Or です in Hiragana. Desu is the polite form of the copula in Japanese linguistics. This translates out to "to be" or "is". It's usually used at the end of a sentence as the predicate, or is used to make a sentence
sound more polite. The plain/
casual form for this is "da", or だ. Sentences that use the copula usually take on the form of "A is B"
type sentences, although it can take on other moods depending on the grammatical particles that accompany it.
Unfortunately, the copula has been bastardized and misused too often by
people who don't know anything about Japanese. If you want to sound like a complete fucktard, use desu at the end of your sentences while speaking in
English, or use it excessively at the end of every sentence, even when the sentence doesn't require it to be used.
E.g., 1 - Stative sense
僕は心理言語学の大学院生です/だ - Boku wa shinrigengogaku no daigakuinsei desu/da - I am a graduate student in psycholinguistics.
E.g., 2 - Confirmatory sense
この映画は素晴らしいですね？- Kono eiga wa subarashii desu ne? - This movie is great, huh/don't you think?
E.g., 3 - Interrogative sense
Me: 日本語を学んでいる - Nihongo
wo manande iru - I am learning
Japanese.
ネイティブ日本語話者 (Native
Japanese speaker): 本当に？いつから学び始めたんですか？Hontou ni? Itsukara manabi hajimeta n desu ka? - Really? When did you start learning?
Me: えっと、約7ヶ月間前に始めたばかりです/だ ただ初心者です/だ - Etto, yaku nanakagetsu-kan mae ni hajimeta bakari desu/da. Tada shoshinsha desu/da - Well, I just started about 7 months ago. I'm just a beginner.
ネイティブ日本語話者: そうか？じゃ、頑張れ！- Sou ka? Ja, ganbare! - Is that so? Well, do your best!
E.g., 4 Improper use
Stupid person who doesn't actually know or isn't learning Japanese: OMG! Isn't that
cat so kawaii desu^_^?
Me: 糞食らえ！英語で話せば、「Kawaii desu」って言うな 愚かな野郎 - Kusokurae! eigo de hanaseba, "kawaii desu" tte iu
na. Orokana yarou - Eat shit! If you speak in
English, do not say "kawaii desu", you stupid fucktard!
Stupid person: Nani? Speak
English!
Me: てめえにそんな事言われたくない！- Temee ni sonna koto iwaretakunai! - Look who's
talking, dickhead!
