I don’t speak a lick of Japanese but I found this online:
です is used to mark words as polite if they cannot conjugate to show politeness themselves… です is one of the most fundamental words in the Japanese language. It’s super useful — it can be attached to just one other word to form some basic sentences. It’s also quite safe to use since it’s part of the polite form, so you’re unlikely to offend someone with this word… です can be tacked onto the end of a noun, な-adjective, or い-adjective to form a polite, positive, present tense sentence (say that ten times fast 😉). In other words, it allows us to talk about something that is true, and relevant to the present moment and/or the future—all in a polite way of course.
While the other answer is correct and more comprehensive, in this phrase the particles are purely used to make the phrase “polite”. Take them out and the phrase is semantically correct and has the exact same meaning, but it can now only be used in an informal settings (between friends, family, …)
Disclaimer: I have only basic knowledge of Japanese, and my Japanese teacher would enthusiastically confirm.
It bothers me that “desu” (the last two characters) aren’t pointing at the period at the end of the sentence.
I lived in Japan for 3 years and took an elementary Japanese college course from an old Japanese lady while I was there. She always described “desu” as an audible period mark. Formally declaring the end of a sentence. Simply adding it to the end of a word can turn it into a full and complete sentence.
As other comments mentioned, removing it makes the sentence less formal, which is fine with friends and family. There are several ways to speak Japanese depending on who you’re talking to. Whether it’s a friend, a lover, your boss, a stranger… there are several variations of politeness/formality to the language, which makes it very difficult to learn how to speak properly.
“Desu” is pronounced “dess” (don’t say the “U”) in traditional dialects. Or if you’re from Southern Japan, their “southern drawl” includes pronouncing every single character, so you’d pronounce it “de-soo.”
a copula is a word or phrase that links the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, such as the word is in the sentence “The sky is blue” or the phrase was not being in the sentence “It was not being cooperative.”
That’s a tricky one. I guess it sort of means “it is that” if you take it super literally? “It is that I want to try on the suit.” But in practice, it just adds a level of politeness and formality to the sentence.
You will hear a lot of masu (ます) and desu (です) tossed in there all over the place when people are trying to be courteous.
What are the last two characters?
I don’t speak a lick of Japanese but I found this online:
source: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese-grammar/desu/
So it’s bitte for Japanese?
Ja
While the other answer is correct and more comprehensive, in this phrase the particles are purely used to make the phrase “polite”. Take them out and the phrase is semantically correct and has the exact same meaning, but it can now only be used in an informal settings (between friends, family, …)
Disclaimer: I have only basic knowledge of Japanese, and my Japanese teacher would enthusiastically confirm.
It bothers me that “desu” (the last two characters) aren’t pointing at the period at the end of the sentence.
I lived in Japan for 3 years and took an elementary Japanese college course from an old Japanese lady while I was there. She always described “desu” as an audible period mark. Formally declaring the end of a sentence. Simply adding it to the end of a word can turn it into a full and complete sentence.
As other comments mentioned, removing it makes the sentence less formal, which is fine with friends and family. There are several ways to speak Japanese depending on who you’re talking to. Whether it’s a friend, a lover, your boss, a stranger… there are several variations of politeness/formality to the language, which makes it very difficult to learn how to speak properly.
“Desu” is pronounced “dess” (don’t say the “U”) in traditional dialects. Or if you’re from Southern Japan, their “southern drawl” includes pronouncing every single character, so you’d pronounce it “de-soo.”
Desu sort of means “it is”, but it is a sentence ending formality.
It’s the Japanese copula
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copula_(linguistics)#Japanese
That’s a tricky one. I guess it sort of means “it is that” if you take it super literally? “It is that I want to try on the suit.” But in practice, it just adds a level of politeness and formality to the sentence.
You will hear a lot of masu (ます) and desu (です) tossed in there all over the place when people are trying to be courteous.