The Difference Between は wa and が ga in Japanese
In this post, we’re going to look at the difference between two very important Japanese particles, は wa andが ga. Both particles can mark what looks like the subject of a sentence, so they can be difficult for students of Japanese to master. But we’ll break them down and cover the most important points of when to use them. First, we’ll start with the topic vs subject distinction. Then we’ll turn to the distinction between old and new information. After that we’ll take a look at several other uses of both は wa andが ga.
は wa and が ga as Topic vs Subject
First, let’s define with a topic and a subject are. To understand the difference between は wa andが ga, it’s important to understand this difference. A topic is what the sentence is about, and it’s usually old information – meaning information that has been brought up earlier in the conversation. Imagine that you and your friend are talking about John, and you say things like:
- John, he’s home sick today.
- That John, his work is piling up.
- Speaking of John, his wife just called.
In each of these sentences, John is the topic. The sentences are all about him, or they use him as some sort of conversational reference point. John is not actually the subject of any of these sentences. The subject of the first sentences is he, which, of course refers to John, but is a different grammatical element. In the second sentence the subject is his work. The subject of the third sentence is his wife. John, being the topic, tells us whose work and wife we’re talking about, but John is not the grammatical subject at all.
Japanese Topics and Subjects
English doesn’t always use constructions like this to isolate topics from subjects. It’s much more natural in English to just say “John is home sick today.” But if you imagine every Japanese sentence with a topic to be like this, you’ll understand one of the key differences between は wa andが ga.
- は wa marks TOPICS: usually old, established players in the conversation.
- が ga marks SUBJECTS: part of whatever new information is given about that topic.
If we make a Frankenstein’s monster of Japanese and English for the sake of clarifying this point, we have something like:
- John-は wa, [he’s home sick today.]
(In Japanese, you wouldn’t repeat he, so the subject is dropped, but the topic is there.)
- John-は wa, [his work-が ga is piling up.]
- John-は wa, [his wife-が ga just called.]
は wa as Topic Marker
Now let’s see how this looks in actual Japanese. The particle は wa is used to identify the topic, and then the rest of the sentence provides new information about that topic. We’ll call that part the “information clause” to remind you of the structure, which is quite different from English.
[[TOPIC は wa] [INFORMATION CLAUSE…]]
A topic can be a specific person or thing that you’ve been talking about, it can be a new topic that you’re introducing into conversation, or it can be a generic topic that you’re making a general statement about.
- 田中さんは寿司を食べました。
Tanaka-san wa sushi o tabemashita.
Tanaka ate sushi. [Tanaka: he ate sushi] - コーヒーカップは棚の上です。
Kōhī kappu wa tana no ue desu.
The coffee cups are on the shelf. [the coffee cups: they’re on the shelf] - 日本語は面白いです。
Nihongo wa omoshiroi desu.
Japanese is interesting. [Japanese: it’s interesting] - 旅行は素晴らしいです。
Ryokō wa subarashī desu.
Traveling is fascinating. [travel: it’s fascinating] - 京都は日本にあります。
Kyōto wa Nihon ni arimasu.
Kyoto is in Japan. [Kyoto: it’s in Japan]
Keep in mind that topics do not have to be nouns. Topics can also be time adverbs, locations, prepositional phrases, and so on.
- 外は寒いですね！
Soto wa samui desu ne!
It’s cold outside! [outside: it’s cold.] - うちは四人 家族です。
Uchi wa yonin kazoku desu.
We’re a family of four. [at home: it’s four people] - 今日の夕飯は何ですか。
Kyō no yuuhan wa nan desu ka.
What’s for dinner? [today’s dinner: what is it?] - 家の中は暖かくて心地よいです。
Ie no naka wa atatakakute kokochiyoi desu.
It’s warm and cozy in the house. [in the house: it’s warm and cozy] - 週末は何をしましたか？
Shūmatsu wa nani o shimashita ka?
