JLPT N5 grammar · The Absolute Basics
~です: meaning, usage and examples
~です means: to be/ it is (polite).
How to form it
＜Noun/な-adj＞ + です
Examples
私は先生です。
I'm a teacher.
これは本です。
This is a book.
田中さんは学生です。
Mr. Tanaka is a student.
今日は日曜日です。
Today is Sunday.
When to use it
Use です to make a polite statement linking a topic to its identity, quality, or category. It functions like the English 'to be' but always sits at the end of a clause.
Nuance
です marks polite register. Plain speech uses だ instead. Dropping both です and だ is the most casual form, common in close relationships.
Compare
でした is the past tense ('was'). じゃありません is the negative ('is not').
Tip: In written Japanese, です appears at sentence end, not mid-sentence.
More in The Absolute Basics
- ~じゃありません: to not be / it is not (polite)
- ~ですか: (indicates question: sentence end)
- はい/いいえ: yes/no
- そうです: (answer) it is/that's right
- こ/そ/あ/ど (demonstrative prefixes): こ: Something near to the speaker; そ: Something near to the listener; あ: Something far away from both speaker and listener; ど: Something the speaker doesn't see or know about.
- これ/それ/あれ/どれ: This, that, that one over there, which
- この/その/あの/どの [Noun]: this/that/that (over there)/which [Noun]
- ここ/そこ/あそこ/どこ: Here, there, over there, where
Frequently asked questions
What does ~です mean?
To be/ it is (polite). Example: 私は先生です。 (I'm a teacher.)
How do you form ~です?
＜Noun/な-adj＞ + です. In written Japanese, です appears at sentence end, not mid-sentence.