です

Is/ am/ are

The verb 'to be'.

ですdesu

ですdesu is a copula. That means it links subjects and predicates.

More simply...

It's usually translated to English as "to be".
In Japanese, the verb 'to be' is not conjugated. Therefore, です means ‘is, am and are’.

Because です is a verb, it comes at the end of the sentences!

Let’s look at some examples:

Hiragana Chart
かのじょRomaji: kanojoEnglish: SheがくせいRomaji: gakuseiEnglish: Studentです
She is a student.
かれらRomaji: kareraEnglish: TheyRomaji: waEnglish: Topic markerがくせいRomaji: gakuseiEnglish: Studentです
They are students.
Romaji: watashiClass: KanjiEnglish: IRomaji: ha (pronounced wa)Class: HiraganaEnglish: Topic markerせんせいRomaji: senseiClass: HiraganaEnglish: Teacheeです
I am a teacher.

せんせい’s notes:

As a native English speaker with very little knowledge of languages before studying Japanese, I always wondered what they meant by the verb ‘to be’.

As mentioned above, it’s generally seen as ‘is, am or are’ in English. However, a fun way of looking at it would be.. a pirate!

By that I mean, how a pirate might not say ‘is/am/are’, but instead use ‘be’.

"Arr, ye be a fine crew."

“She be a student.”

“He be a teacher.”