The famous difference is real, but the classroom slogan is too small for it.

*Use は (wa) to set a topic or make a contrast; use が (ga) to mark the subject, including the person or thing being identified.* Neither particle has one fixed English translation. The useful question is: what is this sentence responding to?

Japanese learners meet 助詞じょし (joshi · particle) は and が early. “Topic versus subject” is a starting point, but a 話題わだい (wadai · topic) and a 主語しゅご (shugo · grammatical subject) are different kinds of label: a sentence can have both. は is written ha but pronounced wa when used as this particle. が is pronounced ga.

Start with the frame

In watashi wa gakusei desu, は frames “as for me” and tells the listener what the sentence is about. In watashi ga gakusei desu, が identifies me as the student — perhaps someone asked, “Who is the student?” Both can be grammatical; the context changes the spotlight.

Why likes feel strange

Japanese says 私は寿司が好きです (watashi wa sushi ga suki desu): “I like sushi.” 私は sets the topic; 寿司が names what is liked. 好きすき (suki · liked / like) is a na-adjective, not an English-style verb taking a direct object. Learn the whole pattern rather than treating が as a translation of “is.” The Japan Foundation's Irodori grammar notes, Starter Lesson 5, explain this use.

You can also say 寿司は好きです (sushi wa suki desu), “Sushi, I do like,” when sushi is the topic or you are contrasting it with something else. So “好き always requires が” would be an overstatement.

New information and contrast

が often introduces a new answer: dare ga kimashita ka? (“Who came?”) — Tanaka-san ga kimashita (“Tanaka came”). は can create contrast: watashi wa ikimasu ga, kare wa ikimasen (“I will go, but he will not”). The “spotlight” metaphor keeps these uses connected.

A listening shortcut

When you hear は, imagine a camera opening on a scene: “speaking of this…” When you hear が, notice what the speaker is selecting inside that scene. In ame ga futteimasu, rain is the new fact. In ame wa futteimasu ga, yuki wa futteimasen, rain is now the established topic and snow is contrasted with it. This is why translating every は as “as for” sounds unnatural; the particle is managing attention, not adding a fixed English word.

Questions also make the pattern clearer. Nani ga suki desu ka? asks which thing is liked, so the answer is sushi ga suki desu. Once sushi is the topic, sushi wa oishii desu says “as for sushi, it is delicious,” perhaps contrasting it with another dish. Neither particle is a universal replacement for English “is.” Follow the flow of information and the choice starts to feel less mysterious.

Compare the question before choosing the particle

1. Identifying a person

A: 誰が来ましたか。— Dare ga kimashita ka? — Who came?

B: ミカが来ました。— Mika ga kimashita. — Mika came.

The answer fills the “who?” slot. Compare ミカは来ました (Mika wa kimashita): “Mika came,” with Mika as the topic, potentially leaving open what happened with other people. The same person appears in both sentences, but the sentences do different work.

2. Talking about someone already under discussion

A: ミカさんは、何を買いましたか。— Mika-san wa, nani o kaimashita ka? — What did Mika buy?

B: コーヒーを買いました。— Koohii o kaimashita. — She bought coffee.

You do not have to repeat ミカさんは in the answer. A natural conversation can leave out what both people already understand. Choosing between は and が is sometimes less useful than noticing that neither is needed in that particular answer.

3. Contrasting two choices

コーヒーは飲みます。お酒は飲みません。

Koohii wa nomimasu. Osake wa nomimasen.

I drink coffee. I don't drink alcohol.

Here は contrasts the drinks. This is why は is not simply a special spelling for the subject marker: the drink is what is consumed, rather than the person doing the drinking.

Wa vs ga practice: five questions with answers

Choose the natural particle for the stated context, then read the explanation. These are original practice examples, not official JLPT questions.

  1. Someone asks “Who is the teacher?” Answer: 私（は／が）先生です。
  2. You are giving your name in a full introduction: 私（は／が）ミカです。
  3. You are saying what food you like: 私は寿司（は／が）好きです。
  4. You want to contrast drinking tea with not drinking coffee: お茶（は／が）飲みますが、コーヒー（は／が）飲みません。
  5. Mika is already the topic. Someone asks what she bought. Must the answer repeat ミカは or ミカが?

Answers

  1. が: 私 fills the requested identity: “I am the teacher.” は would frame the sentence differently.
  2. は: 私 is the topic of the introduction. In an actual introduction, ミカです alone can be enough.
  3. が: this is the basic 好き pattern. A contrastive 寿司は is possible in a different context.
  4. は / は: the two drinks are contrasted. The が after 飲みます means “but”; it connects clauses and is a different use from the subject marker.
  5. No. コーヒーを買いました can answer the question without repeating Mika.

The 違いちがい (chigai · difference) depends on the conversation, so a blank sentence with no context may allow more than one answer. Avoid the rule “new information always takes が, old information always takes は”: it is a useful first observation, not a complete grammar.

Keep practising with sentences

Try the particle grammar questions to apply the distinction beyond these five examples. If vocabulary is getting in the way, review the Japanese vocabulary sets first. The bilingual reading passages let you see particles across a paragraph rather than in an isolated sentence.

Sources & further reading

When practising, write pairs of sentences that differ by only one particle and add a context line. “Who bought the coffee?” — Mika ga koohii o kaimashita. “As for Mika, she bought coffee” — Mika wa koohii o kaimashita. The context is not decoration; it is what makes the particle choice natural. Reading short dialogues is often more helpful than memorizing an abstract definition.

Japanese-language sources — what Japanese readers read about this, not what's written for visitors.

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