JLPT N5 Beginner

です

Polite equivalent of “is,” “am,” or “are.”

Readings

Other forms

だ plain form

でした polite past

ではありません polite negative

じゃありません polite negative, more conversational

ではありませんでした polite past negative

Copula

"Is" / "Am" / "Are" (Polite)

Polite copula used to equate a subject with a noun or adjective at the end of a sentence.

Good to know

です is the polite “is / am / are.” It works like an equals sign, linking something to what it is or what it is like.

Use です after:

• Nouns, as in 学生です（がくせいです）, “is/am/are a student” • な-adjectives, as in 静かです（しずかです）, “is/am/are quiet” • い-adjectives, as in 高いです（たかいです）, “is/am/are expensive/tall”

Japanese often leaves out the subject when it is clear, so 学生です（がくせいです） could mean “I am a student,” “they are a student,” or another subject from context.

Important: です can make an い-adjective polite, but だ cannot follow an い-adjective. 高いだ（たかいだ） is incorrect.

です is part of 丁寧語（ていねいご）, polite language. It is the normal choice with strangers, teachers, coworkers, customers, or people you do not know well.

Example

私は学生です。

I am a student.

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です

Polite equivalent of "is," "am," or "are."

Example

この言葉を覚えましょう。

Let's memorize this word.

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