Right from the beginning standard textbooks get us off on the wrong foot with the wa-particle.

They tend to leave its real function rather loosely defined, and in some respects misdefined, which gives rise to a whole host of misunderstandings and unnecessary complications.

These complications and misunderstandings make Japanese more difficult than it needs to be for beginners, and they often persist long after the beginner stage. So students of all levels can benefit from the information in this video.

The wa-particle really has no equivalent in English or other European grammar. That is why the textbooks, which base themselves on European grammar ideas, tend to be unclear about it.

Nevertheless it is not difficult to understand if you go about it in the right way.

In this ten-minute class you will learn how WA really works, what it does, and just as importantly, what it doesn’t do.

If you have any questions about this lesson, please ask them in the comments on the YouTube page.

We also recommend that you subscribe to the KawaJapa channel so that you never miss a lesson.

The course-book for this course of lessons is Unlocking Japanese. If you  are taking the course seriously you need to get it!

Disclaimer: This video is not intended for the absolute beginner. If you’ve never even heard of the wa-particle, this probably isn’t the place to start. However, as soon as you are aware of the basic particles, this information can save you a lot of time, trouble and confusion. However this is information that most intermediate/advanced learners don’t have because it simply isn’t taught in regular westernized “Japanese grammar”. So everyone can benefit from learning this.