は (pronounced わ) is often considered to be one of the most difficult particles to master in Japanese, alongside
が.
は marks the topic of the sentence, and describes the whole sentence broadly. However,
が primarily marks single actions or statements. We will explore this distinction in more detail when covering
が.
-
田中さんは先生です。
Tanaka-san is a teacher. (Broadly speaking, not compared to anything)
-
私はトムです。
I am Tom. (Broadly speaking, not compared to anything)
In many sentences (especially short ones), either
は or
が would be considered perfectly natural.
In the first sentence,
は broadly describes what the sentence is about. In the second sentence,
は again describes the whole sentence, but
が highlights one specific piece of information.
は cannot be used to describe things that you are seeing or experiencing ‘in the moment’ (right now). This is due to ‘in the moment’ events being considered part of a larger experience (your whole day for example).
-
今（いま）はテスト。
I have a test now. (Slightly unnatural, as the test is happening ‘right now’)
-
今日（きょう）は、雨（あめ）。
It will rain today. (Natural, as rain is a fairly broad event)
は has 2 main functions. The first marks the topic of the sentence, the second is used for contrast or making comparisons. Although there are no ‘strict’ rules for this, when
は is used toward (or after) the middle of a sentence, it will usually have the nuance of contrast.
-
私（わたし）は、金曜日（きんようび）が好（す）き。
I like Fridays. (Focus is on Friday)
-
私（わたし）は、金曜日（きんようび）は好（す）き。
I like Fridays. (Focus is on the comparison to other days)
In the second sentence,
は will give the listener the impression that there is a comparison being made.