English has one verb to express the meaning of "to be" and it can be used to say different things according to the context. However, as a common yet highly irregular verb, it takes many different forms such as am, is, are, was, were etc.
The words am, is and are in Japanese are all viewed as the same word: です. The common way to pronounce です (desu) is to soften the final "u" sound, making it sound similar to "des" from an English perspective. However, depending on the situation and the emotions of the speaker, you will hear that final "u" sound quite clearly.
| English | Japanese |
|---|---|
| I am | Watashi desu |
| He is | Kare desu |
| They are | Karera desu |
As seen in the table above, you'll often see です translated as am, is or are but the thing is, it's not actually a verb and has no meaning at all in English. It does not actually mean am, is or are at all.
Instead, です is only ever used to add politeness and formality to an overall sentence and it can even describe the tense of the word before it. However, not once does it ever have a connection to the meaning of "to be" or any of the other English variants.
This is especially true for i-adjectives as the meaning of "to be" is already implied within them. For example, the word 美味しい (oishii) is an i-adjective meaning "[it is] delicious". In a previous lesson, we covered colours and four of them were also i-adjectives: しろい (shiroi), くろい (kuroi), あおい (aoi) and あかい (akai).Adding です to an i-adjective is not necessary. However, if you wish to be very formal or show extra politeness then you may use です. Both "shiroi" and "shiroi desu" mean "white" with the latter been much more respectful towards the listener.
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| aoi 青い |
It's blue (blue) |
| aoi desu 青いです |
It's blue (blue) |
| aoi kuruma desu 青い車です |
It's a blue car (blue car) |
This kind of politeness in Japanese is called Teineigo, one of the five types of Keigo (Sonkeigo, Kenjougo, Teineigo, Teichougo, Bikago), the first three being the main core types; please do not worry about the meanings of these just yet as it can become quite complicated.
Just remember that this type of Keigo is most suited for formal situations and has the tendency to create distance between the speaker and listener.
When to use です
です is the fail-safe ending and should be the first ending you default to when you are not sure what to use or when meeting someone for the first time regardless of age or status. It can also be used to show respect towards someone or those you look up to.
There are three ways to use です. However, you should not use です with verbs as those are already conjugated using their own stems but we'll cover that in another lesson.
- Verb (Do not use "desu")
e.g: watashitachi wa sushi o tabemasu - Noun + (desu)
e.g: shiroi kuruma desu - na-adjective + (desu)
e.g: koko wa shizuka desu - i-adjective [very formal with (desu)]
e.g: watashi no kuruma wa shiroi (desu)
We'll cover na-adjectives and i-adjectives in another lesson but we're showing them here so you know how they works with です. For now, if you are unsure if a word is a noun, na-adjective or i-adjective, check out online dictionaries such as japandict.com or jisho.org.
What is Teineigo (丁寧語)?
Teineigo is a form of polite language in Japanese known as Keigo used to show respect and politeness towards others. It is often used when speaking to strangers or someone of higher social status, such as a teacher or an employer and such.
If you do not use Keigo with those in higher social status than you (e.g. a teacher), it would be very rude. It can even come across as if you are looking down on them. Think of it like, if I use Keigo, I am not looking down on you, I am showing you respect.
Teineigo is rather easy to spot when you notice that nouns and adjectives end in です (desu) or when verbs are conjugated with the 〜ます (~masu) forms. Just keep in mind that です (desu) does not have a translation; even though it is viewed as a form of "to be" in English, です is simply there for the politeness, formality and respect.
— Keigo in Non-Formal Situations
However, when it comes to people you are close to like family and friends, you would not use Keigo. This kind of formality in Japanese actually creates distance between the speaker and listener.
Using です with people close to you such as a friend or family member is like putting distancing between yourself and them. With a friend, they may think that you do not want to get close to them. Think of it like a bubble representing your own personal space; these people you use formal language with are placed outside of that personal space (e.g. you see them less of a friend).
There are times you may use Keigo like the です or 〜ます verb stems with friends such as when you are having an argument. If they start using Keigo with you, it can be a sign they have decided they want to keep their distance from you. You may reply also using Keigo to show you also want to keep your distance from them (maybe you do not see each other as friends any more?)
Keigo may be used to give subtle hints of disagreement; for example, imagine you invited a friend to go somewhere with you, they may use casual speech to agree 分かった (wakatta) and that would be like "ok" but if they used Keigo to agree 分かりました (wakarimashita) "ok", while both verbs mean the same thing, this politeness actually gives the hint that actually, maybe it is not a good idea.
This section may be a little overstated as there are some situation where Keigo is used without implying any loss of closeness, such as during formal gatherings or special occasions. It is still too early as of yet to worry too much about this. We will discuss more in other lessons as and when it is more appropriate.
New Words to Learn
Here are some more words to learn. These will give you the opportunity to start making sentences within the next two lessons.
| English | Romaji | Kana | Kanji | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | (polite) | desu | です | です |
| Man | otoko no hito | おとこのひと | 男の人 | |
| Woman | onna no hito | おんなのひと | 女の人 | |
| Child | ko | こ | 子 | |
| British person | igirisujin | イギリスじん | イギリス人 | |
| Japanese Person | nihonjin | にほんじん | 日本人 | |
| Chair | isu | いす | 椅子 | |
| Car | kuruma | くるま | 車 | |
| Book | hon | ほん | 本 | |
| House | ie | いえ | 家 |
Additional Notes
There's a lot more we can do with です like changing tense and speaking informally but I'd like us to first cover an important character は (wa) known as the Topic Particle; this is so we can start creating some basic sentences to work with which will help you using and understanding the other forms of です.
Here is a list of other pages as a reference of what is being covered now:
The topic is the part of a sentence that names what the sentence is talking about. However, not all sentences have a topic. Without context, it may not be obvious what is being talked about. This is why we'll be covering the Topic Particle in the next lesson before starting on tense and formality.
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| otoko no hito desu | It's a Man |
| otoko no hito desu | I am a Man |
| otoko no hito desu | He is a Man |
| otoko no hito desu | This is a Man |
| otoko no hito desu | That is a Man |
| otoko no hito desu | They are Men |
Please remember, the example sentences we are giving may be presented in an unnatural or artificial way. Continue to broaden your research and listen to how real Japanese people use these words. The main point here is to understand how the language itself works which is done using artificial examples. As we get into later lessons, we'll show you more casual or common Japanese.