Japanese Language Basic Program

1-2 Talking About People

UNIT 7-1 Functions of 「は」

31/49

The PARTICLE「は」 has various functions.

１. It is used to indicate the HEADLINE of a sentence.
「は」-accompanied information can basically be interpreted as “Talking or asking about the NOUN.”
watashiは　いwasakiです。

２. It is used to make a simple question. The type of question can basically be interpreted as “Give me information about this NOUN.”
おnamaえは。

３. It is used to specify the NOUN. In this case, 「は」-accompanied information can be interpreted as “the following information is true only as far as this NOUN is concerned.”