How to Use the Japanese Particle が in Japanese Relative Clauses

The Japanese particle が is commonly used inside Japanese relative clauses to mark the subject of the verb or adjective. A relative clause is a group of words that describes a noun.

For example:

私が読んだ本
Watashi ga yonda hon
The book that I read

The relative clause is:

私が読んだ
Watashi ga yonda
I read

It describes:

本
hon
book

The Japanese particle が marks 私 (watashi, I) as the subject of the verb 読んだ (yonda, read).

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What Is a Japanese Relative Clause?

A Japanese relative clause comes before the noun it describes.

For example:

私が買った本
Watashi ga katta hon
The book that I bought

The structure is:

Relative clause + noun

The clause 私が買った (watashi ga katta) describes 本 (hon).

Unlike English, Japanese does not use words such as “that,” “who,” or “which” between the clause and the noun.

Compare:

The book that I bought.

私が買った本。
Watashi ga katta hon.

The Japanese particle が remains inside the relative clause.

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How the Japanese Particle が Marks the Subject in a Japanese Relative Clause

The Japanese particle が can mark the person or thing performing the action inside the relative clause.

For example:

先生が書いた本
Sensei ga kaita hon
The book that the teacher wrote

The relative clause is:

先生が書いた
Sensei ga kaita
The teacher wrote

The noun being described is:

本
hon
book

The teacher is the subject of 書いた (kaita, wrote), so 先生 (sensei) is marked by the Japanese particle が.

The basic pattern is:

Subject が + verb + noun

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How to Use the Japanese Particle が With Different Verbs in Relative Clauses

The Japanese particle が can appear with many different verbs inside a relative clause.

For example:

犬が食べた肉
Inu ga tabeta niku
The meat that the dog ate

子どもが読んでいる本
Kodomo ga yonde iru hon
The book that the child is reading

田中さんが作った料理
Tanaka-san ga tsukutta ryōri
The food that Mr. Tanaka made

In each example, the noun marked by the Japanese particle が performs the action inside the relative clause.

Relative clause	Noun described	Meaning
犬が食べた	肉	The meat that the dog ate
子どもが読んでいる	本	The book that the child is reading
田中さんが作った	料理	The food that Mr. Tanaka made

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How the Japanese Particle が Works When the Main Sentence Also Contains は

A Japanese sentence can contain the Japanese particle が inside a relative clause and the Japanese particle は in the main sentence.

For example:

私は田中さんが書いた本を読みました。
Watashi wa Tanaka-san ga kaita hon o yomimashita.
I read a book that Mr. Tanaka wrote.

The sentence has two parts.

The main clause:

私は本を読みました。
Watashi wa hon o yomimashita.
I read a book.

The relative clause:

田中さんが書いた
Tanaka-san ga kaita
Mr. Tanaka wrote

The Japanese particle は belongs to the main clause, while the Japanese particle が belongs to the relative clause.

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Can the Japanese Particle は Replace the Japanese Particle が in a Relative Clause?

In some situations, は can appear in a relative clause, but the Japanese particle が is the basic subject marker in relative clauses.

Compare:

私が書いた本
Watashi ga kaita hon
The book that I wrote

The Japanese particle が simply marks 私 as the subject of the relative clause.

In contrast, using は can create a different topic or contrastive meaning:

私が書いた本
The book that I wrote.

私が書かなかった本
The book that I did not write.

Here, the choice of the Japanese particle は in the negative clause creates contrast between the two relative clauses.

Because は and が can create differences in emphasis and interpretation, learners should first understand the standard pattern of using the Japanese particle が to mark the subject of a relative clause.

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How the Japanese Particle が Is Used With Adjectives in Relative Clauses

The Japanese particle が can also appear inside relative clauses containing adjectives.

For example:

背が高い人
Se ga takai hito
A person who is tall

The relative clause is:

背が高い
Se ga takai
Has a tall height

The Japanese particle が marks 背 (se, height) in this adjective pattern.

Another example:

日本語が上手な人
Nihongo ga jōzu na hito
A person who is good at Japanese

The relative clause is:

日本語が上手な
Nihongo ga jōzu na

The Japanese particle が marks 日本語 (nihongo, Japanese) in the grammatical pattern used with 上手 (jōzu, good at).

