What does “ano” mean in Japanese?

Japanese people often say “ano” to mean ‘well’, ‘hey’, or perhaps ‘excuse me’ in Japanese. It is an interjection. In this blog post, however, I will focus on it as a determiner. It can work before a noun in the same way as the English determiner, “that”, does. I will explain it and how to use it through example sentences. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “ano”
• Example #1: “ano” as a Japanese determiner
• Example #2: another usage of “ano”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “ano”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “ano”.

• ano – あの : a determiner adding the meaning of ‘that’ to its following noun.

The role of “ano” is quite similar to that of the English determiner, “that”. In fact, it is often translated as “that”. It is used before a noun which refers to a thing not close to the speaker or the listener.

The definition and meaning are simple and clear, I think. Sometimes, however, Japanese learners confuse this determiner and “are” which can also be translated into English as “that”. Yet, these two words are very different. “Ano” works as a determiner before a noun; “are” works as a pronoun meaning ‘that’.

Then, let me explain how to use “ano” through the example sentences below.

Example #1: “ano” as a Japanese determiner

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• hoshi – 星 (ほし) : a noun meaning ‘star’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, it is used after the noun phrase, “ano hoshi”, to make the subject in the sentence.
• totemo – とても : an adverb used to emphasize the meaning of its following word with the meaning of ‘very’, ‘much’, or such. In the example, it is used to emphasize the meaning of “kirei”.
• kirei – 綺麗 (きれい) : one conjugation of the na-adjective, “kireina“, which means ‘beautiful’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb put after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably it is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, it is used after “kirei” to make it sound polite.
• ne – ね : a sentence-ending particle used to make an agreement softly. As its definition suggests, it is put at the end of the example sentence to make the agreement in a soft way.

This is a typical usage of “ano”. In the example, it is used before the noun, “hoshi”. The star is not close in space to the speaker or the listener, so “ano” can work well before it.

Example #2: another usage of “ano”

Below are the new words and particle used in the example sentence.

• toki – 時 (とき) : a noun meaning ‘time’ in Japanese. In this example, however, it works more like an adverb.
• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : the same as explained in the last example. In this example, it is used after “kanojo” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
• ni – に : a case particle used to say to whom an action is heading. In the example, it is used after “kare” to say to whom the action described by “it ta” is heading.
• it – 言っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iu”, which means ‘to say’, ‘to tell’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb put after a verb or adjective to make its past tense form. Probably it is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, it is used after the conjugated verb, “it”, to make its past tense form, “it ta”.

This is another typical usage of “ano”. In this example, it works as a determiner before the noun, “toki”, which is not close in time to the speaker or the listener. The formed phrase, “ano toki”, has been translated as “at that time”.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained “ano” as a Japanese determiner and how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• ano – あの : a determiner used before a noun which refers to a thing not close in time or space to the speaker or the listener. It is often translated into English as “that”.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.

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