が
- 1Marks the subject of a clause, often introducing something new or just noticed.Ex. 1
- 2Connects two clauses in contrast, meaning 'but' or 'although'.Ex. 2
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As a subject marker, が is used in all registers. It is typical with verbs of existence and in descriptions of what is seen or newly introduced. As a conjunction, が normally attaches to the end of the first clause, is common after polite forms, and is slightly more formal than けど/けれども.
Learners often mix up が and は; が marks the subject or new information, while は marks the topic being talked about.
Note that conjunctive が normally ends the first clause; a sentence-initial が、 meaning 'however' is a separate, written-style usage.
Do not use conjunctive が with plain だ after a noun or な-adjective in a polite sentence; prefer です/でした + が.
- はN5「は」presents a known topic with the focus on the following explanation, and can also express contrast; when 「が」 marks the subject, the focus is on the subject itself, used for new information or scenes before your eyes, and only 「が」 can be used when a question word is the subject. 「は」 has no contrastive 'but' usage.
- けど / けれどもN5「けど／けれども」 is similar only to the contrastive 「が」; the two are often interchangeable when expressing a turn or setting up a statement, but 「けど」 is more colloquial while 「が」 is slightly more formal. In speech, 「だ」 can be dropped after a noun before 「けど」, but this is not possible with 「が」.
- だけどN3Similar only in the contrastive sense of 「が」. 「だけど」 is more casual and colloquial, functioning like 「だが」; it attaches to nouns and な-adjectives and can also start a sentence meaning 'but', while 「が」 cannot be placed at the start of a sentence — in formal situations, prefer 「が」.
- ところがN3Compare only the contrastive sense: 「が」 attaches to the end of the preceding clause and can express simple contrast or set up a statement; 「ところが」 is usually placed at the start of the following clause or after a verb in た form, emphasizing an unexpected outcome contrary to hopes, with the following clause typically stating a completed fact — it cannot precede volition or commands.
- でもN5「でも」 attaches after nouns in place of 「が」 or 「を」 to mean 'things like…' or 'even if…', and after question words it means 'no matter…'; it is not interchangeable with 「が」. Sentence-initial 「でも」 works as a conjunction meaning 'but', but it does not attach to the end of a clause.
Subject が highlights the subject or new information, whereas は marks the topic. Conjunctive が is slightly more formal than けど/けれども and usually joins clauses within one sentence, while だけど, ところが and でも usually begin a new sentence; ところが adds a sense of unexpected outcome, and でも and だけど are conversational.
