nou wa daiji desu.

The brain is important.

Breakdown of nou wa daiji desu.

• は: topic particle
• です: to be
• 大事だいじ: important
• 脳のう: the brain

Questions & Answers about nou wa daiji desu.

How do you read 脳 は 大事 です out loud?

It is read:

のう は だいじ です
Romanized: nō wa daiji desu

A few notes:

• 脳 = のう (nō) = brain
• The particle は is written ha but pronounced wa here.
• 大事 = だいじ (daiji)
• です = desu

So the full sentence sounds like:

Nō wa daiji desu.

Why is は pronounced wa instead of ha?

This is one of the first things learners notice in Japanese.

When は is used as a particle marking the topic of the sentence, it is pronounced wa, not ha.

So in:

脳 は 大事 です。

the は is the topic marker, so you say wa.

But when は is part of a normal word, it is usually read ha.

Example:

• はな = flower or nose, depending on kanji/context, pronounced hana

What does the particle は do in this sentence?