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Like the English verb to be, desu (deh-soo) expresses the identity or state of people and things. Desu is used in a construction, X wa Y desu (X wah Y deh-soo; X is Y). Instead of saying "X is Y," the Japanese say "X Y is." The particle wa (wah) is the topic particle discussed earlier in this chapter. Desu follows either a noun or an adjective. For example, Ototo wa gakuse desu (oh-tohh-toh wah gah-koo-sehh deh-soo) means "My little brother is a student." Watashi wa genki desu (wah-tah-shee wah gehn-kee deh-soo) means "I am fine." Now you know why many Japanese sentences end in desu. Conjugation-wise, desu doesn't look like any other verb. The reason is that desu didn't start out as a stand-alone verb. It was the combination of the particle de, the verb aru (ah-roo; to exist), and the polite suffix -masu.
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Formal Form of Noun Plus Desu
| Japanese | Pronunciation | Translation |
| gakusei desu | gah-koo-sehh deh-soo | is a student |
| gakusei ja arimasen | gah-koo-sehh jah ah-ree-mah-sehn | isn't a student |
| gakusei deshita | gah-koo-sehh deh-shee-tah | was a student |
| gakusei ja arimasen deshita | gah-koo-sehh jah ah-ree-mah-sehn deh-shee-tah | wasn't a student |
Informal Form of Noun Plus Desu
| Japanese | Pronunciation | Translation |
| gakusei da | gah-koo-sehh dah | is a student |
| gakusei janai | gah-koo-sehh jah nah-ee | isn't a student |
| gakusei datta | gah-koo-sehh daht-tah | was a student |
| gakusei ja nakatta | gah-koo-sehh jah nah-kaht-tah | wasn't a student |
Ja (jah), which you see in the negative forms in the above Tables, is the contraction of dewa (deh-wah).Most Japanese people use ja in everyday conversation, but they use dewa occasionally. Be prepared to hear either one.
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