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- "This tea is sweet."
"This tea is sweet."
Translation:このおちゃはあまいです。
21 Comments
705
Depending on whether the speaker wants to stress the first part or the second part. が is used to stress the noun before, and は is used to stress the latter part.
I don't currently have a Japanese keyboard on my phone, but tell me if this is right...
"Kono ochya wa amai desu" is saying the sweetness is the most important thing to note about the tea.
But, "Kono ochya ga amai desu" would be saying that regarding sweet things, we are talking about the tea right now.
It's just "ocha" in romaji, but yes, you would be saying your particular tea is sweet as opposed to the tea in general
Would it be the same if you say あまいおちゃです? Ignoring the fact that it doesn't directly translate the "this" part.
- 705
No. The construct [A]は[B]が[C] is only used if [A] has a trait of [B] with modifier [C]. In this case おちゃ is not a trait of これ so you must use このおちゃ instead.
Thank you. I found this explanation:
"これ" (as well as "それ" and "あれ") is a noun and is used on its own as such: "これはペンです”
"この" (as well as "その" and "あの") is more like an adjective and needs to be paired with a noun. "このぺんはあかいです"
So in a similar question about hot rice, commenters noted that が more refers to this specifc rice as opposed to は which would refer in a more general sense to rice. With that in mind, I'm assuming there is more to it than that, or this is just some sort of generalization that is not always true. My thought process knowing this information would lead me to believe that が would be correct in this situation. Can anyone help me clarify the difference?
- 705
commenters noted that が more refers to this specifc rice as opposed to は which would refer in a more general sense to rice
This statement is false. Usually the choice of は and が depends on where the new information is. If the new information is at the beginning (the subject), use が. If it is at the end (the complement), use は.
What is sweet? The tea is sweet. => The new information is "the tea" so use が: お茶が甘いです
What taste is the tea? The tea is sweet. => The new information is "sweet" so use は: お茶は甘いです.
But at the same time, wouldn't that mean either would be correct here, since we don't know the full context? They only give us one option, so we know which they want, and I understand the difference better now. But technically, は could still be used here and it would be correct, right?
- 705
Yes, you get the point, both は and が are correct. The stressed portion is slightly different (The subject vs the complement).
This is one of the most helpful explanations I've read; makes so much more sense now! Thank you so much!
- 705
The course contributors need to enter this answer in the database in order to make specific kanji recognizable as correct.
