Practice JLPTHow to tell them apart
は marks what the sentence is about or contrasts, while が marks the grammatical subject or introduces new information. Use は for known topics (ジョーンズさんは勉強している) and が for new or spotlighted subjects (あ、のり子が走っている). Swapping them can sound odd: このレストランは何が美味しいですか uses は for the topic and が for the answer focus.
- は Use は to mark a known topic or contrastive element in the sentence.
- が Use が to mark the subject or to highlight new, specific information.
は ha
Topic Marker
A particle which marks a topic or a contrastive element.
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この町には大学が二つある。
There are two universities in this town.
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ジョーンズさんは今日本語を勉強している。
Mr. Jones is studying Japanese now.
が ga
Subject Marker
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A:このレストランは何が 美味しいですか。B:ステーキが美味しいです。
A: What is good in this restaurant?B: Steak is good.
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あ、のり子が走っている。
Oh, Noriko is running.
は and が are both JLPT N5 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side — meanings, usage and example sentences — so you can tell them apart.