Questions & Answers about kare wa kuruma o mihatta.
Why is は pronounced wa here instead of ha?
When は is used as the topic particle, it is pronounced wa, even though the character itself is normally read ha in other words.
So in this sentence:
- 彼は = kare wa
This is one of the first irregular readings learners meet in Japanese. The spelling stays は, but the pronunciation is wa when it marks the topic.
What is は doing in this sentence?
は marks 彼 as the topic of the sentence.
That means the sentence is presenting him as the person being talked about. A natural way to think about it is:
- As for him, ...
- He, ...
So 彼は車を見張った is structured like:
- 彼は = as for him
- 車を = the car
- 見張った = watched/guarded/kept an eye on
English usually just says he, but Japanese often organizes sentences by topic + comment.
Why is 車 followed by を?
