Japanese grammar
は vs が: the difference
Both can look like they mark the subject of a sentence. They do different jobs, and Japanese speakers feel the difference even when they cannot explain it.
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Japanese · lesson preview
Step 4駅はどこですか。
Where is the station?
- Order
- Translate
- Listen
- Speak
Say it out loud. Green landed, yellow was close.
Start freeは marks the topic
- Setting what the sentence is about: 私は学生です (as for me, I am a student).
- Known or shared information: これは本です.
- Contrast: 肉は食べませんが、魚は食べます (I do not eat meat, but I eat fish).
が marks the subject
- New information: 雨が降っています (it is raining).
- Answering who or what: 誰が来ましたか。田中さんが来ました.
- Likes, wants and abilities: 猫が好きです。水が欲しいです。日本語が話せます.
A quick test
If the answer to who or what is the new, key piece of the sentence, use が. If you are setting the scene or contrasting, use は. In a question, the question word takes が: 誰が, 何が, どれが.
Examples you can play
| Meaning · why | Japanese |
|---|---|
| I am a student. (Watashi wa gakusei desu.) · は: topic | 私は学生です。 |
| Who came? (Dare ga kimashita ka.) · が: question word | 誰が来ましたか。 |
| Tanaka came. (Tanaka-san ga kimashita.) · が: the answer, new information | 田中さんが来ました。 |
| I like cats. (Neko ga suki desu.) · が: with likes | 猫が好きです。 |
| It is raining. (Ame ga futte imasu.) · が: new event | 雨が降っています。 |
| This is a book. (Kore wa hon desu.) · は: known topic | これは本です。 |
| As for me, I like sushi. (Watashi wa sushi ga suki desu.) · は for topic, が for the liked thing | 私は寿司が好きです。 |
Mistakes to avoid
- Using は after a question word. It is 誰が来ましたか, not 誰は来ましたか.
- Using は for likes and wants. The object of 好き takes が.
- Reading は as ha. As a particle it is pronounced wa.
More on learning Japanese: start Japanese free.
Can は and が appear in one sentence?
Yes, very often: 私は猫が好きです. は sets the topic, and が marks what is liked.
Which should I learn first?
Learn は first with です sentences, then が with likes, wants and question words.
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