Relative Clauses
Learn how Japanese modifies nouns with clauses — no relative pronouns needed.
How Japanese Modifies Nouns
In English, relative clauses come after the noun and use words like 'who,' 'which,' or 'that': 'the book that I bought.' Japanese has no relative pronouns at all. Instead, the modifying clause goes before the noun in plain form:
私が買った本 (the book I bought)
The noun is understood to fill a missing role inside the clause — it could be the subject, the object, a location, or any other role. This single structure covers everything English handles with 'who,' 'which,' 'that,' 'where,' and 'when.'
When the modified noun is the subject of the relative clause, the verb describes what that noun is doing. The pattern is:
[verb in plain form] + noun
The noun 'does' the action of the verb. Since the noun is outside the clause, it doesn't appear inside it — the subject slot is empty and understood from context.
Examples
- Who is the person (who is) running?
走っている人はだれですか。
- The woman (who is) sitting over there is Ms. Tanaka.
あそこに座っている女の人は田中さんです。
- The teacher (who) teaches Japanese is very kind.
日本語を教えている先生はとても優しいです。
- The number of people (who) jog every morning is increasing.
毎朝ジョギングをする人が増えています。
When the modified noun is the object of the relative clause, it is the thing being acted upon. The particle を that would normally mark it is dropped:
[someone が verb in plain form] + noun
Compare: 本を買った (I bought a book) → 買った本 (the book I bought). The を disappears because 本 moved outside the clause.
Examples
- The book (that) I bought yesterday was very interesting.
昨日買った本はとてもおもしろかったです。
- The food (that) my mother makes is always delicious.
母が作った料理はいつもおいしいです。
- I treasure the present (that) my friend gave me.
友達がくれたプレゼントを大切にしています。
- I forgot the name of the movie (that) I saw last week.
先週見た映画の名前を忘れました。
The modified noun can also be a location, time, reason, companion, or any other role inside the clause. Japanese makes no structural distinction — the same clause-before-noun pattern works regardless of which role the noun fills.
The particle that would mark the noun's role (で, に, と, etc.) is dropped when the noun moves outside.
Examples
- The town (where) my friend lives is very quiet.
友達が住んでいる町はとても静かです。
- I want to go again to the restaurant (that) I went to last year.
去年行ったレストランにまた行きたいです。
- The reason (why) I'm studying Japanese is because I use it for work.
日本語を勉強している理由は仕事で使うからです。
- The shop (that) I went to with my older brother was already closed.
兄と一緒に行った店はもう閉まっていました。
Adjectives modify nouns directly, just like verbs do — they go right before the noun:
- い-adjectives: attach directly — 赤い花 (red flower)
- な-adjectives: use な before the noun — 静かな場所 (quiet place)
Adjective modifiers and verb-clause modifiers can be stacked together: 昨日食べたおいしいケーキ (the delicious cake I ate yesterday).
Examples
- I like red flowers.
赤い花が好きです。
- A famous singer came.
有名な歌手が来ました。
- Let's talk in a quieter place.
もっと静かな場所で話しましょう。
- Please tell me the shop with the delicious cake I ate yesterday.
昨日食べたおいしいケーキの店を教えてください。
When the modifying clause has a noun predicate (A is B), the copula だ changes form before the noun:
- Present: だ → の or である — 学生の友達 is ambiguous ('student friend' vs 'friend who is a student'), so longer clauses are clearer
- Past: だった stays — 先生だった人 (person who was a teacher)
- Negative: ではない/じゃない stays — 日本人ではない友達 (friend who is not Japanese)
Examples
- The person who was a teacher is now a writer.
先生だった人が今は作家です。
- I remembered a book I read when I was a student.
学生のときに読んだ本を思い出しました。
- I'm speaking Japanese with a friend who is not Japanese.
日本人ではない友達と日本語で話しています。
Two key rules about particles inside relative clauses:
1. The particle for the modified noun is dropped. Since the noun has moved outside the clause, its original particle (を, に, で, etc.) disappears.2. は becomes が. The topic marker は does not appear in subordinate clauses. If the subject inside the clause would normally use は, it becomes が instead.
All other particles (と, に, で, から, etc.) stay as they are.
Examples
- The book (that) I read is this one.
私が読んだ本はこれです。
- The restaurant (that) I went to with a friend is over there.
友達と行ったレストランはあそこです。
- The cafe where I always listen to music has closed.
いつも音楽を聞くカフェが閉まりました。
- The sweets (that) I gave to the child were chocolate.
子どもにあげたお菓子はチョコレートです。
When the modified noun is obvious from context, it can be replaced with の (meaning 'one' or 'the one'). This の acts as a stand-in noun:
- 赤いの — the red one
- 昨日作ったの — the one I made yesterday
This is different from the nominalizer の that turns a clause into a noun phrase. Here, の replaces a specific, understood noun.
Examples
- Which cake would you like? — I'd like the chocolate one.
どのケーキがいいですか。
チョコレートのがいいです。
- There's a big one and a small one. Which would you like?
大きいのと小さいのがあります。どちらがいいですか。
- The one I made yesterday was curry.
昨日作ったのはカレーです。
- Please give me the red one.
赤いのをください。
Relative clauses can be nested — a clause modifying a noun can itself contain another relative clause. To read nested clauses, work inward from the main noun:
友達が紹介してくれた人が書いた本→ Start from 本 (book): 'the book that [person] wrote'→ Then expand 人: 'the person my friend introduced'→ Full: 'the book written by the person my friend introduced to me'
In natural Japanese, deeply nested clauses are common in writing but kept shorter in speech.
Examples
- I read the book written by the person my friend introduced to me.
友達が紹介してくれた人が書いた本を読みました。
- The app made by the company where my father works is very useful.
父が働いている会社が作ったアプリはとても便利です。
- While drinking tea I bought in Japan last year, I looked at photos my friend took.
去年日本で買ったお茶を飲みながら、友達が撮った写真を見ました。