A name and a cup. です is enough to sit down.
In this lesson you will
- Say your name with です
- Mark a topic with は (pronounced わ)
- Make “A is B” for a place or a job, not only for people
は is written は and said わ when it is the topic particle. Students who learned “ha” from a chart freeze here. The letter and the particle are not the same job.
Today’s scene
How it works
です is the polite copula: it completes “A is B”. It does not change for I/you/he. 私は学生です。ミナです。ここはロビーです。 Same です. English “am / is / are” is extra work Japanese does not ask of you here.
は marks the topic — the thing we are talking about. In 私は学生です, 私は is “as for me”. The rest tells the news: 学生です. Beginners overuse 私は. In a lobby, ミナです is enough when they asked for your name. Add 私は when you contrast or start from silence.
Word order is not English. The verb-like piece です comes last. If you say です too early, the sentence feels like a dropped tray. Hold the noun, then land です.
You will see が later. Do not swap them at random. This week, は is the shelf you put a name on. が is a different shelf. We will not pretend they are twins.
です is not a decoration you add for extra politeness on top of a finished English sentence. In this style of Japanese, です is how the sentence ends. Without it, 私は学生 sounds unfinished or blunt.
は is a topic marker. English “I” is a subject. They overlap in 私は学生です, so textbooks pretend they are the same. They are not. Later, は will mark 今日は, これは, 部屋は — days, objects, rooms. If you glue は only to 私, you will stall.
Pronunciation: は as particle is わ. Say わたしわ, not わたしは with a hard H, when は is the particle. Yes, it is unfair. It is also not optional.
Korean speakers: 은/는 is a cousin, not a clone. Do not copy 받침 rules onto は. Japanese は does not split into two spellings for batchim. Chinese speakers: there is no 是 sitting in the middle; です is at the end. English speakers: do not insert “am” as アム. Spanish/Portuguese speakers: です does not agree with gender or number.
In the dialogue, notice ミナさん. さん is not “Mr.” in a dusty way. It is the default respectful tag. Do not put さん on yourself.
Practice in a voice that would work at a real desk. Smile is optional. です is not.
A は B です
Topic + は + noun + です
私は学生です。 I am a student.
ここはロビーです。 This is the lobby.
名前はミナです。 The name is Mina. / I’m Mina.
は sounds like わ
Particle は → pronounce わ.
The hiragana は in はい is still は. Job, not shape, decides the sound.
Sentences you can use
Close, but not this
OK 私は学生です。
NG 私学生です。
English drops “am” in texts. Japanese still wants は (or a clear context) and です in polite talk.
OK ミナです。
NG 俺、ミナ。
俺 is a casual male “I”. Wrong room, wrong gender assumption, wrong temperature.
Say it out loud
They ask your name. Answer with です.
Show answer
（名前）です。 — (Name) desu.
Say “I am a student” with は.
Show answer
私は学生です。 — Watashi wa gakusei desu.
Staff says the room is 2F. Repeat as a です sentence.
Show answer
部屋は二階です。 — The room is the second floor.
Next we learn the polite no: ではありません, and も (also). You will need it the moment someone guesses your job wrong. Until then, say your name with です every time you open a shop door in your head.
Write one sentence today
A quiet reading for what is on your mind
Set Japanese aside for a moment. This is our in-site counseling page: a gentle five-element (saju) reading of what is on your mind. A nickname is enough to start.
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