Reading a raw manga and 願いは叶う was the chapter name which I think is "Wishes Come True" however after checking online "Wishes Come True" is apparently 願いが叶います, there is 2 differences, one being は and が the other is 叶う and 叶います, please explain what these differences are and which phrase i should use.
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1Google translate is not really a good way to go about "checking online."– virmaiorFeb 18, 2016 at 15:37
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1The difference between は and が is hard to understand for Japanese learners. Please check it. japanese.stackexchange.com/…– Yuuichi TamFeb 18, 2016 at 15:46
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3 Answers
叶う is called the "simple" or "dictionary" form of 叶います. 叶う to me is the "true" or "original" form (grammatically), while 叶います is the polite derivation. Online translators will often give translations in polite form (～ます、～です) because they want to avoid learners being impolite. The rule of thumb for this (and Japanese classes in general) is that you can never go wrong or offend anybody with polite form. You could with the simple form, if you aren't careful.
Well then, I hear you say, why can't the chapter title use polite language?
Polite language implies that real humans are talking, and that there is some sort of human-to-human relationship structure. No one is "saying" your manga chapter per se, so there is no need to be formal. For the same reason, novels and newspapers are always written in simple form.
Examples:
叶う→叶います (to come true)
[書]{か}く→[書]{か}きます (to write)
[殺]{ころ}す→[殺]{ころ}します (to kill)
[立]{た}つ→[立]{た}ちます (to stand)
[死]{し}ぬ→[死]{し}にます (to die)
[読]{よ}む→[読]{よ}みます (to read)
[走]{はし}る→[走]{はし}ります (to run)
だ→です (to be)
Notice a pattern?
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I thought the question was more about the difference between はand が.– user4032Feb 18, 2016 at 15:57
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You could, potentially, offend someone with polite language, but if you could you were probably on casual terms with them to begin with.– AngelosFeb 18, 2016 at 17:53
Difference between 願いは叶う and 願いが叶う is that the former is an answer to "How will my wish be?" and the latter is that to "What will happen then?".
Both は and が are particles of subject words, and those meanings are almost the same. Though が is more emphatic than は. For example, が is used in interrogative sentences for subject words usually.
"Who ate cookies?" ｢誰がクッキーを食べましたか？｣
"I ate cookies." ｢私がクッキーを食べました。｣
In the case of interrogative sentences for object words:
"What did you eat yesterday?" ｢あなたは昨日何を食べましたか？｣
"I ate cookies." ｢私はクッキーを食べました。｣
Those two conversations are not replaceable.
There is a detail of that in this site. http://www.japanese-language.aiyori.org/article1.html
Incidentally, が is used as follows.
"the cookies I ate" ｢私が食べたクッキー｣
が had a meaning of の in ancient Japanese. の is a particle for the possessive case.
"my cookies" ｢私のクッキー｣
Because "the thing I do" has a meaning of "mine", が is used in this case.
