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Nouns & の

No gender or plural; possessive の

No gender, no articles, usually no plural

One noun form covers a / the / plural.

💬 Examples
本
hon
a book / the book / books
📝 No article or plural marking
猫
neko
cat / cats
📝 Number comes from context
の links nouns (possessive / 'of')

A の B = 'B of A'.

📊 Uses of の
Use Example Meaning
possession 私の my
belonging 日本の車 Japanese car
apposition 友達の田中さん my friend Tanaka
💬 Examples
私の本
watashi no hon
my book
📝 の = 's / of
日本語の先生
nihongo no sensei
a Japanese-language teacher
📝 Noun の Noun modification
Plurals can be shown with -たち

For people, optionally.

💬 Examples
子供たち
kodomo-tachi
children
📝 -たち makes an explicit plural (people)
私たち
watashi-tachi
we
📝 -たち = plural of 'I'