What did you do over the weekend? [over the weekend: what did you do]
が ga as Subject Marker
Whenever you have a topic marked by は wa, you’re going to proceed to say something about it in the information clause. The information clause follows the は wa phrase, and it will have a subject. If the subject of the information clause is the same entity (person, thing, place, etc.) as the は wa marked topic, the subject is dropped. So, the Japanese sentence winds up looking pretty much just like an English sentence with a regular old subject:
- 姪は大学に入りました。
Mei wa daigaku ni hairimashita.
My niece just started university. [my niece:shejust started university] - 父は教師です。
Chichi wa kyōshi desu.
My father is a teacher. [my father:heis a teacher]
But in many cases, the information clause following the は wa phrase will have a subject that’s different from the topic. You’ll have this very common pattern in Japanese, with a topic marked by は wa followed by a clause including a different subject marked by が ga.
[[TOPIC は wa] [INFORMATION CLAUSE… SUBJECTが ga…]]
Let’s see some examples.
- 東京には地下鉄があります。
Tōkyō ni wa chikatetsu ga arimasu.
Tokyo has a subway. [in Tokyo: a subway is there] - 寝室には机があります。
Shinshitsu ni wa tsukue ga arimasu.
I have a desk in my bedroom. [in the bedroom: a desk is there] - 私の町には大きなスーパーがあります。
Watashi no machi ni wa ōkina sūpā ga arimasu.
There is a big supermarket in my town. [in my town: a big supermarket is there] - 私の町は 桜が 綺麗です。
Watashi no machi wa sakura ga kireidesu.
In my town the cherry blossoms are beautiful. [my town: the cherry blossoms are beautiful] - 冬の天気は気分が落ち込みます。
Fuyu no tenki wa kibun ga ochikomimasu.
Winter weather is depressing. [winter weather: the feeling is depressed.]
は wa and が ga as Old Information vs. New Information
Now let’s turn to another important difference between は wa and が ga. The topic marker は wa usually marks old information, meaning information that has already been established in the conversation. The subject marker が ga typically marks new information, something that is first being mentioned. Let’s walk through a few different scenarios that are related to this distinction.
First, image the following exchange. If you’re asking what Tanaka-san ate, he’s already an established player in the conversation. The new information is not about him, it’s about what he ate. So, you would mark Tanaka-san with は wa, as old information. The thing he ate is a direct object, so it takes the direct object particle を o.
- 田中さんは何を食べましたか？
Tanaka-san wa nani o tabemashita ka?
What did Tanaka eat? - 田中さんは寿司を食べました。
Tanaka-san wa sushi o tabemashita.
Tanaka ate sushi.
But now imagine a situation where you’re asking who ate the sushi. If you’re asking this, you obviously don’t know the answer, so both 誰 dare (who) in the question and the subject in the answer will be new information, marked by が ga.
- 誰が寿司を食べましたか？
Dare ga sushi o tabemashita ka?
Who ate the sushi? - 田中さんが寿司を食べました。
Tanaka-san ga sushi o tabemashita.
Tanaka ate the sushi.
Questions with 誰 dare or 何 nani as Subjects
Whenever you ask a 誰 dare (who) question where the who refers to a subject, you’ll always use the subject/new information marker が ga.
- 誰が発表しますか？
Dare ga happyō shimasu ka?
Who will be presenting? - 杉田先生が発表します。
Sugita sensei ga happyō shimasu.
Teacher Sugita will be presenting.
The same is true of 何 nani (what). If it functions as the grammatical subject of the question, it’s marked by が ga.
- 何が起こっているんですか？
Nani ga okotte iru ndesu ka?
What’s going on? - 地震が起きています。
Jishin ga okite imasu.
There’s an earthquake. An earthquake is happening.
Comparison with English the and a
English has a way of marking old and new information, too, and this may help bridge the gap with Japanese grammar. Typically, when an English noun is first introduced, it takes the indefinite article a/an. This is new information. But if the noun is already familiar to both speaker and listener, the noun takes the definite article the. This is old information. Look at these two sentences and see how the use of articles in English corresponds to the use of は wa and が ga in Japanese.
- 猫は椅子の上にいます。
Neko wa isu no ue ni imasu.
