Japanese is interesting and challenging.the intricacies of hieroglyphs, strange rules, incomprehensible adverbs and inappropriate prefixes. But one has only to begin to disassemble its foundations, as it becomes clear that the one without the other is nowhere. And you have to learn everything in order, paying attention to even the smallest detail. In Japanese, most of the declarative sentences end with the prefix "desu". What does this word mean and why is it used so often? Let's try to figure it out.
Verb
So what does “desu” mean in Japanese?In literal translation, this word means "to be." It is quite reasonable, the question may arise: why does the word “desu” appear in almost all sentences? The fact is that in Japanese, verbs do not have forms and numbers. Most of them are placed at the end of a sentence and translated by the single word “desu” - “to be.”
In order to be clear, we will give a small example.
あ れ わ 新 幹線 で す。 (Are wa shinkansen desu) - If you translate this phrase verbatim, you get something like: "That is, the train." In colloquial Japanese, it will be perceived as: "This is a train."
In essence, “desu” means nothing.This prefix gives the verb a neutral polite hue. And since in the mentality of the Japanese politeness is considered to be the main link, this style of speech is most often found in everyday life.
Question
What “desu” means is now a little clear.However, this verb has a few more usage options. Those who teach Japanese, and those who have just begun to master the basics, may notice that after the “desu” there are often particles. These particles are called “gobi” and in the sentence they are responsible for the emotional background.
One of the most popular particles "ka". If it stands after the “desu”, the sentence is interrogative. For clarity, we give a few examples:
- あ れ わ 新 幹線 で す か? (Are wa shinkansen desu ka?) - In the first example, this phrase was affirmative, but after adding the particle “ka” turned into an interrogative sentence: “Is this a train?”.
- ど な た で す か? (Donata desu ka?) - Another example in the literal translation sounds like: "Who is there?". This interrogative pronoun, which is used when it comes to a person, is perceived as the question: “Who is this?”. This expression is often used in a polite, formal conversation. For less formal cases, it is customary to say: だ れ で す か? (Dare desu ka?). The essence of the question remains the same, only the degree of politeness is changing.
Thus, "desu" (which means "to be") canTo appear not only in the narrative, but also in interrogative sentences. But there are two more particles "gobi", which can be found in tandem with "desu".
"Yo" and "ne"
Studying materials on the Japanese language for beginners, you can often find a combination of "desu ne". It often appears in phrases such as:
- Wa 、 畳 の 部屋 で で す Wa (Wa, tatami no heya desu ne.) - Translated sentence sounds quite simple: "This is a room with tatami." But you should pay attention to the prefix "va" at the beginning of the sentence, which means delight or admiration from what you see. In turn, the combination of “desu ne” means that the person who admires the tatami room is not sure that the interlocutor shares his emotions.
Expressions of this kind are often found whenJapanese conversation with visitors. Visitors to everything in Japan seems like a novelty, but for the indigenous people, this is a regular routine. It also works in the opposite direction: if the Japanese come to a foreign country and speak with someone in their native language, you can often meet the combination of “desu ne”.
Another particle that can be found after“Desu” (which means “to be”) reads like “yo”. Accordingly, it turns out "desu yo". This tandem is used in conversation when the interlocutor wants to share new information about something. If to compare with the Russian language, the combination of "desu yo" is used in the manner of the word "by the way." That is, it is used to tell information about which the speaker knows, but does not know the interlocutor. For example, the speaker may say that this restaurant is cozy and there is delicious cooking. And if the interlocutor hears about this institution for the first time, at the end of the sentence it is necessary to put the phrase “desu yo”.
And not "desu" is at all
Those who teach Japanese should know that “desu”(which means “to be”) is never pronounced completely. Due to the reduction of vowels, the word “des” will be obtained at the exit. That is, when writing a word, it will consist of two syllables “de” (で) and “su” (す), but it will be read as “des”.
Due to the fact that people who popularize Eastern culture do not always have enough knowledge, many Internet users are mistaken about the correct pronunciation.
To be or not to be
So, at this stage, the “desu” has already been learned, which means “to be.” But what to do when you need to "not to be." “To be or not to be” - the words of Shakespeare approach the consideration of this issue as it is most welcome.
The word “desu” has a negative form “de va arimasin”, which literally means “is not”. For example:
- さ ん は 学生 で で は あ り ま ま。。 (Yamada-san wa gakusei de waarimasen.) - With a full literal translation it will turn out: “Yamada-san is not a student”. That is, the listener receives information that Yamada-san is not a university student.
The word "desu" has a special popularity.It can be found in the original anime or manga, heard in the dubber dubbing or memorized after watching some videos. But whatever value they attach to the word “desu” is nothing more than a particle of speech. A kind of analogue point at the end of a sentence. And only thanks to this analogue, it is much easier to reach an understanding in a conversation, because a “desu” can “be” or “not be”, ask, express emotions and provide additional information.
