Marks an item for contrast, implying that the statement is true for the marked item but may not be for others, which can be stated or unstated. It is often used to soften a negative statement or to express partial agreement.
Noun + はPrimary
Verb [stem] + は
い-Adjective [stem] + く + は
This particle shows a difference. It means something is true for this one thing. But it might not be true for other things.
ビールは飲みますが、ワインはあまり好きではありません。
I drink beer, but I'm not very fond of wine.
昨日は一日中家にいましたが、今日は出かけるつもりです。
I was home all day yesterday, but I plan to go out today.
漢字を書きはしますが、あまり上手ではありません。
I do write kanji, but I'm not very good at it.
あの映画は、面白くはなかったけど、映像はきれいだった。
That movie wasn't *interesting*, but the visuals were beautiful.
宿題はまだ全部は終わっていない。
I haven't finished *all* of the homework yet.
This word makes your speech softer. It hints at what you are not saying. You let the listener guess the full picture.
This は is different from the topic-marking は. Topic は just tells you what you are talking about. This は shows a difference. It is also different from が. が points out a specific thing. This は compares one thing to another.
Use this when you want to agree with part of what someone said. But you might not agree with everything. It helps you be polite when you disagree a little.
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