Kilo Lingo
Japanese grammar Part of Chapter 1

CEFR A1-A2

4 min read

Test yourself (20 questions)

は and です: The Basic Japanese Sentence, X wa Y desu

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 19 October 2026

Japanese builds its first and most useful sentence from three pieces: a topic, the particle , and at the end. 。 is "I am a student". Learn that, its negative and its question, and you can already introduce yourself and ask what anything is.

は (the topic)です (is)か (question)What do the colours mean?
JapaneseRomajiEnglish
。Watashi wa gakusei desu.I am a student.
じゃ。Watashi wa gakusei ja arimasen.I am not a student.
。Anata wa gakusei desu ka.Are you a student?

Quick check

Now use it: three quick questions on the chart above. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Choose the word that fills the gap.

  1. 私学生です。 (I am a student.)

  2. これは私本です。 (This is my book.)

  3. あなたは学生です。 (Are you a student?)

X は Y です

The pattern is X Y : X is Y. X is the topic, what you are talking about. Y is what you say about it, and , at the very end, does the job of is, am or are.

JapaneseRomajiEnglish
。Watashi wa gakusei desu.I am a student.
。Ano hito wa sensei desu.That person is a teacher.
。Sore wa mizu desu.That is water.

Two sounds to get right. The particle is read wa, never ha. And the u of is barely said: it comes out close to "dess".

Leave out what is obvious

Japanese drops the topic when everyone knows it. Saying in every sentence sounds stiff:

  • 。 - I am a student (or he is, they are: context decides).
  • 。 - He or she is a teacher, if you were just talking about them.

means you, but people rarely use it to someone's face: it can sound blunt. Use their name with instead.

Saying no: じゃありません

To make the sentence negative, replace with じゃ (ja arimasen):

JapaneseRomajiEnglish
じゃ。Watashi wa sensei ja arimasen.I am not a teacher.
じゃ。Sore wa mizu ja arimasen.That is not water.
じゃ。Ano hito wa gakusei ja arimasen.That person is not a student.

You will also see (dewa arimasen), which is the same, a touch more formal and usual in writing, and じゃ, polite but more casual. All three are correct; じゃ is the safe one to say.

Questions with か, and はい / いいえ

A question needs no change of word order. Add after and let your voice rise:

JapaneseRomajiEnglish
。Anata wa gakusei desu ka.Are you a student?
。Kore wa nan desu ka.What is this?
。Toire wa doko desu ka.Where is the toilet?
。Ano hito wa dare desu ka.Who is that person?

already does the job of a question mark, so formal writing often ends a question with 。; in casual writing you will see ？ as well. Note that is read nan before .

Answer with (yes) or (no), then repeat the end of the sentence:

  • 、。 - Yes, I am a student.
  • 、じゃ。 - No, I am not a student.
  • 、。 - Yes, that is right.

の: the Japanese 's

joins two nouns, and the first one owns or describes the second. It works like 's, or of read backwards:

JapaneseRomajiEnglish
watashi no honmy book
sensei no namaethe teacher's name
tomodachi no iea friend's house
Nihon no gakuseia student from Japan

So 。 is "This is my book", and 。 is "What is the teacher's name?" The owner always comes first: , never .

これ, それ, あれ, どれ

Japanese points at things by distance, from the speaker's point of view, with one set of words beginning こ, , あ and :

WordRomajiMeans
korethis one, near me
sorethat one, near you
arethat one over there, away from us both
dorewhich one?

They stand on their own, in the place of a noun:

  • 。 - This is bread.
  • 。 - Is that coffee (by you)?
  • 。 - That over there is a hotel.
  • 。 - Which one is it?

この, その, あの: with a noun

When a noun follows, the ending changes from れ to . cannot stand alone, and cannot sit before a noun:

AloneWith a nounRomajiEnglish
kono honthis book
sono mizuthat water (by you)
ano hitothat person over there
どのdono honwhich book?
  • 。 - This book is big.
  • 。 - That hotel over there is big.

The same こ, , あ, pattern gives the places: (here), (there, near you), あそこ (over there) and (where?).

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
before a noun, use
reading as hawathe topic particle is always wa
, for my bookownership is , not
for a person is what; a person is , who
in every sentencedrop itleave out what is obvious

What to do next

  1. Say three true sentences about yourself with and three with じゃ.
  2. Point at things around you and ask 。
  3. Then move on to particles: , , and the rest of .

Practise: test yourself

Pick the right one

0/6

Choose the word that fills the gap.

  1. 私学生です。 (I am a student.)

  2. これは私本です。 (This is my book.)

  3. あなたは学生です。 (Are you a student?)

  4. 本は大きいです。 (This book is big.)

  5. は何ですか。 (What is this?)

  6. トイレはですか。 (Where is the toilet?)

Sort into groups

0/6

Does each word stand on its own, or does it need a noun after it?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Spot the mistake

0/4

Tap the mistake.

Translation drill

0/4

Write the English.

  1. 私は学生じゃありません。

  2. あの人は先生ですか。

  3. これは私の本です。

  4. トイレはどこですか。

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Practice worksheets and infographics

Practice worksheets with answer keys built in, plus infographic and listicle formats. Open any one to view, print or save.

Infographics

  1. Key points infographic
  2. Table 1
  3. X は Y です
  4. Saying no: じゃありません
  5. Questions with か, and はい / いいえ
  6. の: the Japanese 's
  7. これ, それ, あれ, どれ
  8. この, その, あの: with a noun
  9. Mistakes English speakers make

Other formats

  1. Listicle

More grammar on this course

Frequently asked questions

What does wa desu mean in Japanese?
(read wa) marks the topic, what the sentence is about, and comes at the end meaning is or am. So 。 is, word for word, as for me, student is: I am a student. It is the first pattern every course teaches because it does so much.
Why is pronounced wa?
When it is the topic particle, is always read wa, a leftover of older spelling. In ordinary words it is still ha. So the particle in is wa, but the first kana of , yes, is ha.
How do you make a negative with ?
Replace with じゃ: じゃ。 is I am not a student. is the same thing, a little more formal and common in writing. じゃ is also polite, and a little more casual.
What is the difference between and ?
stands on its own and means this one: 。, what is this? must have a noun after it: , this book. The same split runs through and , and , and and .
Do I have to say every time?
No, and you usually should not. Japanese drops whatever is obvious from context, so 。 alone is a complete and natural I am a student. Saying every time sounds stiff, and using for you can sound blunt: people use the other person's name with instead.