This kana represents the sound 'wa' and is commonly used in vocabulary. It is also used as a grammatical particle to mark the topic of a sentence, but in that role, it is written as 『は』 (ha) and pronounced 'wa'. When used inside words, it retains its normal pronunciation. For example: 『わたしは にほんごを べんきょう しています』 (watashi wa nihongo o benkyō shite imasu, 'I am studying Japanese').