Ending Particles (よ, ね, よね)

Now that we’re beginning to form more complex sentences, it is a good time to introduce two particles that are used in practically every conversation, whether it’s two friends in a bar or a political interview: よ and ね. Now, if pushed to give a direct translation, I would say that よ means “You know…” (as in the Americanism) and ね means “… isn’t it?” (as in, “That’s right, isn’t it?”). They are added at the end of the sentence to either the standard or polite form of the verbs. For nouns and na-adjectives we need to add the auxiliary verb.

• よ is used to emphasise a point or to confirm that what the speaker just said is correct. In a sense, it’s like a sort of half-exclamation mark.
• ね is used to show empathy or understanding with the other person.

The choice between よ and ね depends on whether the information is new to the listener or shared between the speaker and listener.

• よ (New Information): The speaker knows something, and assumes the listener does not know it. (e.g. Pointing at a cake the listener hasn’t eaten yet: おいしいですよ！ / It’s delicious, you know!)
• ね (Shared Information): The speaker assumes the listener already knows or feels the same way, and is seeking agreement. (e.g. Eating the cake together: おいしいですね！ / It’s delicious, isn’t it?)

The combined particles よね are used to show that the speaker wants confirmation from the listener. It is sometimes used as a question by inflection.

祐介ゆうすけ	今週こんしゅう、毎日まいにち　十時じゅうじまで　働はたらきましたよ。
Yusuke	You know, I worked until 10 o’clock every night this week.
絵里えり	それは　大変たいへんですね。
Eri	That’s tough, isn’t it?

祥子しょうこ	大地だいちも　お祭まつりに　来きますよね？
Shoko	Daichi is also coming to the festival, right?
太郎たろう	そうですよ。
Taro	That’s right.

Incidentally, ねよ has no meaning.

肇はじめ	明日あしたの　飲のみ会かいに　来くるよね？
Hajime	You’re coming to the drinks tomorrow, right?
明子あきこ	そうよ。
Akiko	That’s right.

When used with a noun or na-adjective, female speakers will often drop the auxiliary verb in casual conversation (like in Akiko’s reply above). Male speakers will often replace ね with な, which sounds a little harder.

祥子さちこ	明日あしたは　月曜日げつようびだね。
Sachiko	Tomorrow is Monday, huh.
一郎いちろう	そうだな。
Ichiro	Yeah, it is. (Implied feeling: “Yeah, you’re right, and it’s a bummer.”)

A quick word of warning: Beginners tend to overuse よ at the end of every sentence to try and sound more conversational. Because よ implies “I am teaching you new information”, using it too much can make you sound bossy, arrogant, or like a know-it-all. Use it sparingly!