The cat is on the chair. [old information; we know the cat that we’re talking about] - 椅子の上に猫がいます。
Isu no ue ni neko ga imasu.
There’s a cat on the chair. [new information; we’re introducing a cat for the first time]
In the first sentence, the particle は wa marks a known topic, so the natural English translation is the cat. But in the second, the use of the particle が ga marks the cat as new information, so the best translation is a cat.
Other Differences betweenは wa and が ga
Now you’ve learned the two major differences between は wa andが ga in Japanese – topic vs subject, and old information vs new information. So, let’s look at just a few more important uses of the two particles that you should be aware of.
は wa for Contrast
You can use the particle は wa to show a contrast. This is the difference between saying “John didn’t tell me” with a neutral tone, and “JOHN didn’t tell me,” emphasizing John to suggest that someone else told me.
- この店のパンはおいしいけど、コーヒーはあまり好きじゃない。
Kono mise no pan wa oishii kedo, kōhī wa amari suki janai.
The bread at this shop is delicious, but I don’t really like the coffee. - 夏は好きだけど、冬は苦手だ。
Natsu wa suki dakedo, fuyu wa nigate da.
I like summer, but I’m not good with winter. - 英語は話せるけど、フランス語は全然わからない。
Eigo wa hanaseru kedo, Furansugo wa zenzen wakaranai.
I can speak English, but I don’t understand French at all. - 犬は好きだけど、猫はちょっと苦手。
Inu wa suki dakedo, neko wa chotto nigate.
I like dogs, but I’m not very good with cats. - 今日は忙しいけど、明日は時間があるよ。
Kyō wa isogashii kedo, ashita wa jikan ga aru yo.
I’m busy today, but I have time tomorrow. - お寿司は好きだけど、刺身は食べられない。
Osushi wa suki dakedo, sashimi wa taberarenai.
I like sushi, but I can’t eat sashimi. - 父はお酒を飲むけど、母は全く飲まない。
Chichi wa osake o nomu kedo, haha wa mattaku nomanai.
My dad drinks alcohol, but my mom doesn’t drink at all.
Note that the first は wa in the sentence is the regular topic は wa. If there’s a “deeper” は wa, meaning one that is further inside the sentence after the topic, that’s the one that has a contrastive reading. (This is true even when the higher topic は wa is only understood.)
- {私は}コーヒーは好きです。
(Watashi wa) kōhī wa suki desu.
I like COFFEE. (As opposed to tea.) - {私は}魚は食べます。
(Watashi wa) sakana wa tabemasu.
I eat FISH. (As opposed to something else.) - 日本には行きます。
Nihon ni wa ikimasu.
I’m going to JAPAN. (As opposed to somewhere else.)
は wa for Direct Objects in Negative Sentences
If you have a direct object, it’s normally marked by を o.
- 私は肉を食べます。
Watashi wa niku o tabemasu.
I eat meat.
But if the direct object is in a negative sentence, both を o and or は wa can mark it. Both are fine sentences, but marking the direct object with は wa in a negative sentence is often preferable. It can even be thought of as showing a contrast. (I don’t eat meat, but I do eat something else...)
- 私は肉を食べません。
Watashi wa niku o tabemasen.
I don’t eat meat. - 私は肉は食べません。
Watashi wa niku wa tabemasen.
I don’t eat meat. (But I do eat something else.)
が ga for Subject Emphasis
If you want to put special emphasis on the subject, you can mark it with the particle が ga. Let’s compare a few pairs of sentences with は wa and が ga. Pay attention to the English translations, and how the choice of particle can alter the shade of meaning.
- 私は学生です。
Watashi wa gakusei desu.
I’m a student.
[a general statement about me.] - 私が学生です。
Watashi ga gakusei desu.
I am the student. I’m the one who’s a student.
[perhaps in answer to the question “who’s the student?”]
- 田中さんは話すのが上手ですね。
Tanaka-san wa hanasu no ga jōzu desu ne.
Tanaka is good at speaking.
[a general statement about Tanaka.] - 田中さんが話すのが上手ですね。
Tanaka-san ga hanasu no ga jōzu desu ne.
