は vs が: Topic vs Subject – Japanese Cheat Sheet

は and が are both attached to nouns, and both can translate to "is" or mark who does something so why are there two? The short answer: は marks the topic (what the conversation is about), while が marks the subject (who actually does the action or has the property).

Tap a card to highlight its examples below.

Side-by-side examples

Japanese	Nuance	When to use
私わたしは学生がくせいです。	"As for me, I'm a student." Normal self-introduction.	は setting yourself as topic
私わたしが学生がくせいです。	"I am the student (not someone else)." Emphasises exclusivity.	が exclusive/contrastive emphasis
猫ねこはかわいいです。	"As for cats, they're cute." General statement about cats.	は general topic statement
あの猫ねこがかわいい！	"That cat is cute!" Singling out a specific cat.	が pointing to specific new info

Rule: Question words always use が

Words like だれ (who), なに (what), どれ (which) always take が never は.

だれが来きましたか？"Who came?" (not だれは)

何なにが好すきですか？"What do you like?"

どれが田中たなかさんのですか？"Which one is Tanaka-san's?"

どの電車でんしゃが早はやいですか？"Which train is the fastest?"

More examples in context

Contrast with は

魚さかなは食たべますが、肉にくは食たべません。

I eat fish, but I don't eat meat. (は sets up each item for contrast)

First mention → follow-up

犬いぬがいる。その犬いぬはかわいい。

There's a dog. (new info → が) That dog is cute. (now established topic → は)

Exclusive が (answering "who?")

A: だれが作つくったの？　B: 私わたしが作つくった。

A: Who made it? B: I made it. (が answers the が question)

Ability / feelings always use が

日本語にほんごが話はなせます。／音楽おんがくが好すきです。

I can speak Japanese. / I like music. (ability/desire verbs take が for their object)

Quick rules to remember

1
Question words (だれ・なに・どれ…) always use が. The answer to a が question also uses が: 「だれが？」「田中さんが。」
2
は can show contrast. 「ビールは飲みますが、ワインは飲みません。」 "I drink beer, but I don't drink wine." The は sets up an implicit comparison.
3
が sounds exclusive or emphatic. 「私が行く。」 = "I'M the one going." vs 「私は行く。」 = "As for me, I'll go."
4
First mention = が, follow-up = は. Introduce something new with が; once it's the established topic, switch to は.

Don't stress over getting は/が perfect early on. Native speakers understand you either way. Focus on the question-word rule first it's the clearest case, and getting it right will feel satisfying quickly.