At a glance
は marks the topic: what the sentence is about. Think of it as "as for X, ...". As a particle, it is written は but read wa.
[Topic] は [Comment]。
私は学生です。 I'm a student.
How to form it
Put は right after the topic. The comment after it can end in です, a verb or an adjective.
| Attaches to | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Noun or pronoun | 私は学生です。 | I'm a student. |
| この / その + noun | この本は高いです。 | This book is expensive. |
| Time word | 明日は休みです。 | Tomorrow is a day off. |
| Place | 東京は大きいです。 | Tokyo is big. |
は is used in both polite and casual speech. It is always read wa as a particle.