「は」 looks ahead, 「が」 looks back
Both 「は」 and 「が」 can sit in the subject position; the difference is where the focus of the sentence lies. 「は」 first sets out something both people know and want to talk about, and the focus comes after it; 「が」 makes the noun before it the new information: that noun is the answer. This is the most useful test, but not the whole story: when you describe something that has just happened in front of you, 「が」 brings in the whole event; see the section “Telling a story” below.
田中さんは会議室にいます。
Tanaka is in the meeting room.
Answers “where is Tanaka?”. The focus is 「会議室」.
会議室に田中さんがいます。
There’s Tanaka in the meeting room.
Answers “who is in the meeting room?”. The focus is 「田中さん」.
When in doubt, first ask yourself: what question is this sentence answering? If the answer comes after the particle, use 「は」; if the answer is the noun just before the particle, use 「が」.
| The question the sentence answers | Answer | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 田中さんはどこですか。 | 田中さんは会議室です。 | where: the meeting room |
| だれが会議室にいますか。 | 田中さんがいます。 | who: Tanaka |
| このケーキはどうですか。 | このケーキはおいしいです。 | what it’s like: delicious |
| どれがおいしいですか。 | このケーキがおいしいです。 | which one: this cake |
Tip
A test you can useTry rephrasing the sentence as “it’s 〇〇 that …”. If that works, as in “it’s Tanaka who is in the meeting room” or “it’s this cake that’s delicious”, use 「が」; if you are just saying something about a topic, as in “as for Tanaka: in the meeting room”, use 「は」. This test is for sentences that answer a question; it doesn’t work for describing what is happening in front of you, as in 「あ、雨が降っています」.
Question words as the subject: 「が」 in both question and answer
When 「だれ」, 「何」, 「どれ」, 「どこ」 or 「どの〜」 is the subject, only 「が」 can follow it. In the answer, the answer also takes 「が」, or you can simply say 「〇〇です」.
question word が predicate か → answer が predicate
The answer can be shortened to “answer + 「です」”, but it is not usually “answer + 「は」”, which adds a sense of contrast.
だれが窓を開けましたか。
Who opened the window?
鈴木さんが開けました。
Suzuki opened it.
You can also just say 「鈴木さんです」.
どの電車が新宿に止まりますか。
Which train stops at Shinjuku?
どこが痛いですか。
Where does it hurt?
A question you often hear at a clinic.
Conversely, when the question word is in the predicate (「〜はどこですか」, 「〜はいつですか」, 「〜は何ですか」), you are asking about one aspect of something already known, and that known thing takes 「は」.
- 客
すみません、どれがいちばん人気ですか。
Excuse me, which one is the most popular?
- 店員
このメロンパンがいちばん人気です。
This melon bun is the most popular.
- 客
じゃあ、それを二つください。あ、このパンは何ですか。
Then I’ll have two of those, please. Oh, what is this bread?
- 店員
それはカレーパンです。
That’s curry bread.
| Where the question word is | Say this | Not usually |
|---|---|---|
| in the subject position | だれが来ますか。 | だれは来ますか。 |
| in the subject position | どの電車が新宿に止まりますか。 | どの電車は新宿に止まりますか。 |
| in the predicate | トイレはどこですか。 | トイレがどこですか。 |
| in the predicate | 次の休みはいつですか。 | 次の休みがいつですか。 |
Watch out
Don’t switch to 「は」 in the answerIf someone asks 「だれが来ましたか」 and you answer 「田中さんは来ました」, it sounds like “Tanaka came, at least (I can’t speak for the others)”, adding a note of contrast. This contrastive 「は」 is covered in lesson 2. To answer directly, say 「田中さんが来ました」 or 「田中さんです」.
「AはBが〜」: describing a feature of something
First set out the whole, A, with 「は」, then pick out a part or aspect of it, B, with 「が」, and finally say what B is like. The whole sentence describes A.
whole は part が adjective
象は鼻が長いです。
Elephants have long trunks.
この町は緑が多いです。
This town has a lot of greenery.
姉は髪が長いです。
My older sister has long hair.
このスマホは画面が大きいです。
This smartphone has a big screen.
京都は夏が暑いです。
Summers in Kyoto are hot.
B needn’t be a part of the body; it can be any aspect, such as a season, the price or the surroundings.
わたしは朝からのどが痛いです。
My throat has been sore since this morning.
This structure is also used for how your own body feels.
