Japanese grammar is an essential part of learning the Japanese language.
It is the set of rules that govern the way words are combined to form sentences in the Japanese language. Japanese grammar is known for its complex system of particles, which are small words that are added to the end of nouns or verbs to indicate the grammatical function of the word in the sentence.
In this post, We will talk about JLPT N5 Grammar: だ・です
N5 Grammar: だ・です (da / desu)
In Japanese, だ (da) and です (desu) are both copulas, which are words that link the subject of a sentence to a predicate (the part of the sentence that contains the verb). Both だ (da) and です (desu) can be translated as “is” or “are” in English.
The main difference between the two is that だ (da) is more informal, while です (desu) is more formal.
For example, the sentence “私は学生です” (watashi wa gakusei desu) means “I am a student,”
while “私は学生だ” (watashi wa gakusei da) means the same thing but is more informal.
In general, です (desu) is used in more formal situations, such as in business or academic settings, or when speaking to someone you don’t know well.
だ (da) is used in more casual situations, such as with friends or family.
Here are sentences using the copulas だ (da) and です (desu) in Japanese:
- 私は学生です I am a student
- 彼は医者だ He is a doctor
- これは本です This is a book
- あの人は先生だ That person is a teacher
- 私たちは友達です We are friends
- 彼女はニューヨークに住んでいます She lives in New York
- このレストランはとてもおいしいです This restaurant is very delicious
- あの車は高いです That car is expensive
