Ask any Japanese learner which grammar point confused them longest, and は vs が is near the top of the list. Textbooks say "は marks the topic and が marks the subject," which is true but not very helpful when you're staring at a blank in a sentence. This guide gives you practical rules that cover the vast majority of cases you'll meet at N5 through N3, with examples, and explains how the distinction shows up on the JLPT.
The core idea in one sentence
は sets up what you're talking about; が points at a specific thing as the one that does or is something.
- 私は学生です。— As for me, I'm a student. (Topic: me. Comment: student.)
- 私が行きます。— I'm the one who'll go. (Pointing at me, specifically.)
Both sentences have "I" as the person involved, but the focus is different. That difference in focus is the key to almost every rule below.
Rule 1: New information vs known information
When something is introduced for the first time, が is common. Once it's established, it becomes the topic with は.
- 昔々、おじいさんがいました。おじいさんは山へ行きました。 Once upon a time, there was an old man. The old man went to the mountains.
The first mention introduces him (が); the second talks about him (は).
Rule 2: Question words take が, and so do their answers
Question words like 誰, 何, どれ, どこ can't be the topic — you don't know what they are yet. So they take が, and the answer usually does too.
- 誰が来ましたか。— 田中さんが来ました。 Who came? — Tanaka came.
Answering 田中さんは来ました here sounds odd, because it shifts the focus away from answering "who".
Rule 3: Contrast uses は
は can mark contrast — "this one, as opposed to others."
- 肉は食べますが、魚は食べません。 I eat meat, but fish I don't.
Even a single は can imply contrast: 今日は暇です (Today I'm free — suggesting other days I'm not).
Rule 4: Inside a modifying clause, use が
When a clause describes a noun, the subject inside that clause takes が, not は.
- 私が作ったケーキ — the cake I made
- 母が好きな花 — the flowers my mother likes
This rule alone resolves a lot of JLPT grammar questions, because は inside a noun-modifying clause is almost always wrong.
Rule 5: Certain expressions take が for their object
Some predicates use が for what English treats as the object. The most common ones at N5–N4:
- 好き / 嫌い: 猫が好きです。(I like cats.)
- 上手 / 下手: 料理が上手です。(She's good at cooking.)
- わかる: 日本語がわかります。(I understand Japanese.)
- ある / いる: 時間があります。(I have time.)
- ほしい / できる / 見える / 聞こえる: 車がほしい。ピアノができる。
You'll often see both particles in one sentence: 私は猫が好きです — As for me, cats are what I like.
Rule 6: Describing a scene uses が
When you simply describe what you see or what's happening, neutral description uses が.
- 雨が降っています。— It's raining.
- あ、バスが来た！— Oh, the bus is here!
Saying 雨は降っています would sound like you're contrasting rain with something else.
How は and が appear on the JLPT
At N5 and N4, particle questions are common in the grammar section: you're given a sentence with a blank and several particle options. The rules above — especially question words, modifying clauses, and 好き/わかる/ある-type expressions — cover most of them. Our JLPT N5 grammar checklist lists the other particles worth drilling at the same time.
At N3 and above, は and が are rarely tested in isolation, but they matter for reading comprehension: who did what in a long sentence often depends on spotting which noun is the topic and which is the subject of an embedded clause. Misreading that can flip the meaning of a whole passage.
Quick self-test
Cover the answers and choose は or が for each blank, then check which rule applies:
- あそこに猫（ ）います。
- 誰（ ）この絵を描きましたか。
- 兄（ ）住んでいる町は静かです。
- 私は日本料理（ ）好きです。
- 漢字（ ）読めますが、書けません。
Answers: 1. が (describing what's there — Rule 6). 2. が (question word — Rule 2). 3. が (subject inside a clause modifying 町 — Rule 4). 4. が (好き — Rule 5). 5. は (contrast between reading and writing — Rule 3).
If you missed any, note which rule tripped you up. That's far more useful than the score itself.
How to practise until it's automatic
- Read and notice. When reading, pause on every は and が and ask which rule applies. It feels slow at first but builds intuition fast.
- Do fill-in-the-blank practice with explanations. Getting a particle wrong and immediately reading why is the fastest feedback loop.
- Log your misses. If you keep picking は in modifying clauses, that's a pattern — add it to your mistake log.
JLPT Ready's Learn section covers particles and other grammar points by chapter with plain-language explanations, linking each item to the practice questions that test it. In the Dojo, every question has an AI explanation, so a missed particle comes with the reasoning — in English, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, or Chinese. For where grammar fits into a full study plan, see the complete JLPT preparation guide.
The takeaway
は frames the topic; が points at the specific one. Use が for new information, question words, modifying clauses, scene descriptions, and expressions like 好き and わかる; use は for established topics and contrast. Practise with explanations until it becomes instinct. If you'd like grammar lessons and particle practice with an explanation behind every answer, you can start JLPT Ready free with N5 — no card required.