About This Quiz
Particles trip up beginners more than almost anything else in Japanese. This set of 10 questions drills は, が, を, に, で, と, も, の, へ, and から — the ones that show up on every N5 exam. Questions range from fill-in-the-blank to error spotting. Tap an answer to reveal the explanation. Aim for 9 or 10.
Questions
Question 1. わたし＿＿ 学生です。Choose the correct particle.
- A) を
- B) に
- C) は
- D) で
Answer
C) は — は is the topic marker. わたし (I) is the topic, so the sentence reads "I am a student." Note: は marks what the sentence is about, not necessarily the grammatical subject.
Question 2. 毎朝、コーヒー＿＿ 飲みます。Choose the correct particle.
- A) が
- B) を
- C) は
- D) と
Answer
B) を — を marks the direct object — the thing being acted on. コーヒー is what gets drunk, so を is the right choice. Every transitive verb in Japanese needs an object, and を is what links them.
Question 3. 図書館＿＿ 本を 読みました。Choose the correct particle.
- A) に
- B) が
- C) を
- D) で
Answer
D) で — で marks the location where an action happens. The sentence means "I read a book at the library." Compare: 図書館にいます (being at the library, no action) vs 図書館で読みます (doing something there).
Question 4. 駅＿＿ 歩いて 行きます。Choose the correct particle to mean "go to the station on foot."
- A) で
- B) を
- C) に
- D) も
Answer
C) に — に marks a destination. 駅に行きます = "I go to the station." Use に with movement verbs: 行きます (go), 来ます (come), 帰ります (return home).
Question 5. Which sentence is correct?
- A) 猫がいぬが 好きです。
- B) 猫もいぬも 好きです。
- C) 猫をいぬを 好きです。
- D) 猫のいぬの 好きです。
Answer
B) 猫もいぬも 好きです。 — も means "also" or "too." Stack it on two nouns and you get "both X and Y" — here, "I like both cats and dogs." Option A is ungrammatical because が cannot repeat that way with 好き.
Question 6. 山田さん＿＿ 友達といっしょに 来ました。Choose the correct particle to indicate that Yamada-san also came.
- A) は
- B) が
- C) も
- D) の
Answer
C) も — も means "also" or "too," and it replaces は or が when you're adding someone to an existing context. Here: "Yamada-san came too (along with whoever else was mentioned)."
Question 7. これは 田中さん＿＿ 本です。Choose the correct particle to show possession.
- A) が
- B) の
- C) を
- D) で
Answer
B) の — の works like apostrophe-s in English: 田中さんの本 = "Tanaka-san's book." It also links nouns more broadly — 日本語の先生 = "Japanese language teacher," not "teacher's Japanese."
Question 8. Identify the mistake: 私はバスに学校へ行きます。
- A) は should be が
- B) に should be で
- C) へ should be を
- D) There is no mistake
Answer
B) に should be で — で marks the means of transport; に marks a destination. The correct sentence is 「バスで学校へ行きます」— "I go to school by bus." Saying バスに here would imply the bus itself is the destination.
Question 9. 九時＿＿ 十時まで 授業があります。Choose the correct particle to mean "from 9 o'clock."
- A) に
- B) で
- C) から
- D) が
Answer
C) から — から means "from" (a starting point in time or place). まで means "until." Together, から〜まで = "from〜until." The sentence: "Class is from 9 o'clock until 10 o'clock."
Question 10. Which sentence most naturally asks "Is there a convenience store near here?"
- A) この近くにコンビニがありますか。
- B) この近くをコンビニがありますか。
- C) この近くはコンビニをありますか。
- D) この近くでコンビニはありますか。
Answer
A) この近くにコンビニがありますか。 — The existence pattern is [place]に [thing]が あります. に locates where the thing exists; が marks the thing itself. The other options swap or replace these roles incorrectly.
Score Guide
- 9–10: N5 particles are solid. Move on to N4 grammar with confidence.
- 7–8: Good foundation. Look up the questions you missed and try again — you're close.
- 5–6: The に/で split and は/が distinction are the usual sticking points at this level. Focus there first.
- 0–4: Go back to basics. Study one particle at a time — start with は, が, and を before adding に and で.
Related Articles
- N5 Grammar Quiz — Verb Forms (Quiz N5)
- N5 Kanji Quiz — Numbers & Time (Quiz N5)
- は vs も — Topic vs Also (Comparison X vs Y)
- のが好き — Like Doing (Grammar N5)
- は vs が — Topic vs Subject (Comparison X vs Y)
- に vs で — Location Particles (Comparison X vs Y)