kono houritsu wa juuyou desu.

topic particle

Breakdown of kono houritsu wa juuyou desu.

• です: to be
• この: this
• 重要じゅうよう: important

Questions & Answers about kono houritsu wa juuyou desu.

How do you read this sentence?

It is read:

この ほうりつ は じゅうよう です。

In normal Japanese writing, it would usually appear without spaces:

この法律は重要です。

Why are there spaces here? Does Japanese normally use spaces like this?

No. Japanese normally does not use spaces between words.

The spaced version is often used in beginner materials to make the sentence easier to read. In natural writing, you would normally see:

この法律は重要です。

What does この mean, and why does it come before 法律?

この means this, but it must be followed by a noun.

So:

• この法律 = this law

Japanese demonstratives like この / その / あの come before the noun they modify.

Compare:

• この法律 = this law
• その法律 = that law
• あの法律 = that law over there

You cannot normally say この by itself as a standalone pronoun. If you want to say this by itself, you would usually use これ.

What is 法律?