The complete noun phrase is:

日本語が上手な人
Nihongo ga jōzu na hito
A person who is good at Japanese

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How the Japanese Particle が Is Used With い-Adjectives in Relative Clauses

An い-adjective can directly modify a noun, and the Japanese particle が may appear inside a longer adjective clause.

For example:

私が好きな本
Watashi ga suki na hon
The book that I like

Here, 好き (suki, to like) is a な-adjective, and the Japanese particle が marks 私 as the person connected to the predicate.

Another example:

私が住んでいる町
Watashi ga sunde iru machi
The town where I live

The relative clause is:

私が住んでいる
Watashi ga sunde iru
I live

The Japanese particle が marks the subject of the verb.

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How the Japanese Particle が Works With the Relative Clause Noun

The noun after a Japanese relative clause can represent different grammatical roles inside the clause.

For example:

私が読んだ本
Watashi ga yonda hon
The book that I read

本 (hon, book) is understood as the object of 読んだ (yonda, read).

The Japanese particle が marks 私 (watashi), the subject.

Now compare:

私が会った人
Watashi ga atta hito
The person whom I met

人 (hito, person) is understood as the person I met.

Again, the Japanese particle が marks the subject of the relative clause:

私が
Watashi ga
I

The noun outside the clause is not repeated with its usual particle inside the relative clause.

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Why Is the Noun Particle Omitted in Japanese Relative Clauses?

Japanese relative clauses do not repeat the noun that is being described inside the clause.

For example:

私が本を読みました。
Watashi ga hon o yomimashita.
I read a book.

To describe the book, the noun 本 is placed after the relative clause:

私が読んだ本
Watashi ga yonda hon
The book that I read

The original object noun is no longer written inside the relative clause.

The particle を is also omitted with the repeated noun.

The same pattern appears with other grammatical roles.

For example:

先生が教えた学生
Sensei ga oshieta gakusei
The student whom the teacher taught

The noun 学生 (gakusei, student) is the person being described and is not repeated inside the relative clause.

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Japanese Particle が in Relative Clauses With Multiple Particles

A relative clause can contain the Japanese particle が together with other particles.

For example:

田中さんが図書館で読んだ本
Tanaka-san ga toshokan de yonda hon
The book that Mr. Tanaka read at the library

Here:

田中さんが
Tanaka-san ga
Mr. Tanaka

図書館で
Toshokan de
At the library

読んだ
Yonda
Read

本
Hon
Book

The Japanese particle が marks the subject, while で marks the location of the action.

Another example:

友達が私にくれた本
Tomodachi ga watashi ni kureta hon
The book that my friend gave me

The relative clause contains:

友達が, subject

私に, recipient

The noun 本 is the item being described.

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Japanese Particle が in Relative Clauses With the Japanese Particle を

The Japanese particle が and the Japanese particle を can also appear together inside a Japanese relative clause.

For example:

子どもがボールを投げた公園
Kodomo ga bōru o nageta kōen
The park where the child threw a ball

The relative clause is:

子どもがボールを投げた
Kodomo ga bōru o nageta
The child threw a ball

Here:

子どもが marks the subject.

ボールを marks the direct object.

The noun 公園 (kōen, park) is the noun described by the entire relative clause.

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Japanese Particle が in Relative Clauses With Japanese Questions

The Japanese particle が is commonly used when the subject of a relative clause is identified or specified.

For example:

誰が作った料理ですか。
Dare ga tsukutta ryōri desu ka.
Whose cooking is this?
Literally, “Whose-made food is this?”

The relative clause is:

誰が作った
Dare ga tsukutta
Who made

The Japanese particle が marks 誰 (dare, who) as the subject of 作った (tsukutta, made).

This follows the same basic principle as other sentences where a question word asks who performed an action.

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How to Identify the Japanese Particle が in a Relative Clause

When you see the Japanese particle が in a sentence containing a noun, first identify whether the words before the noun form a relative clause.

For example:

私が昨日買った本
Watashi ga kinō katta hon
The book that I bought yesterday

Ask:

→ What is the noun being described?

