<sub class="descriptionSection">18-09-2024 06:00:pm // #は #Particle // [[Particle Summary]]</sub> ____ The [[Particle Summary |Particle]]　は is usually used to identify **what** is being talked about in a Sentence. As with every other particle *it cannot be translated and has no meaning in English and German*. > [!warn] Difficulties with the は particle > This letter is usually pronounced as *ha*, but if it is used as a particle it's pronounced as ***wa***. This can throw people of when first reading sentences, so keep this in mind. ## Situations in which to use this Particle You can find this particle in almost every Sentence you're going to build. An example would be this: ```text ボブ:アリスは学生? Bob: Is Alice (you) student? アリス:うん、学生。 Alice: Yeah, (I) am. Used words: 学生 = gakusei = Student うん = un = yeah アリス = Arisu = Alice (Name) ボブ = Bob = Bob (Name) ``` Here, the は particle indicates that Bob is talking about Alice. You could also write the rule like this: > The word *before* the は particle is the Topic of the sentence. Another example: ```text あなたは外国人ですか? Is this a foreigner? Used words: あなた = anata = you (!Note: this is regarded as a rude form nowadays, https://jisho.org/word/%E8%B2%B4%E6%96%B9-1) 外国人 = gakokujin = foreigner, foreign citizen ``` Here, the speaker is talking about *you* and is asking if you're a foreigner or a foreign citizen. > [!Info] Topic of a Sentence > The Topic of a Sentence can be referring to **any** Topic, **even from other Sentences**.