「象の鼻は長いです」 is also correct, but the topic becomes the thing “the elephant’s trunk”. To describe what elephants are like, 「象は鼻が長いです」 is more natural.
| Phrase | What it’s about | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| 象は鼻が長いです。 | elephants | describing elephants as animals |
| 象の鼻は長いです。 | the elephant’s trunk | when trunks and noses are already the topic, for example when comparing different animals |
This structure is also common for a person’s abilities, likes and possessions: 「弟はサッカーが上手です」, 「姉は子どもが二人います」. Which words take 「が」 before them is covered in lesson 2.
Telling a story: 「が」 first, then 「は」
When telling or describing something, people and things that appear for the first time take 「が」, because they are new to the listener; when they come up again, they are now known to both of you, so they take 「は」.
駅の前に小さいパン屋があります。
There is a small bakery in front of the station.
First mention: 「が」.
そのパン屋は朝六時に開きます。
That bakery opens at six in the morning.
Second mention: 「は」.
昨日、店にフランスのお客さんが来ました。
Yesterday a customer from France came into the shop.
そのお客さんは日本語がとても上手でした。
That customer spoke very good Japanese.
The same goes for what you see and hear in front of you: something that has just happened and the other person doesn’t know about yet takes 「が」; for the situation of something you are already talking about, use 「は」.
あ、バスが来ましたよ。
Oh, the bus is here.
Something happening in front of you: 「が」.
このバスは駅に行きますか。
Does this bus go to the station?
You are already talking about this bus: 「は」.
電話が鳴っていますよ。
The phone’s ringing.
- 山田
はじめまして。山田です。
Nice to meet you. I’m Yamada.
- リン
リンです。中国から来ました。よろしくお願いします。
I’m Lin. I’m from China. Nice to meet you.
- 山田
リンさんは学生ですか。
Are you a student, Lin?
- リン
はい、大学で経済を勉強しています。
Yes, I’m studying economics at university.
- 山田
この寮は台所が広いですよ。
This dorm has a big kitchen, you know.
- リン
いいですね。あ、だれか来ましたね。
That’s nice. Oh, someone’s here.
- 山田
佐藤さんです。佐藤さんはこの寮のリーダーです。
It’s Sato. Sato is the leader of this dorm.
Tip
When introducing yourself, you say 「わたしは〜です」, because you yourself are the topic. But if someone is looking for a person and asks 「リンさんはどの人ですか」, you say 「わたしがリンです」 (I’m Lin). This “it’s me” 「が」 is covered in lesson 2.
Summary table and common mistakes
| Use | Example | With the other particle |
|---|---|---|
| 「は」: sets out a known topic; the focus comes after it | 田中さんは会議室です。 | with 「が」: becomes “it’s Tanaka who is in the meeting room” |
| 「が」: a question word as the subject | だれが来ましたか。 | can’t be changed to 「は」 |
| 「が」: answering a question-word question | 鈴木さんが来ました。 | with 「は」: adds contrast, “Suzuki came, at least” |
| 「は」 + 「が」: the whole and a part | 象は鼻が長いです。 | with the second changed to 「は」: becomes “its trunk, at least, is long” |
| 「が」: something happening in front of you; a first mention | あ、雨が降っています。 | with 「は」: sounds as if you were comparing the rain with something else |
| 「は」: a second mention; a general statement | そのパン屋は六時に開きます。 | with 「が」: becomes “it’s that bakery that opens at six” |
| Mistake | Correction | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| だれは来ましたか。 | だれが来ましたか。 | a question word as the subject takes 「が」 |
| トイレがどこですか。 | トイレはどこですか。 | the question word is in the predicate, so the known part before it takes 「は」 |
| あ、バスは来ました。 | あ、バスが来ました。 | something that has just happened in front of you takes 「が」 |
| 象は鼻は長いです。 | 象は鼻が長いです。 | in a general description, the second particle is 「が」; two 「は」 bring in contrast |
| 姉は作りました。 | 姉が作りました。 | answering 「だれが作りましたか」, the answer takes 「が」 |
Compare
English uses stress to tell these apart: TANAKA came (it was Tanaka who came) and Tanaka CAME (Tanaka has come). You can borrow that feeling: the noun you would stress in English usually takes 「が」 in Japanese. Don’t treat 「は」 as a subject marker to put after every subject; when “who”, “what” or “which” is the subject, Japanese uses 「だれが」, 「何が」 and 「どれが」.