は

How to form it

• Put は after the thing you are talking about. The rest of the sentence says something about it: 私(わたし)は学生(がくせい)です (I'm a student).
• は replaces が and を: 本(ほん)は読(よ)みました (the book, I've read). Other particles stay, and は comes after them: 学校(がっこう)では (at school).
• Once the topic is clear, it is usually left out of the sentences that follow.

Examples

Notes

• は can also show contrast: 肉(にく)は食(た)べません can mean "meat I don't eat", suggesting you eat other things.

Common mistakes

• Putting は after a question word. Say 誰(だれ)が来(き)ましたか, not 誰(だれ)は.

Similar meaning

• がsubject marker

  Picks out who or what does something, often as new information: 誰(だれ)が来(き)ましたか.