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Lesson 2: NounはNounです
In this lesson, I will teach you how to express “Noun 1 is Noun 2” in Japanese.
Patterns:
Here, は is read as ‘wa,’ not ‘ha.’ は is a special type of word called a particle, and you’ll learn more about particles in the Particle Course later.
For now, just remember: Noun A + は (wa) indicates that ‘Noun A’ is the topic of the sentence.
| Pattern | Meaning |
| [Noun 1] + は+ [Noun 2] + です | [Noun 1] is [Noun 2]. |
| [Noun 1] + は+ [Noun 2] + ではありません | [Noun 1] is not [Noun 2]. |
Text:
こちらは山田さんです。山田さんは医者です。
This is Mr. Yamada. Mr. Yamada is a doctor.
Kochira wa Yamada-san desu. Yamada-san wa isha desu.
私は木村です。私は医者ではありません。エンジニアです。
I am Kimura. I am not a doctor. I am an engineer.
Watashi wa Kimura desu. Watashi wa isha dewa arimasen. enjinia desu.
Notes:
| ①Besides 【[Noun 1] + は+ [Noun 2] + ではありません】, you can use 【[Noun 1] + は+ [Noun 2] + ではない】 to express the negative form of 【[Noun 1] + は+ [Noun 2] + です】. ②【[Noun 1] + は+ [Noun 2] + ではありません】 and 【[Noun 1] + は+ [Noun 2] + ではない】sounds very formal and somewhat stiff. It is mainly used in textbooks or in very serious and formal situations. If you are writing a formal text, you can use them. In everyday conversation, however, people usually say: （1）【[Noun 1] + は+ [Noun 2] + じゃありません】 （2）【[Noun 1] + は+ [Noun 2] + じゃないです】 （3）【[Noun 1] + は+ [Noun 2] + じゃない】 |
Vocabulary List:
Below are some basic words, feel free to use what you have learned in this lesson to make some sentences.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 学生 | がくせい | student |
| 先生 | せんせい | teacher |
| 病院 | びょういん | hospital |
| 医者 | いしゃ | doctor |
| 看護師 | かんごし | nurse |
| 朝 | あさ | morning |
| 昼間 | ひるま | day |
| 夜 | よる | night |
| 机 | つくえ | desk |
| 椅子 | いす | chair |
| 学校 | がっこう | school |
| 教室 | きょうしつ | classroom |
| 春 | はる | spring |
| 夏 | なつ | summer |
| 秋 | あき | fall |
| 冬 | ふゆ | winter |
| 犬 | いぬ | dog |
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14 thoughts on “Lesson 2: NounはNounです”
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I am a little confused as to why the profession changes from topic to subject. In example 4: chichi wa sensei; but in example 6: yamada-san ga kashiyu. Why is yamada-san the subject of the sentence but chichi is not? Sorry if my question isn’t very clear; basically I am trying to find the difference between these two sentences.
If yamada-san was a teacher, would it be, “yamada-san wa sensei”? Why is chichi (father) the topic of example 4 but yamada-san is the subject of example 6?
If chichi was a singer, would it be “chichi wa kashiyu” or would it be “chichi ga kashiyu”?
The concept of wa and ga is otherwise pretty clear thanks to this lesson, thanks for your help
I think it is related to the topic of conversation the speakers have… You see when what is magnified is what’s after the particle it is because the content of the conversation is that specific thing which in this case Example 4 … But when speaking in general about something specific then what’s before the particle gets magnified which in this case Example 6 …
I don’t know if this will help ,but when you ask ” Where is the pen ? ” here you are asking about something specific – topic – so when answering I say ” The Pen is on the table or in the Drawer ” ( Pen wa ______ )
But when I ask ” What is on the table / in the drawer ? ” here I am asking about something general – subject – as many things can be on that table so I answer using ( ga ___ )
I am not sure of that 100% but I think it might help in some way .. If I am wrong I am sorry ..
From what I understand it’s just showing the different uses for the particles. The overall focus of the sentences are different because of the particle used. In the first sentence, は puts the focus on the 先生 whereas が puts the focus on 山田さん.
父は先生です
My dad is a TEACHER.
山田さんが歌手です
MR. YAMADA is a singer.
If they were flipped, I think it would be like this:
父が先生です
MY DAD is a teacher.
山田さんは歌手です
Mr. Yamada is a SINGER.
練習のために文章を作りったよwwww 【あたしは退屈った】
姫ず奈:月は素敵だよ。
秋桜:そうだね、月は綺麗ですね。【は】
菊:詩野本 姫ず奈さんは誰ですのか？先生が詩野本さんを呼びしましたよ。
姫ず奈:本田 先輩、私が姫ず奈ですよ【が】
P.s.あたしの日本語はあまり上手ですね、ごめんね
from the future I realized that my japanese sure was so clingy and really あまり上手じゃない
yes, the correct form would beあまり上手ではないorじゃない
notです
If someone asked “Who is Tom?”, would it be possible to answer “私がです” dropping the “トム”?
just say 私です
これは誰のペンですか？
A. それは私のです。
B. それが私のです。
C. 私のです。
D. 私です。
D is wrong.
Thank you. Before this, I’d only use A and C, but I didn’t know B is also correct. Knowing whether to use は or が is still difficult for me.
You will learn this in Particle Course, no worries!
Hello! I’m wondering about why we have to put desu after something like Tom ga/wa sensei? To me this translates to: Tom is teacher. I see the purpose of using de wa arimasen but not desu. Can you explain please
です acts like “is/are” in English.
For example, if you say “Tom wa sensei”, it means “Tom teacher”, not “Tom is a teacher”, there is no verb in “Tom wa sensei”.
Thank you!! I appreciate it