kono sake wa tsuyoi.

topic particle

Breakdown of kono sake wa tsuyoi.

• この: this
• 強つよい: strong
• 酒さけ: alcohol; sake

Questions & Answers about kono sake wa tsuyoi.

How do you read この　酒　は　強い。?

It is read:

この さけ は つよい。

A few notes:

• 酒 here is read さけ
• 強い is read つよい
• The particle は is written ha but pronounced wa in this kind of sentence

So aloud, it sounds like:

kono sake wa tsuyoi

Why is は pronounced wa here instead of ha?

Because は is being used as a particle, specifically the topic particle.

When は is part of a word, it is usually pronounced ha.
But when it marks the topic of a sentence, it is pronounced wa.

So in this sentence:

• 酒 = the noun
• は = topic marker, pronounced wa

This is one of the first pronunciation exceptions Japanese learners memorize.

What does この do in the sentence?