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This particle has three main functions in Japanese. The first of these is to act as topic marker for conversations or texts. The main difference between a topic and a subject is that you can leave off a topic from a sentence, and it will still make perfect sense. This in contrast to a subject, which if removed creates a sentence with a gap in it:

Lets have a look at an example

きょうは　だれが　きましたか　Who came [here] today?

The same sentence on its own without the topic works just fine:

だれが　きましたか。Who came [here]?

However, the same sentence on its own without the subject won’t make sense.

きょう　はきましたか。 …came [here] today?

The second function of は is as contrast marker, as in an “[A]は something, [B]はsomething else” pattern.

Here is an example:

ちがいますよ。　これは　すしで、それはさしみ – [That's] not [quite] right. This is Sushi, and that’s Sashimi
Here a contrast is given between “this” and “that”, regardless of whether they were already topics.

The third function that は is the negative imperative when it follows a て form.

Here is an example;

きょう　こなくて　は　いけません　－　You have to come today.

In this use, it creates a negative imperative。The は could also be followed by だめ.

きょう　は　だめ 　－　Today is no good.

In our next post we will look at more particles. In fact I have decided to do a whole series on these little confusing monsters.

A: あの、アメリカじんですか
B： はい。そうです。
A: しゅっしん　は　どこですか
B: ニュウヨーク です
A: りゅうがくせいですか
B: はい。
A: にほんはどうですか
B: だいすきです。

The first question is something I am asked all the time in Japan despite the fact that I am not American. Japanese are generally ignorant of the other countries. They assume most white foreigners in Japan are American.

アメリカじんですか – Are you American? じん means person or people. Adding じん to a country name gives you the nationality.

The reply はい。　そうです means “Yes. I am.”

The next question is asking where your place of birth or hometown is. しゅっしん means hometown. どこですか is the question phrase “Where is..? You reply dropping the subject and just stating New York with です。

The third question りゅうがくせいですか is asking if you are an overseas student. がくせい means student. Adding りゅう　can mean exchange, overseas or international student.

Finally the last question is asking your opinion of Japan. どうでか　basically means “What do you think of……? So にほんはどうですか translates to “What do you think of Japan?”

You love Japan so your answer is だいすきです. Notice again how you don’t need to state the subject which in this case is Japan.

Also notice how each line of this conversation ends with either です　or ですか

Here is the conversation in English

A: あの、アメリカじんですか
B： はい。そうです。
A: しゅっしん　は　どこですか
B: ニュウヨーク です
A: りゅうがくせいですか
B: はい。
A: にほんはどうですか
B: だいすきです。

A: Um…… Are you American?
B: Yes. I am.
A: Where is your hometown?
B: New York
A: What do you think of Japan
B: I love (Japan)

What should on study first? This a difficult question to answer as will depend on your own goals. However, once you have the basic greetings and some vocabulary under your belt you should start learning questions.  Understanding questions is paramount in any language. If you visit Japan you will no doubt attract attention and be asked questions. Most conversation begin with questions so it is important to develop an understanding of sentence structure. So before you begin to consider learning polite Japanese, Kanji, idioms and Japanese dialects spend plenty of time learning questions.

Here are ten questions on the subject of food. I have provided English translations. Try to memorize all ten and use them the next time you met a Japanese person. Click on the audio player and repeat after Kaoru Sensei.

Audio Lesson – Question On Food

すきなたべものはなんですか
きらいなたべものはだんですか
くだものはなにがすきですか
りょうりはできますか
とくいりょうりはなんですか
きょうのあさはなにをたべまいしたか
きのうのよるごはんはなんでしたか
コンビニでたべものをどれくらいよくかいますか
エスニック料理はすきですか
いままでたべたなかでいちばんかわったものはなんですか

What foods do you like?
What foods do you hate?
What’s a fruit you like?
Can you cook?
What’s something you can make/cook well?
What did you eat for breakfast today?
What did you eat for dinner yestartday?
How often do you buy food at a convenience store?
Do you like ethnic food?
What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?

Imagine you are at a train station wanting to go to Shibuya. You have forgotten your watch. You ask a stranger for the time and the time of the next train.

A: すみません。　いま　なんじですか。
B: じゅういちじはんです。
A: すぎのでんしゃ　なにじに　きますか
B: ごふんにきます
A: ありがとう　ございます
B: いいえ

In the above conversation すみません is said to get the strangers attention. Remember すみません can also mean “Thank you” or “I’m sorry” depending on context. In this case it means “Excuse me”.

To ask for the time in Japanese the set phrase なんじですか is used.

なん (what) 　じ (time)　ですか (question particle). いま　means “now”.

If you have studied Japanese numbers you will know that じゅういち is 11. So じゅういちじ　means 11 o’clock. はん means half past. So じゅういちじはんです means “It is 11:30”. です is just the sentence ending particle. Depending on context it can mean “It is”, “They are” and so on.

Let’s have a look at the next line, すぎのでんしゃ　なんじに　きますか. Again this is a time question

すぎ のでんしゃ – means next train. The のis just the possessive particle.

なんじに – What time…

きますか – Come? Here we have the ますform of the plain verb くる, which means “come”. By adding か the sentence becomes a question..

What time does the next train come? – すぎのでんしゃ　なにじに　きますか

Now, for the answer; ごふんにきます. As both the speaker and listener know the subject (the next train) it doesn’t need to be stated in the reply. This is very typical of Japanese. So the answer is something like this – (the train) comes in 5 minutes.

ごふん meaning 5 minutes and the verb きます meaning come.

ごふんにきます　- It comes in 5 minutes

ありがとう　ございます of course means “thank you” and いいえ means “Don’t mention it.”

Here is the conversation in English

A: すみません。　いま　なんじですか。
B: じゅういちじはんです。
A: すぎのでんしゃ　なにじに　きますか
B: ごふんにきます
A: ありがとう　ございます
B: いいえ

A: Excuse me. What time is it?
B: It is 11.30
A: What time does the next train come?
B: In 5 minutes
A: Thank you
B: You’re welcome

If you are in the unfortunate situation where you can’t find a native Japanese speaker to help you with your studies there is one alternative – Japanese TV, particularly dramas. Watching Japanese television dramas is an excellent way to pick up words and learn Japanese conversation dynamics. Japanese converse very differently to westerners. If you watch dramas you can see how Japanese converse in fairly natural every speech. Movies are usually too difficult and the story lines unrealistic. So buy some drama sets on e-bay or get on to youtube and start watching dramas.