KanjiBreakdown

Is/Am/Are - The だda Copula

Probably the most common grammar in the Japanese language. A Copula links a subject with another concept to describe it. In English this is done with a verb (to be) in the form of "is", "am", or "are".

In Japanese, the copula is expressed by following an idea with だda, which links that idea with the subject (often an implied subject).

りんごringo だda。 (it) is (an) apple(s)

学がく生せいgakusei だda。 (I/we/they) am/are (a) student(s)

Despite how bare bones these look compared to the English equivalents, these are indeed full Japanese sentences; the simplest sentences that the grammar allows. More information is left out compared to English, but is usually inferred from context.

Note

Japanese doesn't have articles like 'the', 'a' or 'an'.

The subject (it/I/we/they) is left implied here. Japanese doesn't always require explicit subject markers like english does. It relies a lot more on context.

Apple and student can be singular or plural depending on context, there is no distinction in Japanese.

だ can even be dropped in very casual settings.

Glossary

Copulasだda/ですdesu Links a subject with another concept to describe it. Functions like "to be" to declare what something is.

Particles Markers placed after a word to define its grammatical role.

Topicはwa The overarching context. Marked by はwa (Pronounced wa). Establishes a new topic for consideration.

Subjectがga The specific actor of the verb. Marked by がga. Identifies "who" or "what" specifically.

Objectをo The target of an action. Marked by をo (Pronounced o). Used with transitive verbs that act on the object.

Verb Action or state words that always appear at the end of a Japanese sentence.

Sentence Order (Topic/Subject/Object - Verb). Particles allow for flexible order, but the verb is usually at the end.

るru-verbs一いち段だんichidan Verbs usually ending in ~iru or ~eru that follow a consistent conjugation pattern by dropping るru.

うu-verbs五ご段だんgodan The majority of verbs. They end in various "~u" sounds (く,ぐ,む,ぶ, etc.) and conjugate differently across five rows depending on the verb ending (hence 五ごgo dan). Usually not ending in ~iru or ~eru.

いi-adjective Adjectives ending in い that act like verbs and can conjugate similarly. They can act as their own copula when ending a sentence.

なna-adjective Noun-like adjectives that require placing な at the end to modify a noun.

Irregular Verbs来くるkuru・するsuru The only two truly irregular verbs in Japanese: "to come" and "to do". They conjugate irregularly, and need to be memorized.

Politenessですdesu/ますmasu Japanese uses multiple politeness levels depending on the social context. ですdesu/ますmasu is the standard polite level used with strangers and acquaintances, also known as 丁てい寧ねい語ごteineigo.

ますmasu Stem The base form of a verb used to attach ますmasu and various other grammatical suffixes. Formed by removing the るru from るru-verbs, or changing うu-verb's ~u endings to their ~i ending equivalents.