NIHONGO Q＆A by JFM CJH

Anything is welcome！

aki_ito_JFM — 2025-05-21 03:38:11 UTC

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Grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, conversation—anything is welcome!

「は」？「が」？

aki_ito_JFM — 2025-05-21 09:23:54 UTC

There are many particles (joshi) in Japanese. You have already learned some of the most common ones: 「は」, 「が」, 「を」, 「と」, and 「も」.

Among them, the difference between 「は」 and 「が」 is especially difficult. Even Japanese teachers sometimes find it hard to explain.

At the A1 level, please keep the following points in mind:

🟩 From Lesson 3:

In positive sentences, we often use 「が」.
　Example: 「にくがすきです(Niku ga suki desu」(I like meat.)
In negative sentences, we often use 「は」.
　Example: 「さかなはすきじゃないです(Sakana wa sukijanai desu)」(I don’t like fish.)

🟦 From Lesson 4:

In a sentence like:
　「すきなりょうりはカレーです(Sukina ryoori wa karee desu」(My favorite dish is curry.)
　The particle 「は」 is a topic marker.
　We are talking about “favorite dishes”, so we use 「は」 to show the topic.

💡 Want to learn more grammar?

If you're interested in learning more, here are some helpful tips:

Learn particles with common phrases
　(Example: Nをたべます（Noun o tabemasu)。すきなNは○○です(Sukina Noun wa ○○desu)
Learn the function of each particle
　(Example: 「は」 is a topic marker in this case)

Using 「お」 and 「を」

aki_ito_JFM — 2025-05-21 09:42:13 UTC

① In hiragana, there are two similar characters: 「お」 and 「を」.

②They are pronounced the same: both are read as "o".

③ But the way we use them is different.

「お」： “O” is used in normal words (like おちゃ = tea, おかね = money).
「を」： “WO” is used as a particle before verbs like "eat" or "drink".
　It marks the object of the verb. For example：
- すしをたべます。
  　Sushi o tabemasu. → I eat sushi.
- コーヒーをのみます。
  　Koohīii o nomimasu. → I drink coffee.

Why is “wa” written as 「は」 in Japanese?

aki_ito_JFM — 2025-05-21 09:55:09 UTC

Some of you may have noticed this while reading the textbook:

"Sukina tabemono wa niku desu" is written in hiragana as:
すきなたべもの は にくです

But wait — isn't that hiragana character 「は」 usually read as "ha"?

Yes! Normally, 「は」 is read as “ha”,
BUT when it is used as a particle, it is pronounced “wa”.

👉 This is a special rule in Japanese.
The spelling and the pronunciation are different when 「は」 is used as a particle.

✅ Examples

すきなたべものは　すしです。
　Sukina tabemono wa sushi desu.
　(My favorite food is sushi.)
わたしは　いとうです。
　Watashi wa Itoo desu.
　(I am Itoo.)

💡Remember!

Please be careful when reading or writing in Japanese!

１，２，３？ひとつ？ふたつ？みっつ？

aki_ito_JFM — 2025-05-22 07:00:55 UTC

In Japanese, there is a traditional way of reading numbers: "hi, fu, mi..." This is the original Japanese reading and is used when counting physical objects (like hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu, etc.).

On the other hand, the readings "ichi, ni, san..." are also used. These are the Chinese-derived readings, and they are used when reading numbers, as well as for dates, prices, time, and so on.

＜Tips＞　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　It’s a good idea to first learn the basic number readings like ichi, ni, san, and then move on to the native Japanese readings used for counting things. The “~tsu” counting system (hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu, etc.) is very useful because it can be used for many different kinds of objects.