LEARN + JAPANESE / Note 168 JLPT N4
The Topic, and What About It (は〜が)
Many Japanese sentences carry two separate markers: は sets the overall topic, someone or something the sentence is about, while が marks the specific part or quality actually being described.
Yuki has big eyes.
Naoki has short hair.
In Real Life
由紀さんは目が大きい doesn’t put 大きい directly on 由紀さん, it’s specifically her eyes that are big, not her overall size. は names the whole person as the topic; が narrows in on the one feature the sentence is actually commenting on.
Takuya is good at sports.
Saya isn't good at cooking.
In Real Life
得意 and 苦手, like 好き and 上手 before them, always take が on the specific skill or activity, even though は sets the person as the overall topic. This same double-marker shape is what makes ほしい (Xがほしい) and わかる (Xがわかる) work the way you learned them, が landing on whatever’s specifically wanted or understood, は on the person feeling or knowing it.
Which supermarket is cheap?
In Real Life
Even a question word like どこ can take が in this slot, どこが安いですか asking which one, out of the supermarkets already understood as the topic, has the specific quality of being cheap.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| eyes | |
| hair | |
| face | |
| small | |
| black | |
| to be tall | |
| disliked | |
| not good at | |
| to understand | |
| to be able to do | |
| skiing | |
| coffee shop | |
| bank | |
| convenient | |
| feature, characteristic | |
| part | |
| the whole | |
| focus | |
| to describe, explain | |
| to narrow down, limit |