が

Subject marking particle, Identification particle

が emphasizes what comes before it, while は emphasizes what comes after it

Structure

Subject + が

Details

Part of Speech
Particle
Word Type
Case Marking Particle
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Standard

About が

が is considered to be the subject marker in Japanese. This means that it marks someone or something that is performing an action, or it identifies someone or something as having a specific feature (this is usually a feature that the listener is not aware of).

In both of these sentences, が puts focus on the thing performing an action/existing in some way (as opposed to any other thing). Because of this, が is usually said to highlight what comes before it, while は highlights what comes after it.

が always shows the 'target' of a statement, when other targets also exist. This is why が is used to describe situations that are happening either 'in the moment', or 'individually of other things'.

Because the group in this sentence is only one group out of many possible 'groups of people' that could be described, が will be used.

Caution

が is not usually used to describe something about yourself, unless you are intentionally describing yourself compared to other people. If you want to talk about yourself 'in general terms', は will sound more natural (there are exceptions).

Synonyms

Examples

--:--

お茶(ちゃ)が冷(つめ)たいです。

The tea is cold.

何(なに)がいい？

What is good? (What would you like?)

それがいいです。

That is good. (That is what I would like)

カレーが辛(から)い。

The curry is spicy. (The curry is the thing that is spicy)

木(き)が高(たか)い。

The tree is tall. (The tree is the thing that is tall)

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Online
- The Subject Marker が
  Imabi
- Very in depth difference between「は」and「が」
  NihonShock
- The 「が」 identifier particle
  Tae Kim
- が vs は
  Japanese From Zero
- は vs が[video]
  Japanese Ammo
- Bunpro Breakdown
  How to use は, は vs が
- Why you should call が the "identifier particle"
  Tae Kim
- Thorough breakdown of は and が - Page 299
  80/20 Japanese
- は vs. が quick breakdown and comparison
  Japanese StackExchange
- What it’s for and when to use it (and not “wa”)
  80/20 Japanese
- The Particles Ga & Wo
  Imabi

Offline
- Genki I 2nd Edition
  Page 195
- みんなの日本語 I
  Page 146 [CH 23]
- [DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
  Page 118
- Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
  Page 36
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が – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (4 in total)

matt_in_mito
Even now I make mistakes on this semi-regularly. Thanks!
Solista
I don’t get why ga can be used to describe things that you are experiencing in the moment while wa can’t. Help?
nekoyama
I think the idea is that when you’re experiencing something with your five senses and you want to tell someone else about it, it’s often going to be new information, and は can’t be used to introduce it.

But on the whole I don’t like this statement either because it seems it would apply to a statement like ここは寒い which sounds weird with が. It’s probably not what it’s intended to mean, but IMHO the English description (actually the other two orange lines too) is way too simplistic for this topic and it would be better to not have anything at all and make people read up on the details in a more comprehensive source.