Conjugation › Japanese › Desu
Japanese · Verb Tables · Beginner
です (desu) means "to be" in Japanese. Simplest present: — です (desu). Below: all 3 tenses we teach, with examples.
Use the polite non-past form, made by dropping る from an Ichidan verb and adding ます (masu). It covers both present habitual actions and simple facts.
| — | です (desu) |
Replace ます with ました (mashita) to talk about a completed action.
| — | でした (deshita) |
Japanese has no separate future tense: the same non-past ます form is used for the future, made clear by a time word like 明日 (tomorrow).
| — | です (desu) |
| これは切符です。 Kore wa kippu desu. | This is a ticket. |
| 昨日は晴れでした。 Kinō wa hare deshita. | It was sunny yesterday. |
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