difference between わ and は..HELP!!

[nelsonman90]

i'm new at japanese

i noticed that when you say

watashi wa

its spelled わたしは but shouldn't it be spelled わたしわ?

being that in romanji は is ha and わ is wa.

im a little confused

[kc8ufv]

You get used to it. The reason 「は」 in 「私は」/「わたしは」 is used is because that is how the topic marking particle is written. There are other particles this applies to as well. You just need to learn and accept them.

[Psy]

The only particles this happens with are "wa" は, "e" へ, and "o" を. I'm pretty sure it stems from archaic spelling rules which have been simplified over time. At any rate, if you know those three, you won't have a problem with anything else.

[jkeyz15]

Yeah, Psy is right. Those are the only 3 and they do stem from old spelling rules. They used to be pronounced that way, but over times sounds and spellings changed, but the old ways (for writing grammar) stayed preserved.

[Belton]

Try not to rely on romaji if you can.

Interestingly my Japanese friends usually romanise the particles は　and を　as ha and wo, and I've tended to pick up this habit from them.