LEARN + JAPANESE / 114 of 186 JLPT N4
Speaking Of, Here's the Thing 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.
Hint · 힌트
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.
Hint · 힌트
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?
Hint · 힌트
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 |
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