Structure
Sentence topic + は, Pronounced "わ"
Details
Part of Speech
Particle
Word Type
Linking Particle
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Standard
About は
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.
In many sentences (especially short ones), either は or が would be considered perfectly natural. This depends on whether someone is simply stating something (は), or highlighting it especially (が).
In the first sentence, は broadly describes what the sentence is about (curry). In the second sentence, は again describes the whole sentence being about 'me', but が highlights one specific piece of information (wine being the thing that is hated).
Caution
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).
Caution
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.
In the second sentence, は will give the listener the impression that there is a comparison being made.
Related
Examples
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私はトムです。
I (as the topic of this sentence) am Tom.
あなたはジムです。
You (as the topic of this sentence) are Jim.
トムは先生です。
Tom (as the topic of this sentence) is a teacher.
カバンは汚い。
The bag (as the topic of this sentence) is dirty.
カレンダーは必要です。
A calendar (as the topic of this sentence) is necessary.
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How to use は, は vs が
Bunpro
The 「は」 topic particle
Tae Kim
The Ultimate Guide To: は vs が (The ONLY lesson you need!)
Japanese Ammo [video]
Very thorough breakdown of は and が - Page 299
80/20 Japanese
Why は is pronounced as わ
BriefJapanese
は and です
Japanese Ammo
は as a "non-logical" particle
Cure Dolly [video]
は vs. が quick breakdown and comparison
Japanese StackExchange
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[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 21, 516 & 521
Genki I 2nd Edition
Page 42 & 93
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 33
みんなの日本語 I
Page 14 [CH 1]
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は – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (13 in total)
Jake
denotes sentence topic
Structure
- Sentence topic + は
- Pronounced ‘わ/wa’
[topic marker・particle]
View on Bunpro
liannallama
Stupid は
Why are you pronounced “わ”!?(venting post from girl who just spelled it as “わ” instead of “は”) Someday I will get this one right every time instead of misspelling!
mrnoone
Hey
You should read this amazing explanation:
liannallama
Oh, thanks! I always love knowing the reason/history behind things.
Neldolas
Tell me if I’m wrong, but I’ve come to understand は as just being there to “flag” the topic of a sentence, while が, even though is not always seen, is always implied to be there.
For example, the sentence “私はアメリカ人です”, while often used to mean “I am american”, could very well mean something else, such as “As for me, I am american” (implying that other people in the room might be from somewhere else, but I am from the US). In other words, the full sentence would actually be “私は、私がアメリカ人です”, but we don’t use the 私が since it’s obvious what the subject is.
I think the sentence that made me understand that is this one: “私はえびすだ”, which, well, in a restaurant setting, would simply mean “As for me, the shrimp” (implying that the full sentence would be “As for me, I’ll have the shrimp or I’ll take the shrimp”).
Then again, I might be completely wrong, but I would love to know what you think? Did I grasp the differences between は and が?
matt_in_mito
The whole は and が thing is pretty murky, but a simple way to understand the basics of it is:
私はアメリカ人です (I am American) is a response to the question “Where are you from?”
私がアメリカ人です (The one who is American is me) is a response to the question “Who here is American?”
So you’re changing the focus of the sentence.
Laugerizor
mrnoone
@Laugerizor
Hey and welcome on the community forums!The correct answer is は, as you wrote.
へいく appearing as an answer is an error, checked this sentence and it should be working now as intended.Sorry for the inconvienience and thanks for informing us abot the issue,
Cheers!Sirfracis
Hi, I’ve just come across the description: [Unlike が, は cannot be used to describe things that you are seeing/experiencing in the moment (right now)]
Can anyone shed more light on this at all?
HermesHoshiyama
I just got started here, so apologies if this isn’t the right place/way to ask.
In the example <玄関は暗い。>Would it also be correct to say <玄関は暗いです。>?Or is there a reason です is omitted?
matt_in_mito
Hi and welcome!
Yes both examples are fine. The latter is simply more polite - you wouldn’t use です with a friend or a family member.Savannah
Yes, I also would like to know what this mea...
FredKore
This makes sense if you translate は as “As for [the topic of]…”.
When you’re talking with your friend about puppies:
子犬はかわいいね。-- “puppies are cute”, talking about puppies in general, as a topic
子犬がかわいいね。-- “those puppies are cute”, talking about a specific puppy, or focusing on puppies out of all animalsWhen you’re standing in front of a pet store talking about puppies in...
jacobalbano
Hi all, been a it’s been a while since I posted. I’m a very satisfied (former) customer and I help moderate a Japanese-learning discord community, where I recommend Bunpro to pretty much everyone I meet. However, the other day one member (who had picked up Bunpro at my suggestion) posted about this blurb on the は grammar point page, which has apparently been added since my sub ended last year:
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