Japanese Grammar – Particles wa and ga

Japanese Grammar: Japanese Particles wa (は) and ga (が) – Review Notes

Today we learned some of the ways to use the Japanese particles, wa (は) and ga (が). But there are still more ways to use these particles!

Read more to review today’s lesson, see more examples and find out other ways to use these Japanese particles.

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Japanese Particles wa (は) vs. ga (が)

★　There is always a lot of confusion surrounding the Japanese particles, wa (は) and ga (が).

★　It is not always easy for learners of Japanese to know when to use one or the other.

★　Both particles have multiple uses, so there is a lot to remember.

★　The hiragana は is pronounced as wa when used as a particle, and ha in all other words.

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Japanese Particle ga (が) – Marks subject

★　We learned that the Japanese particle ga (が) marks the subject of the sentence.

★　We will see more uses of this particle after reviewing what we have learned so far.

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Japanese Particle wa (は) – Marks topic

★　We learned that the Japanese particle wa (は) marks the topic of the sentence.

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A few notes about the topic:

★　The topic is often the same as the subject, but not always.

★　The topic can be anything that a speaker wants to talk about (It can be an object, location or any other grammatical element).

★　It is sometimes compared to the English expressions “As for ~” or “Speaking of ~”

★　It can be omitted from the sentence in many cases. In this example, you can remove the words in the parentheses and it means the same thing:

(私は)ぷにぷにです。

(Watashi wa) PuniPuni desu.

I am PuniPuni.

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Asking Questions: wa (は) or ga (が)?

★　When a question word (who, where, etc.) comes after the topic in the sentence we use the particle wa (は).

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Example:

トイレはどこですか。

toire wa doko desu ka?

Where is the bathroom?

★　In this sentence, the question word doko (where) comes after the topic (toire – bathroom), so we use the particle wa (は).

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★　When a question word is or is part of the subject, (at the beginning of a sentence) we use the particle ga (が).

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Example:

だれが来ますか。

dare ga kimasu ka?

Who will come?

★　In this sentence, the question word dare (who) is the subject, so we use the particle ga (が).

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More about wa (は) and ga (が)

★　 Use ga (が) when information about a subject is important or situationally new to the listener and/or the speaker.

★　 Once the subject has been mentioned, wa (は) is used to refer to the same subject in sentences following (it becomes the topic of the sentence.)

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Example:

★　 The first sentence uses ga (が) because inu (dog) is a new subject.

★　 In the second sentence, the subject that was already mentioned (inu – dog) becomes the topic and is marked with the particle wa (は).

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Using the particle wa (は) to show contrast

★　 The particle wa (は) can also be used to show contrast.

肉は食べますが、魚は食べません。

Niku wa tabemasu ga, sakana wa tabemasen.

I eat meat, but I don’t eat fish.

★　 In this usage, the thing that is being contrasted is not always stated, but it is implied. For example:

あの映画は見ませんでした。

Ano eiga wa mimasen deshita.

I didn’t see that movie (but I saw this one).

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Using the particle ga (が) as emphasis

★　 Ga (が) can also be used to emphasize the subject or distinguish it from others. Compare the two following examples. The second one might come as a response to the question “Who is Sara?”
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Example 1:

私はサラです。

Watashi wa Sara desu.

I am Sara.

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Example 2:

私がサラです。

Watashi ga Sara desu.

I am (the one who is) Sara.

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Ga (が) as “but”

The particle ga (が) can be used to connect two sentences as but.

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Example:

行きたいですが、お金がないです。

Ikitai desu ga, okane ga nai desu.

I want to go but I don’t have money.

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Ga (が) in special circumstances

The object of the sentence is usually marked by the particle o (を) but some verbs and adjectives (expressing like/dislike, desire, potential, necessity, fear, envy etc.) take ga (が) instead of o (を).

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Example 1:

猫が好きです。

Neko ga suki desu.

I like cats.

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Example 2:

日本語が分かりません。

Nihongo ga wakarimasen.

I don’t understand Japanese.

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Conclusion:

Today we learned how to use the Japanese particles wa (は) and ga (が). It is going to take some getting used to, and you still might not always remember which one to use in every situation. It is important to practice using them and hearing them be used in sentences to understand them better.

I hope you enjoyed today’s lesson! If you have any questions, leave a comment below (◕ω◕)♪

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