Ever wondered when and how to use Japanese particles は and が? Do you get confused if there’s any differences between these two? In this article, I explain how to distinguish one of the most confused Japanese particles は vs. が in simple examples. If you are just starting out the journey of learning Japanese and got stuck coming across Japanese particles, this is for you. This post teaches you with easy and clear examples, rules and real sentences, so you don’t need to have full linguistic knowledge to make sense of は and が. Let’s learn how to use は and が for daily conversations.
What Are Japanese Particles?
Japanese particles are grammatical markers that follow a word (usually a noun) to indicate how the word works in a sentence. Particles can tell you if the word is used as a subject or an object etc.
For example in English, a sentence is started by a subject which is followed by a verb then an object of the verb. (I eat sushi.) If you flip the subject and the object, the meaning of the sentence completely changes. (Sushi eats me.)
On the other hand, instead of word order, Japanese determines the meaning of a sentence by using particles. For example, particle は marks the subject and particle を marks the object. (わたしは すしを たべる。) So even if you flip the subject (わたしは) and the object (すしを), the meaning of the sentence does not change. (すしを わたしは たべる。)
Japanese particle determines the role of a word that it attaches to in a sentence.
は (WA) And が (GA) Are Subject Marking Particles
First both of these particles は And が mark the subject of a sentence. は And が attaches itself after a noun to make a subject.
わたしはにほんじんです。 I am Japanese.
watashi wa nihonjin desu.
ねこがいます。 There is a cat.
neko ga imasu.
Here we see は is attached after わたし to make up the subject in the first sentence. Similarly, が is attached after ねこ to make up the subject for the second example.
Notice は is read (HA) by itself, but when it is used as a particle, the reading changes to (WA). It might be confusing at first, but you will soon be able to tell the difference once you are more familiar with the structure of Japanese sentences, so don’t worry about it too much for now and let’s dive into learning the differences between these two.
は (WA) And が(GA): Differences In A Nutshell
Even though both は and が are particles that mark the subject, the nuances the particles bring to the sentence would be distinct and there are distinctions that Japanese speakers naturally make in choosing one over the other. So how do you know when to use は or が?
What Does は (WA) Do In A Sentence?
は has several important roles when marking subjects.
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は emphasizes a topic rather than the subject itself
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は is used to convey general statement
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は often shows contrasts
If none of this makes sense, don’t worry. I will explain with examples.
は Is A Topic Marker – It Tells You What The Sentence Is About
は sets up the subject of a sentence. は is a topic marker which means that it emphasizes what comes after rather than the subject itself. You can think of it as “As for…” or “Talking about…” in English.
わたしは がくせいです。 As for me, I’m a student.
watashi wa gakusei desu.
あのひとは だれですか？ Talking about that man, who is he?
ano hito wa dare desu ka?
は Is Used For General Statement
The particle は sets the general subject or theme of the statement. Let’s look at examples.
りんごは おいしいです。 Apples are tasty (in general).
ringo wa oishii desu.
にほんは きれいです。 Japan is clean. (talking about Japan in general)
nihon wa kirei desu.
The sentence states a generalization. The nuance of this sentence is “generally speaking” apples are tasty, or in Japan “in general”, it is clean.
は Often Shows Contrasts
When contrasting, は is often used as the subject marker rather than が.
あかは すきだけど、あおは きらいです。 I like red, but not blue.
aka wa suki dakedo, ao wa kirai desu.
いぬは すきです。I like dogs.
inu wa suki desu.
The first statement is contrasting the two subjects あか and あお. The contrasted subject might not necessarily appear in the sentence. The second example is similar to the examples from the previous point that it conveys a general statement, but it could also have the nuance of (I don’t like other animals, but for sure) I like dogs.
What Does が (GA) Do In A Sentence?
Now we understand more about は, let’s shift our focus on が. Just like は, が also serves several important roles.
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が emphasizes the subject
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が is used with question words like what, who etc.
Let’s look at these points in details together.
が Put Emphasis On The Subject Itself – It Highlights The Subject
が marks a subject and identifies and highlights in the sentence exactly who or what does something. I will give you two examples to help you get the clearer image of が.
ねこが います。There is a cat.
neko ga imasu.
あかが すきです。 I like red.
aka ga suki desu.
The first sentence highlights the subject ねこ. The focus of this sentence is also ねこ. The second example emphasizes あか and the nuance of this sentence goes, “I like the RED, not other colors!”
When The Subject Is A Question Word, が Is Used
Sometimes a sentence takes a question word for its subject. When it does, が is used for the subject marker.
だれが いますか？ Who is here?
dare ga imasu ka?
なにが ありますか？ What is here?
nani ga arimasu ka?
Pretty simple right?
は And が: Side By Side Comparison
If you have read this so far, you have a better understanding of both は and が and how they work in a sentence. Now it is time to dig deeper by comparing real life examples using は and が and compare side by side to better understand their different nuances.
New Information vs. Known Information
が introduces new information to the table while は deals with known information.
こどもが います。 There is a child.
kodomo ga imasu.
そのこどもは しょうがくせいです。 That child is an elementary school student.
sono kodomo wa shougakusei desu.
The sentence on top こどもがいます introduces a new information こども using が, and the example on bottom continues and picks up the same topic using は particle.
Focus On Subject vs. Topic
We learned that は focuses on the topic rather than the subject itself while が highlights the subject itself. Let’s look at the examples to understand deeper.
わたしは せんせいです。 I am a teacher.
watashi wa sensei desu.
わたしが せんせいです。 I AM the teacher.
watashi ga sensei desu.
The first statement’s focus is on せんせい, whereas the focus of the second statement is on わたし.
Here are lesson charts for the particles は and が.
は (WA) – Topic Marker
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は focuses on a topic rather than the subject itself
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は is used to convey general statement
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は often shows contrasts
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は carries a known information
が (GA) – Subject Marker
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が emphasizes or highlights the subject
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が is used with question words like what, who etc.
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が introduces a new subject / information
Practice WA And GA With Real Life Examples
Language is best acquired when practiced what was learned. I will give you a couple of sentences from real conversations. Try to guess which particle, は or が is appropriate for each sentence.
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いぬ＿ います。 There is a dog.
inu _ imasu. -
ふじさん＿ おおきいです。 Mt. Fuji is big.
Fujisan _ ookii desu. -
どちら＿ すきですか？ Which one do you like?
dochira _ suki desu ka? -
コーヒー＿ すきですが、こうちゃ＿ きらいです。 I like coffee, but I don’t like tea.
ko-hi- _ suki desu ga, koucha _ kirai desu.
Answer
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いぬが います。 There is a dog.
inu ga imasu. -
ふじさんは おおきいです。 Mt. Fuji is big.
Fujisan wa ookii desu. -
どちらが すきですか？ Which one do you like?
dochira ga suki desu ka? -
コーヒーは すきですが、こうちゃは きらいです。 I like coffee, but I don’t like tea.
ko-hi- wa suki desu ga, koucha wa kirai desu.
How many did you get it right?
Conclusion
Mastering Japanese particles takes time, especially は and が, but now that you understand the core differences, it is a matter of practice and getting used to correct sentences. は sets up the subject and focuses on the topic of the sentence and が puts emphasis on the subject itself. は helps you talk about things broadly or in general, similar to English “as for…” while が zooms in to highlight or identify who or what you mean. は also contrasts subjects.
As you read and listen to more Japanese sentences, you will build your language muscle to be able to tell the different nuances of the two particles. Don’t worry if you feel like you don’t get 100%. We all learn differently and at a different pace. Hope you enjoyed learning about some Japanese particles today and be sure to check out other articles on different particles as well!