本 (hon)

→ Which words describe that noun?

私が昨日買った (watashi ga kinō katta)

→ Who performed the action inside that clause?

私 (watashi)

→ Which particle marks that subject?

The Japanese particle が.

This method helps separate the relative clause from the main noun.

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Common Mistakes With the Japanese Particle が in Relative Clauses

Putting the Japanese Particle が After the Noun Being Described

Incorrect:

私が読んだが本

Correct:

私が読んだ本

The Japanese particle が belongs to the subject of the relative clause, not to the noun that follows the relative clause.

Repeating the Noun Inside the Relative Clause

Incorrect:

私が本を読んだ本

Correct:

私が読んだ本

The noun being described is not repeated inside the relative clause.

Using the Japanese Particle が Without Identifying the Subject

In:

先生が書いた本
Sensei ga kaita hon
The book that the teacher wrote

The Japanese particle が clearly marks 先生 as the subject of 書いた.

The particle must be understood according to its role inside the relative clause.

Confusing the Main Clause With the Relative Clause

Consider:

私は先生が書いた本を読みました。
Watashi wa sensei ga kaita hon o yomimashita.
I read a book that the teacher wrote.

The Japanese particle が does not mark the subject of the main verb 読みました (yomimashita, read).

It marks the subject of the verb 書いた (kaita, wrote) inside the relative clause.

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Common Japanese Relative Clause Patterns With the Japanese Particle が

Pattern	Example	Meaning
Subject が + verb + noun	私が書いた本	The book that I wrote
Subject が + object を + verb + noun	先生が本を書いた日	The day when the teacher wrote a book
Subject が + location で + verb + noun	田中さんが図書館で読んだ本	The book that Mr. Tanaka read at the library
Subject が + person に + verb + noun	友達が私にくれた本	The book that my friend gave me
Subject が + adjective pattern + noun	日本語が上手な人	A person who is good at Japanese
Main topic は + relative clause with が	私は先生が書いた本を読みました	I read a book that the teacher wrote

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Key Takeaway

→ The Japanese particle が can mark the subject inside a Japanese relative clause.

→ Japanese relative clauses come before the noun they describe.

→ The basic pattern is subject + Japanese particle が + verb + noun.

→ The noun being described is not usually repeated inside the relative clause.

→ The Japanese particle が belongs to the relative clause and can mark a different subject from the one used in the main clause.

→ Japanese relative clauses can contain other particles, including を, に, and で.

→ Learn the structure of the entire relative clause before deciding what role the Japanese particle が has in the sentence.

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Conclusion

The Japanese particle が is commonly used in Japanese relative clauses to mark the subject of the action, state, or grammatical pattern expressed before the noun.

For example:

先生が書いた本
Sensei ga kaita hon
The book that the teacher wrote

The Japanese particle が marks 先生 (sensei, teacher) as the subject of 書いた (kaita, wrote), while 本 (hon, book) is the noun described by the entire clause.

The same structure appears in longer sentences:

私は先生が書いた本を読みました。
Watashi wa sensei ga kaita hon o yomimashita.
I read a book that the teacher wrote.

Here, 私は belongs to the main clause, while 先生が belongs to the relative clause. Understanding which clause the Japanese particle が belongs to is essential for understanding Japanese relative clause structure.

What Is the Japanese Particle が?

How to Use the Japanese Particle が to Mark the Subject in Japanese

When to Use the Japanese Particle が for New Information in Japanese

How to Use the Japanese Particle が With Question Words in Japanese

How to Use the Japanese Particle が With あります and います in Japanese

How to Use the Japanese Particle が With Ability Expressions

How to Use the Japanese Particle が With 好き, 嫌い, 上手, and 下手 in Japanese

How to Use the Japanese Particle が With Verbs and Adjectives in Japanese

Can Japanese Particles は and が Appear Together in a Japanese Sentence

Japanese Particle が vs を: What’s the Difference?

How to Use the Japanese Particle が in Japanese Relative Clauses

How Context Changes the Meaning of the Japanese Particle が

Common Mistakes When Using が in Japanese