How Do You Know When to Use は (wa) or が (ga)?

[necrofeo]

there should be a manga about hadoman helping ppl to talk japanese hahaha, anyway nice videos and lessons , arigatou

[FightingShodoka]

@necrofeo

I like your idea of making a manga. ;-)

[Lurvane]

@FightingShodoka I would definitely watch a Hadoman anime or manga! You should look into this idea! Or get someone to make one for you! Seriously!

[FightingShodoka]

@Lurvane

Manga is an excellent form of media for learning. I should really looking into this.

[FightingShodoka]

@necrofeo

I like your idea of making a manga. ;-)

[namitsu1]

Good to see lessons from a male native speaker!

[FightingShodoka]

@namitsu1

I think so, too. ;-D

[RandomRainbow11]

If you were writing a magazine article about bears or something, would you still use "が?" Because it's not really out of anything...

[FightingShodoka]

@RandomRainbow11

Probably no. But, there are times you need to imply the meaning of ga even if it's very subtle. Here's something people often say. "Kuma ga osottekita ra, shinda furi o shinasai." (When a bear attacks you, pretend that you are dead.) You have to use "ga" here. It's not really out of anything.... but...

[FightingShodoka]

... "wa" wouldn't make a good sense. Even if it is the first sentence in a paragraph or conversation, you still use "ga" and imply that "when a bear (out of many other things that may attack you) attacks you, you should pretend to be dead."

[dragos240alt]

Ahhhhh. Now I understand why ga is used when you use things like "dore" (which). Because you're specifically specifying one thing. Which out of everything here is it?

[FightingShodoka]

@dragos240alt

You are absolutely CORRECT!!!

[dragos240alt]

@FightingShodoka

Excuse me if this is incorrect, but どうもありがとうございました！

I'm not even close to fluency, but I have a friend that is willing to chat with me. I plan to speak fluently one day and to pass the N1!

[narutoman4567]

@FightingShodoka So wa is less specific?

[FightingShodoka]

@narutoman4567

Depends on the context. Wa can be less specific than ga in particular contexts. Ga can be less specific than wa in particular contexts.

[narutoman4567]

Respond to this video... So ga and wa are used when you want to say I was doing or he was doing or etc. But can't we use Desu?

[FightingShodoka]

@narutoman4567

"Desu" is something people learn or are taught by their parents "after" they learn how to compose basic sentences. Desu makes the sentence more polite. Grammatically, desu may be equivalent with is/are/be in particular cases, but understanding it like that might cripple your learning process.

[RobCardIV]

TY !!

[FightingShodoka]

@RobCardIV

My pleasure! 

[redsohc]

Thank you for this. A very nice, clear explaination!

[zairuku]

Ok, so i have this situation in my head...

Say one of your friends was upset cause he thought you didn't like him. I'm a bit fuzzy on the word order but.

私はあなたがこのむ。 - Saying i like him, or maybe i like him more than someone else ? ( without physically saying i like you more than him )

But if i swapped the ga and wa, then would it emphasize it's me who likes him and not someone else? ( again without physically saying that )

私があなたわこのむ。

Or am i thinking about it to much :P

[superhadoman]

@zairuku

あなた「が」すき (like) ..... In this phrase, don't be fooled by the use of が. This が doesn't add any special meaning. When you use "like" and "want," the object takes が by default instead of を.

- 私はりんご (apple)「を」かった (bought)。

- 私はりんご (apple)「が」すき (like)。

The 2nd sentence you wrote: 私「が」あなた「は」すき。.... Hearing this sentence is highly unlikely, but if you dare to really convey what this sentence is supposed to mean, of course, you are free to say it like that, but you have to enunciate it

[superhadoman]

@zairuku

... say it slowly, stress が and は, and make sure the listener is following what you are conveying. Chances are... you will confuse your listener b/c your listener will have to process two added meanings to the regular "I like you." The listener will have to process what 私「が」has to mean first. Then, the listener will have to process what あなた「は」has to mean. Processing these two additional meanings may well confuse a lot of people.

[superhadoman]

@zairuku

Since people are not used to hearing 私があなたはすき, adding two special meanings to it is not really a good idea, so you could break it into two sentences.

あなた「は」すきだよ。(Forget about other people, but as for you, I like you.)

私「が」ね。(... and it's I, not she, he, or they, that like you.)

This way, the listener won't have to process two additional meanings within one sentence. On the other hand, people are used to hearing a sentence like 私「は」あなた「が」すきなんだよ。Its logic is easy for people to follow.

[FightingShodoka]

@zairuku

BTW, superhadoman is me in case you were wondering.

[iceymanjack]

2:33 he swore in japanese

[iceymanjack]

subscribing for sure

[Kelovar]

This video is awesome. I am currently learning Japanese (still very much a beginner), and I didn't grasp the difference between those 2 particles.

Now this video made it pretty much clear (I could get all the answers right! Yay!). I think I can now say I understand the difference between those two, and could mostly use the right one now (albeit with some thinking beforehand; not fluently at all yet). With practice and by looking at sentences during my lessons, I should be fine ^^

ありがとうございます

[FightingShodoka]

@Kelovar

役に立てて嬉しいです。

By connecting wa and ga with particular situations using these rules and through repetitions, it will become your second nature. The key to fluency is making connections between your familiar actions/situations/events and words/phrases/sentences/meanin­g. I cannot emphasize this enough. ;-D

[benitofinito]

If this is true it's the best explanation for wa and ga on youtube that I've seen.

[FightingShodoka]

@benitofinito

Hi benitofinito,

Yes, it is true. I can bet your money on it. ;-D

My explanation is based on how people (native JP speakers) actually distinguish the use of WA and GA when they use JP. Many other explanations (in textbooks and by other people) are based on the study of general linguistics, which only deals with surface differences and structures (not how real people utilize certain language rules when thinking, speaking, reading, and writing).

[davidlohcc]

Very nice! The way you present it is clear and yet humorous. You are the ultimate sensei haha! Keep it up and do more vids!

[FightingShodoka]

@davidlohcc

Thanks! Let me know if you have JP-related questions.

[pekopekogaijin]

THANKK YOUU!!!!!!

[FightingShodoka]

@pekopekogaijin

Hey, you are welcome. ;-D

[dominicdit]

only 213 views. this was the only thing that was able to help me understand は and　が

[FightingShodoka]

@dominicdit

Hey, thanks! I know I'm the only one who's giving the real answer to the は and が question on YouTube, but no one seems to know about my video.

[Kquance]

OOOH. Well I get what you mean by how to use Wa and Ga. It had help me out a bit. Thank you.I was sooooooooooooo confuse. I 'm a beginner.

[superhadoman]

@Kquance

You're welcome! 

[FightingShodoka]

@Kquance

You're welcome! By the way, superhadoman was me.

[Kquance]

@FightingShodoka Yea... In order to make your sentences make sense, think about which particle to use. So if I say: Neko GA doko desu ka? You say: Neko GA soko desu. is that right?

[FightingShodoka]

@Kquance

Technically, you CAN use "ga" in your first sentence, but you want to say it like "Neko ga doko ni iruka shitte masu ka?" The answer to this question would be like "Neko nara soko desu." That's the natural JP. If you do want to use "wa" or "ga," in this case, you would have to say "Neko wa soko desu."

[Kquance]

@FightingShodoka oooh so u dont always have to use wa and ga if u dont want to. Arigato, Sensei. I hope u can up load videos of how to use particle NI?