The Japanese language possesses a speech-level hierarchy that determines how one should address any given person based on various factors: relationship, age, role, respect, etc. The social dynamics that set a discourse also shape how said discourse is worded.
Typically, Japanese learners are first introduced to polite speech. This is because polite speech is what is used in most daily interactions; it helps establish courtesy between oneself and those around. As the Japanese learner, the most practical means of using Japanese early on will be centered around speaking to native speakers who are neither family nor close friends. Because the most important use of plain speech involves casual conversation, it is kept to the side until the learner can handle situations where polite speech is imperative.
However, the greatest flaw made by introducing polite speech first lies in the fact that it is not the base form of speech. Within each speech style you will find unique vocabulary, grammar, and endings. Grammatically, plain speech is what makes up the base form of the language. Contrary to its name, plain speech is not limited to conversation among peers or family. In fact, it is grammaticalized in all sorts of grammar points.
Plain speech is also inherently direct, which is why it is heavily used in academic writing. Most importantly, it is what’s used in one’s inner monologue. Plain speech also makes up the heart of most music and literature. The very essence of being able to think in Japanese requires oneself to truly understand the language from the ground up. That cannot be possible if the base is left ignored.
Politeness is an auxiliary element to conversation. Its purpose is not to provide information other than social implications. Strip it away and you get the actual message a sentence is trying to get across. Naturally, plain speech becomes the basis for conjugation, to which politeness is then added.Nouns ・Tera 寺 – Buddhist temple ・Jijitsu 事実 – Fact ・Kōmori コウモリ – Bat ・Tori 鳥 – Bird ・Gakusei 学生 – Student ・Kankokujin 韓国人 – Korean ・Shodō 書道 – Calligraphy ・Geijutsu 芸術 – Art ・Baka 馬鹿 – Idiot ・Neko 猫 – Cat ・Pātii パーティー – Party ・Kaishi 開始 – Start/beginning ・Dōbutsuen 動物園 – Zoo ・Hikiwake 引き分け – A tie ・Kawauso カワウソ – Otter ・Furansugo フランス語 – French ・Gakkō 学校 – School ・Seikai 正解 – Correct answer ・Wakusei 惑星 – Planet ・Meiōsei 冥王星 – Pluto ・Ocha お茶 – Tea ・Daihyō 代表 – Representative ・Gen’in 原因 – Cause ・Tabako 煙草・タバコ・たばこ – Tobacco ・Kodomo 子供 – Child(ren) ・Pen ペン – Pen | ・Kujira 鯨 – Whale ・Sakana 魚 – Fish ・Mogi shiken 模擬試験 – Mock exam ・Mizu 水 – Water ・Jikan 時間 – Time ・Ganjitsu 元日 – New Year’s Day ・Getsuyōbi 月曜日 – Monday ・Suiyōbi 水曜日 – Wednesday ・Kaishibi 開始日 – Start date ・Kinō 昨日 – Yesterday ・Ashita/asu 明日 – Tomorrow ・Yoru 夜 – Night Pronouns ・Watashi 私 – I ・Boku 僕 – I (male) ・Kare 彼 – He ・Kanojo 彼女 – She ・Kore これ – This ・Sore それ – That ・Sono その – That (adj.) ・Are あれ – That (over there) ・Koko ここ – Here ・Kimu キム – Kim ・Pikachū ピカチュウ – Pikachu Interjections ・A あ – Ah |
The first thing you must learn about Japanese sentence structure is its most basic form: the copular sentence. This is otherwise known as a “noun-predicate” sentence. In other words, “X is Y.” As trivial as it may sound, many far more complex sentences can be broken down to this very structure. First, let’s cover some basic terminology to better understand this topic.
The predicate of a sentence may take on different forms depending on what the statement is. In the context of this discussion, the copula is the predicate because we are learning how to simply say “X”—the subject—is “Y.” “Y” In this lesson, “Y” will be another noun, which is why “copular sentences” can alternatively be called “noun-predicate sentences.”
In English, the copula verb is “to be,” and it manifests itself in various forms such as “is,” “are,” “was,” “were,” etc. Their use in the English language is profoundly important as they form the basis of a great portion of the statements we make.
i. The dog is a German shepherd.
ii. My husband is a banker.
iii. Apples are fruits.
iv. It was a fossil.
v. A bat is not a bird.
Similarly, Japanese has its own copular verb, which in turn has its own various forms. Before discussing what this all looks like in Japanese, we must first understand what sort of basic conjugations exist in general. Using the English examples i.-v. as a basis, we see that tense and affirmation/negation are major components to a sentence. In English, there are three tenses: past, present, and future. As their names suggest, the past tense refers to an event/state which occurred in the past, the present tense refers to a current event/state, and the future tense refers to an event/state that hasn’t yet realized. Affirmation is positively stating that something is so. Negation is rejecting a premise.
Japanese only has two tenses: non-past and past tense. Unlike English, tense is not so straightforward, but the speaker’s intent is to always make the “time” factor of any statement obvious in context. The non-past tense encompasses both the concepts of the English present tense and future tense. The past tense corresponds to the past tense, but the form that expresses past tense covers a wider semantic scope than the English -ed.
