ppl and especially textbooks tend to get real creative with this, but it’s actually really simple (text wall, I know, but trust me)
は is the “topic particle” it just says “hey we are gonna talk about this. this relates to the sentence in some way.” it’s pretty general/generic
が marks the subject of the sentence (“subject” is the grammatical term for **the thing that does the verb**). end of story. が is probably the simplest particle in all of japanese
now here is where people get tripped up:
If there is a sentence where が is confusing you, it’s probably not the particle you misunderstand, but the verb. some verbs might not work how you expect (ex 分かる and not a verb but 好き), so you might need to change your perspective. but don’t get lost: が always marks **the thing that does the verb**
another factor that complicates this is that japanese has different levels of politeness. generally the more polite you speak, the more abstract/disconnected you speak. and the more casual you speak, the more directly/bluntly you speak.
が is very blunt/direct. it definitively states ” ← this is the subject”. は is a bit more general/open ended.
for this reason, は is a pretty good default choice for the level of politeness textbooks tend to start off with (です/ます). in this level of politeness, if you go out of your way to use が instead of は, that choice has implications
its not that が does anything other than mark the subject, it’s the fact that you used が instead of the default, は
final suggestion:
your brain is meant to learn language through example, not through explanation. grammar explanations can act as an enzyme to speed up the process (particularly in the beginning stages), but at the end of the day all the learning happens when you read actual japanese sentences
I wouldn’t get too caught up on picking apart the grammar, but instead focus on making a habit of reading/listening to as many sentences as you can. this is the only way to understand the true meaning of は and が
4 comments
Watch Cure Dolly’s grammar series on YouTube and just start taking in the language.
https://www.tofugu.com/japanese-grammar/particle-wa/
This explanation to me is very good.
椅子+は+机の前に+あります
chair, the matter of concern, at the front of the desk, has
You can often translate it as:
As for chair(s), (at the location of) the front of the desk “has” (some/it).
=> As for chair, the front of the desk has it.
椅子+が+机の前に+あります
Chair, being the subject, at the front of the desk, exists.
=> A/The chair is at the front of the desk.
Which one you should use depends on the context.
Here, あります is from ある + ます
ある was from 有る meaning “have”, or 在る meaning “being/exists” depending on the context.
[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E3%81%82%E3%82%8B#Japanese](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E3%81%82%E3%82%8B#Japanese)
ppl and especially textbooks tend to get real creative with this, but it’s actually really simple (text wall, I know, but trust me)
は is the “topic particle” it just says “hey we are gonna talk about this. this relates to the sentence in some way.” it’s pretty general/generic
が marks the subject of the sentence (“subject” is the grammatical term for **the thing that does the verb**). end of story. が is probably the simplest particle in all of japanese
now here is where people get tripped up:
If there is a sentence where が is confusing you, it’s probably not the particle you misunderstand, but the verb. some verbs might not work how you expect (ex 分かる and not a verb but 好き), so you might need to change your perspective. but don’t get lost: が always marks **the thing that does the verb**
another factor that complicates this is that japanese has different levels of politeness. generally the more polite you speak, the more abstract/disconnected you speak. and the more casual you speak, the more directly/bluntly you speak.
が is very blunt/direct. it definitively states ” ← this is the subject”. は is a bit more general/open ended.
for this reason, は is a pretty good default choice for the level of politeness textbooks tend to start off with (です/ます). in this level of politeness, if you go out of your way to use が instead of は, that choice has implications
its not that が does anything other than mark the subject, it’s the fact that you used が instead of the default, は
final suggestion:
your brain is meant to learn language through example, not through explanation. grammar explanations can act as an enzyme to speed up the process (particularly in the beginning stages), but at the end of the day all the learning happens when you read actual japanese sentences
I wouldn’t get too caught up on picking apart the grammar, but instead focus on making a habit of reading/listening to as many sentences as you can. this is the only way to understand the true meaning of は and が