は and です (Topic Marker and Polite 'to Be')

は (pronounced 'wa') marks the topic of a sentence. です (desu) is a polite way to say 'is/am/are'. Together, 'A は B です' means 'A is B'.

Examples

• 私は学生です。(Watashi wa gakusei desu.) — I am a student.
• 彼は先生です。(Kare wa sensei desu.) — He is a teacher.
• これは本です。(Kore wa hon desu.) — This is a book.
• 今日は月曜日です。(Kyou wa getsuyoubi desu.) — Today is Monday.

Common Mistakes

Practice

Mini Quiz