N5 · The basic sentence
X は Y です
saying what something is
The topic, then は, then what it is, then です.
A Japanese sentence that says what something is has three parts: a topic, the particle は (written は, pronounced wa), and what the topic is, followed by です. 私は学生です is "I am a student"; 田中さんは先生です is "Mr Tanaka is a teacher".
です is not quite the English verb "to be". It is a polite ending that turns a noun into a statement, and it does not change for person or number: "I am", "you are" and "they are" are all です. Its plain counterpart, used among friends, is だ. There are no articles and no plural endings either: 学生 is "a student", "the student" or "students", and the situation decides.
は marks the topic — roughly "as for X" — and once the topic is clear it is normally left out. Introducing yourself, you say スミスです, not 私はスミスです in every sentence. English speakers tend to start each sentence with 私は, because English needs a subject; in Japanese it sounds heavy and self-centred. For the same reason "you" is rarely said: you use the person's name with さん.
The order is fixed at the end and free at the front: です comes last, and everything before it can grow. 田中さんは東京の大学の先生です is still the same sentence, with more information in the middle. And さん honours another person; it never goes after your own name.
The form
| I am a student. | 私は学生です。 |
| Mr Tanaka is a teacher. | 田中さんは先生です。 |
| This is my umbrella. | これは私の傘です。 |
| Today is Monday. | 今日は月曜日です。 |
| Is this a book? | これは本ですか。 |
| (I) am a student — the topic left out | 学生です。 |
| plain style, among friends | 学生だ。 |
The rules one by one
The topic comes first and is marked with は, pronounced wa.
田中さんは医者です。Mr Tanaka is a doctor.
です goes at the very end and does not change for I, you, he or they.
私たちは友達です。We are friends.
Once the topic is clear, it is usually left out.
はじめまして。スミスです。How do you do. I am Smith.
さん goes after other people's names, never after your own.
こちらは山本さんです。This is Ms Yamamoto.
There is no "a" or "the" and no plural ending; the situation decides.
猫は動物です。Cats are animals.
A closer look
Is です the verb "to be"?
Not quite, and the difference shows up early. X は Y です means "as for X, it is Y", and the topic need not be the thing that "is" Y. In a café, when everybody is ordering, 私はコーヒーです means "I will have coffee", not "I am a coffee". The topic sets the subject of conversation; です supplies the answer.
It also does not cover everything English does with "to be". Saying where something is uses a separate verb, ある or いる, and i-adjectives take です only for politeness. So it pays to think of です as "the polite way to end a sentence about what something is", and to learn the other jobs of "to be" where they come.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
-
the topic is not the thing that "is" Y
X は Y です still works and means "as for X, it is Y" — the context fills in the rest.
私はコーヒーです。I will have coffee.
は marks what the sentence is about, not a subject in the English sense, so the sentence only has to make sense as an answer about the topic.
How to spot it
- は
- です
- だ
- さん
Example sentences
私は会社員です。I am an office worker.
山田さんはエンジニアです。Mr Yamada is an engineer.
今日は金曜日です。Today is Friday.
父は銀行員です。My father works in a bank.
ここは図書館です。This is the library.
私の趣味は料理です。My hobby is cooking.
8 more example sentences
マリアさんはブラジル人です。Maria is Brazilian.
兄は大学生です。My older brother is a university student.
誕生日は五月です。My birthday is in May.
東京は日本の首都です。Tokyo is the capital of Japan.
専門は経済です。My subject is economics.
駅はあそこです。The station is over there.
私は一年生です。I am a first-year student.
山本さんの奥さんは看護師です。Mr Yamamoto's wife is a nurse.
Worth knowing (2)
-
No word for "it"
English needs "it" to fill the subject slot. Japanese simply leaves the slot empty: asked what something is, you answer with the noun and です, and nothing else.
「これは何ですか。」「辞書です。」"What is this?" "It is a dictionary."
-
The name instead of "you"
Japanese has a word for "you", あなた, but using it to someone you know sounds distant or even rude. The ordinary way to say "you" is the person's name with さん, or a title such as 先生, or nothing at all.
田中さんは学生ですか。Are you a student, Mr Tanaka?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
さん is a mark of respect for somebody else, like "Mr" or "Ms" but used far more widely. Putting it after your own name sounds as if you were honouring yourself. Your own name stands bare; everybody else gets さん.
Topic, は, what it is, です — and leave the topic out once everybody knows it.
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.