Have you ever heard from a native speaker “ты же …”, “ты ж ….”? If not – you will hear it with probability of 99%.

So, what really means the particle ЖЕ?

The particle ЖЕ just increases intonation and empowers the sense of a phrase.

Ты человек – you are a human

Ты же человек! – you are a human!

Мы уже закончили – we have already finished

Но мы же уже закончили! – But we have already finished!

And what about Ж? This is just a short form for the same ЖЕ that has the same sense and can be used in the same cases.

Ты человек – you are a human

Ты ж человек! – you are a human!