Tanaka is the one who’s good at speaking. It’s Tanaka who’s good at speaking.
[in answer to a question asking to identify who is good at speaking.]
- 猫はかわいいです。
Neko wa kawaii desu.
Cats are cute.
[statement about cats in general] - 猫がかわいいです。
Neko ga kawaii desu.
It’s the cat that’s cute.
[in response to: which animal is cute?]
が ga with Certain Verbs
In Japanese, some verbs trigger が ga on their subjects or direct objects. These typically fall into a few categories.
Potential Forms
Verbs in the potential form (食べられる taberareru can eat, 話せる hanaseru can speak, できる dekiru can do, and so on) typically take an object marked with が ga instead of を o.
- 日本語が話せる。
Nihongo ga hanaseru.
I can speak Japanese. - ピアノが弾ける。
Piano ga hikeru.
I can play the piano. - 魚が食べられない。
Sakana ga taberarenai.
I can’t eat fish.
Remember that if you change from the potential form, the object takes the regular を o direct object particle.
- ピアノを弾きます。
Piano o hikimasu.
I play piano.
Verbs of Involuntary Sensation or Emotion
Verbs that express sensations or emotions that happen naturally or spontaneously, rather than deliberately, take the particle が ga instead of を o. Included in this category are verbs of liking and disliking.
- 彼の気持ちがわかる。
Kare no kimochi ga wakaru.
I understand his feelings. - この曲が聞こえる。
Kono kyoku ga kikoeru.
I can hear this song. - 富士山が見える。
Fujisan ga mieru.
I can see Mt. Fuji. - 寿司が好きです / 好きだ。
Sushi ga sukidesu / suki da.
I like sushi. - 彼のことが好きです / 好きだ。
Kare no koto ga sukidesu / suki da.
I like him. - 彼の態度が嫌いだ。
Kare no taido ga kirai da.
I dislike his attitude. - チョコレートが大好きです。
Chokoreeto ga daisuki desu.
I love chocolate. - 私はヘビが怖いです。
Hebi ga kowaidesu.
I’m afraid of snakes.
Verbs Expressing Needs, Desires, or Deficiency
Some verbs that express a state of wanting, lacking, or needing also use が ga instead of を o for their object.
- 水が欲しい。
Mizu ga hoshii.
I want water. - 新しい車が欲しいです。
Atarashī kuruma ga hoshīdesu.
I want a new car. - 寿司が食べたいです。
Sushi ga tabetaidesu.
I want to eat sushi. - お金が必要だ。
Okane ga hitsuyō da.
I need money. - 仕事が必要です。
Shigoto ga hitsuyōdesu.
I need a job. - 時間が足りない。
Jikan ga tarinai.
I don’t have enough time.
Verbs of Occurrence and Natural Change
The subjects of some verbs describing things that happen naturally rather than by intention are marked by が ga.
- 事故が起こった。
Jiko ga okotta.
An accident happened. - チャンスが訪れる。
Chansu ga otozureru.
An opportunity arises. - 問題が発生した。
Mondai ga hassei shita.
A problem occurred.
Some Verbs of Possession or Existence
Verbs like ある aru (to exist, for inanimate objects) and iru いる (to exist, for animate beings) take subjects marked by が ga.
- 猫がいる / います。
Neko ga iru / imasu.
There is a cat. - お金がある / あります。
Okane ga aru / arimasu.
I have money.
が ga in Subordinate Clauses
The subject of a subordinate clause is usually marked by が ga when the main clause and subordinate clause have different topics.
- ミカはビルがここで働いていることを知らない。
Mika wa biru ga koko de hataraite iru koto o shiranai.
Mika doesn’t know that Bill works here. - 母は弟がゲームばかりしていることを心配している。
Haha wa otōto ga gēmu bakari shite iru koto o shinpai shite iru.
Mom is worried that my little brother is only playing video games. - 先生はジョンが宿題を忘れたことに気づいた。
Sensei wa Jon ga shukudai o wasureta koto ni kizuita.
The teacher noticed that John forgot his homework.
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