Practice JLPTHow to tell them apart
The choice hinges on whether the content is something you perceive or experience directly versus something you grasp abstractly. Use の for events you can see, hear, or concretely observe, like 見えるの; use こと for facts or general statements removed from direct perception, like いい人であること. Swapping them can sound odd because こと on a directly perceptible event feels detached, while の on an abstract fact feels too casual.
- こと Use こと when the nominalized content is an abstract fact or general statement rather than a directly perceived event.
- の Use の when the nominalized sentence expresses a directly perceptible event or concrete experience.
| Grammar point | Meaning | JLPT level |
|---|---|---|
| こと koto | Nominalizer (that/to/doing) | N5 |
| の no | Nominaliser: that ~; to do ~; doing ~ | N5 |
こと koto
Nominalizer (that/to/doing)
A nominaliser used to indicate the speaker’s relative lack of empathy with the content of the sentence he is nominalising.
-
あの人がいい人であることは確かです。
He is without doubt a good person.
-
スイスが奇麗なことは写真で知っています。
From pictures I know that Switzerland is beautiful.
の no
Nominaliser: that ~; to do ~; doing ~
A nominaliser which is used when the nominalised sentence expresses a directly perceptible event.
-
クラークさんがフランスへ行くのを知っていますか。
Do you know that Mr. Clark is going to France?
-
日本へ行くのは簡単です。
Going to Japan is easy.
こと and の are both JLPT N5 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side — meanings, usage and example sentences — so you can tell them apart.