yesterday"
彼女が作った料理
"The food that she made"
Basic Structure
[Plain form clause] + Noun
[食べる] りんご
"An apple (that someone) eats"
[赤い] 車
"A red car"
Clause comes before noun
No relative pronouns needed
English: The book that I read
Japanese: 私が読んだ本
No "that/which/who"
Direct modification
Usage and Meaning
Identifying which noun
そこにいる人
"The person who is there"
昨日会った友達
"The friend (I) met yesterday"
Specifies particular noun
Adding description
静かな場所
"A quiet place"
難しい問題
"A difficult problem"
Descriptive information
Verb Forms in Relative Clauses
Present/Future tense
行く人
"A person who goes / will go"
食べる物
"A thing (that someone) eats"
Dictionary form
Past tense
行った人
"A person who went"
食べた物
"A thing (that someone) ate"
た-form
Negative
行かない人
"A person who doesn't go"
食べない物
"A thing (that someone) doesn't eat"
ない-form
Particle Usage
Subject marker が
私が読んだ本
"The book that I read"
彼が住んでいる家
"The house where he lives"
が marks subject in clause
Object marker を
私を助けてくれた人
"The person who helped me"
Particles stay in clause
Location marker で/に
私が働いている会社
"The company where I work"
彼が住んでいる町
"The town where he lives"
Location markers preserved
Adjectives Modifying Nouns
い-adjectives (plain form)
高い山
"A tall mountain"
新しい本
"A new book"
Direct modification
な-adjectives (drop だ)
静かな場所
"A quiet place"
便利な道具
"A convenient tool"
な connects to noun
Position of Modified Noun
Noun is modified element
私が読んだ [本]
"The [book] that I read"
昨日買った [服]
"The [clothes] bought yesterday"
Final position
Common Patterns
Person descriptions
日本語を話す人
"A person who speaks Japanese"
メガネをかけている人
"A person wearing glasses"
Identifying people
Place descriptions
静かな場所
"A quiet place"
人が多い店
"A store with many people"
Describing locations
Time expressions
彼が来た時
"The time when he came"
雨が降った日
"The day when it rained"
Temporal modification
Multiple Modifiers
Stacking clauses
昨日私が買った新しい本
"The new book that I bought yesterday"
Multiple modifiers before noun
All in plain form
Subject of Relative Clause
Can be different from main subject
私は [彼が書いた] 本を読んだ
"I read [the book that he wrote]"
Main subject: 私
Clause subject: 彼
Two different subjects
Omitting Obvious Information
Context-based omission
Full: 私が食べたりんご
"The apple that I ate"
Short: 食べたりんご
"The eaten apple"
Subject often omitted
Polite vs Plain
Relative clauses always plain
Wrong: 読みました本 ⚠️
Correct: 読んだ本 ✓
"The book (I) read"
Always use plain form
Politeness in main verb only
Main sentence can be polite
私が読んだ本はおもしろいです
"The book that I read is interesting" (polite)
Clause: plain
Main verb: polite
Common Contexts
Introducing topics
これは私が作った料理です
"This is food that I made"
あれは彼が住んでいる家です
"That is the house where he lives"
Identifying things
Asking questions
誰が書いた本ですか
"Whose book is this?" (Lit: A book written by whom?)
どこで買った服？
"Where did you buy those clothes?" (Lit: Clothes bought where?)
Question words in clauses
Making recommendations
私がよく行くレストラン
"A restaurant I often go to"
友達が教えてくれた方法
"A method my friend taught me"
Sharing suggestions
Explaining Possession
私の vs relative clause
私の本
"My book" (I own it)
私が読んだ本
"The book I read" (action relationship)
Different relationships
Time and Place Nouns
Modified by clauses
彼が来た時
"The time when he came"
私が住んでいる場所
"The place where I live"
Temporal/locational nouns
Common Mistakes
Using です/ます in clause
Wrong: 読みました本 ⚠️
Correct: 読んだ本 ✓
"The book (I) read"
Must use plain form
Adding relative pronouns
Wrong: 私が読んだ that 本 ⚠️
Correct: 私が読んだ本 ✓
No "that/which/who" needed
Wrong particle は in clause
Wrong: 彼は住んでいる家 ⚠️
Correct: 彼が住んでいる家 ✓
"The house where he lives"
Use が, not は in relative clauses
Expressing "The one who/that"
Using の or もの
読んだのは私です
"The one who read it is me"
食べたのは彼です
"The one who ate it is him"
Nominalizing with の
Compound Modifications
Noun + relative clause
東京にある大きい店
"A big store that is in Tokyo"
日本語が話せる外国人
"A foreigner who can speak Japanese"
Multiple layers
Practice Sentences
Basic
私が読んだ本
"The book that I read"
昨日買った服
"The clothes (I) bought yesterday"
彼女が作った料理
"The food that she made"
高い山
"A tall mountain"
静かな場所
"A quiet place"
Intermediate
私が昨日図書館で借りた本はとても面白い
"The book I borrowed at the library yesterday is very interesting"
彼が住んでいるアパートは駅から近い
"The apartment where he lives is close to the station"
母が作ってくれた弁当を食べた
"I ate the lunch that my mother made for me"
友達が教えてくれたレストランに行った
"I went to the restaurant that my friend told me about"
日本語を勉強している人は多い
"There are many people studying Japanese"