Grammar › Particles
は (wa) — the topic particle
Marks what the sentence is about: “as for X…”
は marks the topic — the thing the rest of the sentence talks about. Think of it as “as for X…”. It's written with the hiragana for ha but always pronounced wa when used as a particle. Almost every beginner sentence starts with a topic: わたしは (as for me), これは (as for this).
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Topic + は + comment | わたしは学生です — As for me, (I) am a student |
| Xは + question | トイレはどこですか — As for the toilet, where is it? |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| わたしは日本語を勉強しています。 | わたしはにほんごをべんきょうしています。 watashihanihongowobenkyoushiteimasu。 | I study Japanese. |
| これはいくらですか。 | これはいくらですか。 korehaikuradesuka。 | How much is this? |
| 今日は暑いですね。 | きょうはあついですね。 kyouhaatsuidesune。 | It's hot today, isn't it? |
🔊 Tap any Japanese sentence to hear it; kanji link to their study pages.
Watch out
Don't translate は as “is” — the “is” lives in です. And don't use は to introduce brand-new information that answers a question; that's が's job (see the comparison on the が page).