〜は

introduction

explanation

The particle *は* (pronounced *wa*, not *ha*) marks the **topic** of a sentence — the thing you are talking about. It tells the listener: as for X, here is what I want to say about it.

explanation

The topic is not always the grammatical subject. *は* simply sets the frame for the rest of the sentence. Think of it as shining a spotlight on one thing before making a comment about it.

structure

explanation

*は* attaches to `nouns` and noun-like words. The comment that follows can be anything — a `noun`, `verb`, `i-adjective`, or `na-adjective`.

explanation

When *は* replaces another particle like *が* or *を*, the original particle disappears. But with location particles like *に*, *で*, or *から*, you add *は* after them: *には*, *では*, *からは*.