| This construction, similar to the AはBだ。
(A wa B da.) construction, is used to describe an aspect "C"
of feature "B"of "A". Unlike the "A"
wa "B" da construction, the grammatical subject isn't
indicated by は (wa) but by the subject particle が (ga).
It normally translates as: Talking about "A", "B"
is "C". In the final translation you should leave out
the rather odd sounding "Talking about", and find a way
to make the sentence run smoothly.
| |
日本は物価が高い。 |
Talking about Japan, the prices are high. / |
| (Nihon wa bukka ga takai.) |
In Japan the prices are high. |
| |
| 山田さんは字が上手だ。 |
Talking about Ms. Yamada, her handwriting is pretty. / |
| (Yamada-san wa ji ga jouzu da.) |
Ms. Yamada's handwriting is pretty. |
| |
| 外人は鼻が高い。 |
Talking about foreigners, their noses are high. / |
| (Gaijin wa hana ga takai.) |
Foreigners have high noses.* |
| |
If you are having trouble translating these constructions you can
try to replace は (wa) with の (no).
| |
日本の物価が高い。 |
Japanese prices are high. |
| (Nihon no bukka ga takai.) |
|
| |
| 山田さんの字が上手だ。 |
Miss. Yamada has an attractive penmanship. |
| (Yamada-san no ji ga jouzu da.) |
|
| |
| 外人の鼻が高い。 |
Foreigners have high noses.* |
| (Gaijin no hana ga takai.) |
|
| |
* I've
often heard from people that they were offended by this remark.
To the Japanese however, large noses are a beauty ideal, so no malice
is intended, it is considered a compliment.
Related pages:
A wa B da.
To be or not
to be
The grammatical
subject
The particle が (ga)
The particle は (wa) |
