There are many types of particles in the Japanese language but there are eight main core types particles that are most commonly used:
格助詞 (Case Particles)
Case particles refer to the grammatical function or relationship of a noun or noun phrase within a sentence. These follow the noun they modify and serve to clarify its role in the sentence. For example:
先生が
The teacher gave me sweets
が Subject: Also known as the focus particle, が marks the grammatical subject (the person, thing or place that is performing the action).
※ 先生 is the one doing the act of giving (くれた).
を Direct Object: Used to mark the noun that the verb acts on. When used with intransitive verbs, it can describe the movement of something, generally from point A to point B.
※ お菓子 moves from point A (先生) to Point B (私).
に Target: Used to mark the state of existence, destination, location, time, receiver or giver etc.
※ 私 is the final destination of the Direct Object (お菓子).
並立助詞 (Parallel Particles)
Parallel particles are used between nouns to help clarify that multiple items are being included in the same context. These are sometimes grouped together with other types of particles. Two of the most common parallel particles are と and や.
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りんごと
ケーキと すしと ラーメン Apples, cake, sushi and ramen
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ピアノや
コンピューターや 本などが あります There is a piano, computer, books and such
準体助詞 (Phrase Particles)
Phrase Particles are normally found at the end of verbs to help describe the grammatical relationship of a phrase within a sentence. These can group verbs, i-adjectives and na-adjectives to form a noun phrase. For example, using the nominalisation の or こと particle to form nouns from verbs and adjectives:
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読むのは
楽しい As for reading, it is fun
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ゲームを
することが 好きなんだ I like everything about playing games
※ This is not to be confused with the Case Particle の used as a noun modifier or possessive marker.
間投助詞 (Interjectory Particles)
Interjectory particles help to express the speaker's emotions and reactions and are often seen at the end of a sentence. Some of the most common ones are ね, よ and なあ.
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きれいな
花ね What a pretty flower
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この
音楽よ This music is good
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すごいなあ
That’s so amazing
What sets these apart from actual Sentence-Ending Particles is that they can be interjected at the beginning or between sentences. This is not possible to do for normal Sentence-Ending Particles since the main purpose of interjectory particles is that they can be used to catch the listeners' attention rather than to directly express emotions related to what overall is spoken.
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ねぇ、
しのちゃん Hey, Shino-chan
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それはさー、
全然 違うんよー That's completely different
副助詞 (Adverbial Particles)
Adverbial particles are mainly found after verbs, adverbs and Case Particles and act as adverbials to provided additional context or information. Some common ones are だけ, など, まで and ほど.
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英語だけ
話せます (She) can speak only English
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読めば読むほど面白い
(It becomes) interesting, the more you read it
係助詞 (Linking Particles)
接続助詞 (Conjunctive Particles)
Conjunctive particles are similar to conjunctions in English that they connect sentences together. Some common ones are が, けど, から, ので.
※ が here is not to be confused with the Case Particle が used as a subject marker.