Putting all this aside, it is now time to familiarize yourself with the base form of the copula in plain speech. This verb is da だ. As is the case for any base form of verb, it alone may stand for the non-past tense. As such, da だ can translate as “is,” “are,” or “will be.” Japanese lacks grammatical number, so there is no difference between “is” or “are.”
Because the verb of a Japanese sentence must always be at the end, we can’t simply insert da だ between “X” and “Y.” “X” remains at the start of the sentence, and the sentence ends in “Y da だ.” To complete the sentence, we will insert the particle wa は in between X and Y. In Lessons 11-12, we’ll learn about the sort of nuances that are expressed with this particle as well as what else can be between X and Y. For now, though, our goal will be to master the basic pattern “X wa は Y da だ.”
Non-past: Present
1. あれは寺だ。
Are wa tera da.
That (over there) is a Buddhist temple.
2. それは嘘だ。
Sore wa uso da.
That’s a lie.
3. これは事実だ。
Kore wa jijitsu da.
This is the truth.
4. 私は学生だ。
Watashi wa gakusei da.
I’m a student.
5. キムは韓国人だ。
Kimu wa kankokujin da.
Kim is Korean.
6. 書道は芸術だ。
Shodō wa geijutsu da.
Calligraphy is art.
7. 彼は馬鹿だ。
Kare wa baka da.
He’s an idiot.
Non-Past: Future
8. 元日は月曜日だ。
Ganjitsu wa getsuyōbi da.
New Year’s Day is/will be on Monday.
9. 開始日は明日だ。
Kaishibi wa ashita da.
The start date is/will be tomorrow.
10. パーティーは夜だ。
Pātii wa yoru da.
The party will be at night.
Omitting “X”
In Japanese, the subject is often dropped in the sentence. This tends to be the case, especially when the subject is “it.
11. 明日だ。
Ashita da.
It’s tomorrow.
It’ll be tomorrow.
12. あ、猫だ！
A, neko da.
Ah, (it’s) a cat!
13. 時間だ。
Jikan da.
(It’s) time.
Omitting Da だ
The copula da だ is also occasionally dropped altogether with a heightened intonation at the end to express various emotions such as anger or surprise. Dropping the copula may also be done in this fashion in English.
14. あ、ピカチュウ（だ）！
A, Pikachū (da)!
Ah, (it’s) Pikachu!
15. 開始（だ）！
Kaishi (da)!
Start!
Literally: This is the start!
16. 動物園（だ）！
Dōbutsuen (da)!
(It’s) a zoo!
17. 引き分け（だ）！
Hikiwake (da)!
(It’s a) draw!
18. あ、カワウソ（だ）！
A, kawauso (da)!
Ah, (it’s) an otter!
Past Tense: Datta だった
To express past tense with the copula da だ, you must conjugate to datta だった. As you learn more, you will see that -TA stands for -ed in anything that conjugates. Remember, Japanese makes no distinctions with grammatical number. This means that “was” and “were” are both expressed with datta だった.
Conjugation Recap
| Non-Past Tense | Past Tense |
| Da だ | Datta だった |
19. あれはフランス語だった。
Are wa Furansugo datta.
That was French.
20. ここは学校だった。
Koko wa gakkō datta.
This here was a school.
21. 正解はAだった。
Seikai wa ei datta.
The correct answer was A.
22. 昨日は水曜日だった。
Kinō wa suiyōbi datta.
Yesterday was Wednesday.
23. 彼は子供だった。
Kare wa kodomo datta.
He was a child.
Grammar Note: The past tense form need not always be interpreted literally. Ex. 23 implies that a male individual happened to be a child and is said as a remember to oneself and/or to others.
Negation: De wa nai ではない
Conjugating da だ into its plain non-past negative form is not as easy as the past tense form. First, you must change da だ to de で. Then, you add wa nai はない. In reality, it’s the nai ない that brings about the negation, which you’ll continue seeing in negative conjugations. Lastly, in conversation, “de wa では” typically contracts to “ja じゃ.”
Conjugation Recap
| Non-Past Tense | Past Tense | Non-Past Negative |
| Da だ | Datta だった | De wa nai ではない Ja nai じゃない |
Grammar Note: Saying de nai でない isn’t wrong, but it is typically only seen in literature.
Negative-Past: De wa nakatta ではなかった
The last conjugation we will study in this lesson is the plain negative-past form of the copula. To begin, we start with the negative form from above. We then add -TA to it. When you add -TA to the negative auxiliary -nai ない, you get nakatta なかった. Altogether, this gives you de wa nakatta ではなかった. Just like above, “de wa では” often contracts to “ja じゃ” in conversation, which results in ja nakatta じゃなかった.
Conjugation Recap
| Non-past | Past | Negative | Negative-Past |
| Da だ | Datta だった | De wa nai ではない Ja nai じゃない | De wa nakatta ではなかった Ja nakatta じゃなかった |