Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasi no tomodati ha okanemoti desu.

私の友達はお金持ちです。
- Neutral statement: “My friend is rich.”
- は presents “my friend” as the topic (what we’re talking about).
私の友達がお金持ちです。
- Tends to feel more like you’re identifying who is rich:
  - “The person who is rich is my friend.”
- You might say this in contrast to someone else, or as an answer to “Who is rich?”.

Rough guideline:

は: “As for X, …” (topic, background).
が: “X (specifically) is the one that …” (focus, often new information).

In isolation, は is more natural for a simple descriptive statement like this.

Is お金持ち a noun or an adjective? How should I think about it?

お金持ち is basically a noun meaning “rich person / wealthy person.”

Breakdown:

お金 = money
持ち = holder / having

Literally: “money-haver” → rich person.

In 私の友達はお金持ちです, you can think:

私の友達 (my friend)
は (is / as for)
お金持ち (a rich person)
です (polite “is”)

So structurally it’s like:
My friend = a rich person.

Even though we translate it as “My friend is rich,” in Japanese it’s noun = noun with です.

What exactly does です mean here? Is it just “is”?

です is the polite copula—the polite way of linking a subject/topic to a description. In many contexts, you can think of it as the polite “is / am / are.”

In this sentence:

お金持ち = rich person
です = polite “is”

So: “(My friend) is (a) rich (person).”

Important points:

です adds politeness, not tense by itself. Past tense would be でした.
In casual speech, です often becomes だ:
- 私の友達はお金持ちだ。 (casual)

Why is は pronounced “wa” here instead of “ha”?

The character は normally represents the sound “ha.”
But when は is used as the topic particle, it is always pronounced “wa.”

So:

As part of a word:
- 花 (はな) = hana
As a particle:
- 友達は = tomodachi wa

Spelling uses the same character は, but pronunciation changes to wa when used as the topic marker.

Is 友達 singular (“friend”) or plural (“friends”)? How do I know?

友達 itself does not mark singular or plural. Japanese usually leaves number to context.

私の友達はお金持ちです。
- Could mean:
  - “My friend is rich.”
  - “My friends are rich.”

If you need to be explicit:

1人の友達 = one friend
何人かの友達 / 複数の友達 = some friends / multiple friends

But in normal conversation, people rely on context. In most beginner contexts, you’ll usually interpret 友達 in this sentence as “my friend” unless the situation clearly implies multiple friends.

Can 私 be omitted? Could you just say 友達はお金持ちです?

Yes, you can omit 私 when it’s clear from context who the speaker is referring to.

私の友達はお金持ちです。 = My friend is rich.
友達はお金持ちです。
- Often understood as “(My) friend is rich” if it’s clear we’re talking about your friend.

Japanese loves to drop anything that is obvious from context: subjects, possessors, even topics.

But:

If there’s any risk of confusion (whose friend?), 私の友達 is clearer.

Could I replace 私 with 僕 or other pronouns? Does that change the sentence?

Yes, you can change the first-person pronoun; it affects tone and gender impression, not grammar.

Common options:

私の友達はお金持ちです。
- Polite, gender-neutral (used by everyone, especially in formal situations).
僕の友達はお金持ちです。
- Commonly used by men/boys; sounds more casual/masculine.
俺の友達はお金持ちだ。
- Very casual, strongly masculine; often drops です and uses だ instead.

So the pattern X の友達はお金持ちです stays the same; only the persona / level of politeness changes.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say お金持ちです私の友達は or something like that?

Japanese word order is more flexible than English, but not completely free.

Neutral, natural order is:

[Topic] は [description] です。
私の友達はお金持ちです。

Common rules:

The copula です/だ comes at the end.
The topic (Xは) tends to appear toward the front.

So:

✔ 私の友達はお金持ちです。 (natural)
✖ お金持ちです私の友達は。 (sounds very unnatural)

You can move things around for emphasis in advanced Japanese, but for now, keep:

[Topic/subject] + は/が + complement + です。

Is お in お金持ち the honorific prefix like in お茶, or is it just part of the word?

Historically, お is an honorific prefix attached to 金 (money), forming お金 (a more polite / neutral way to say “money”).

Then お金 + 持ち (having/holder) → お金持ち (“rich person”).

In modern usage:

お金 is the default common word for money.
お金持ち is a set word meaning “rich person,” and you normally don’t break it down in everyday speech.

You might see 金持ち without お, and it’s also correct; it can sound a bit more blunt or casual.

How would I say this sentence in casual speech to a friend?

The polite sentence is:

私の友達はお金持ちです。

Common casual versions:

Just switch です → だ:
- 私の友達はお金持ちだ。
Change 私 to a more casual pronoun and use だ:
- 俺の友達はお金持ちだ。 (very casual, masculine)
- 僕の友達はお金持ちだ。 (casual, typically male)
Drop even more if context is clear:
- 友達、お金持ちだよ。
  (“My friend is rich, you know.” – quite casual, and uses よ for “you know” emphasis)

Could this sentence also be written using 金持ち instead of お金持ち? Is there any difference?

Yes:

私の友達は金持ちです。 is also grammatically correct and means “My friend is rich.”

Nuance:

お金持ち is the more common and neutral form in everyday conversation.
金持ち can sound a bit blunter / rougher / more direct, depending on context and tone.

For most beginner/intermediate usage, お金持ち is the safer, more neutral choice.