kono tatemono wa machi no hokori desu.

topic particle

Breakdown of kono tatemono wa machi no hokori desu.

• です: to be
• の: possessive case particle
• この: this

Questions & Answers about kono tatemono wa machi no hokori desu.

How is this sentence pronounced?

A natural reading is:

Kono tatemono wa machi no hokori desu.

Word by word:

• この = kono
• 建物 = tatemono
• は = wa here, not ha
• 町 = machi
• の = no
• 誇り = hokori
• です = desu

So the full sentence is:

Kono tatemono wa machi no hokori desu.

Why is は pronounced wa instead of ha?

This is one of the most common beginner questions.

The character は is normally read ha, but when it is used as the topic particle, it is pronounced wa.

So in this sentence:

• この建物は = As for this building...

Even though it is written は, you say wa.

This is just a standard rule of modern Japanese grammar, and you will see it often.

Why is この used instead of これ?