The difference between は and が
What is the difference between は and が is one of the most if not the most common questions from Japanese learners. It can be difficult to understand the difference for a few reasons but it does not need to be. To make it more understandable I will explain some of the reasons for the confusion and how to understand the two particles better.
INDEX
が tells you the Subject
The subject is a noun that performs the action of the verb in a statement. The particle 「が」comes after the subject in a statement. So, in the sentence 「猫が魚を見ていた」, (猫が）is the subject. If we were computers just spitting out statements we would not need a ‘Topic’.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/は tells you the Topic
If we want to talk about something with meaning then we need a topic of conversation. The particle 「は」is called a Topic marker and tells you what you are talking about. If I am describing my house then the house would be the Topic and everything I say about it would be its description. If I said it had a blue roof, it was old, it was in the woods, then all of that would be a description and the house would be the Topic.
「は」and 「が」can mean ‘the’ and ‘a’
If I randomly walked up to you and said, “The bird just flew by.” you would be thinking “What bird?”. By saying “The bird” this means you know which bird I am talking about so it does not make sense. Instead, I should have said, “A bird just flew by.” Here there is no confusion, I am referring to just some bird. In Japanese you would say「鳥が上を飛んで行ったよ」”A bird just flew by”. If the person asks you more about the bird, you would then use 「は」since it is now the topic of your discussion. 「その鳥は黒かったよ」”The bird was black.”
Talking about Generalizations
When you are talking about any general truth you would use「は」. If you are wanting to say that dogs are mammals you would say 「犬は哺乳類だ」．If you say 「犬が哺乳類だ」 this would sound like you are talking about a specific dog as if some dogs are not mammals. That would sound weird and be incorrect.
「は」for what is Normal, 「が」for what is Unusual
When talking about something that is understood by the listener the choice of 「は」or「が」will make the meaning change. If talking to a family member, If you want to say your house is clean you could say 「家はきれいだよ」. But it sounds like a general statement and does not have much meaning. Unless you were talking with your family member and they thought the house was dirty. Then the statement would sound like you were expressing an opposite opinion. Instead, If you said 「家がきれいだよ」It would sound like the house is especially cleaner now than usual.
Conclusion
So the difference between 「が」and 「は」is that 「が」is related to a verb statement, and 「は」tells you the topic of discussion. 「は」talks about generalizations and this we already know while 「が」talks about new or unexpected information. Now that you know the difference between the participles it will make more sense when you see them together in the same sentence or other situations. I will continue to explain more in future posts.
You can read more about Japanese Grammar topics here.
Vocabulary
猫 (neko) – cat
魚 (sakana) – fish
見る (miru) – look
鳥 (tori) – bird
上 (ue) – up, above
飛ぶ (tobu) – fly
行く (iku) – go
黒い (kuroi) – black
犬 (inu) – dog
哺乳類 (honyuurui) – mammel
家 (ie) – house
綺麗 (kirei) – pretty, clean
