Back
Beginner

The Topic Particle は

'As for ...'

は marks the topic

Pronounced 'wa' when used as a particle.

💬 Examples
私はアメリカ人です。
Watashi wa Amerikajin desu.
I am American.
📝 は = topic marker (read 'wa')
今日は暑いです。
Kyō wa atsui desu.
Today is hot.
📝 Topic + comment
は sets what the sentence is about

'Speaking of X ...'.

💬 Examples
日本語は面白いです。
Nihongo wa omoshiroi desu.
Japanese (language) is interesting.
📝 は frames the topic
田中さんは医者です。
Tanaka-san wa isha desu.
Mr. Tanaka is a doctor.
📝 Topic-comment structure
Topic is not always the subject

は can mark something other than the grammatical subject.

💬 Examples
象は鼻が長い。
Zō wa hana ga nagai.
Elephants have long trunks.
📝 Topic 象, subject 鼻
寿司は好きです。
Sushi wa suki desu.
As for sushi, (I) like it.
📝 An object as the topic