Structure
Verb + ん(1) + だ
[い]Adjective + ん(1) + だ
[な]Adjective + な + ん(1) + だ
Noun + な + ん(1) + だ
(1) の
Details
Expression
Auxiliary Verb
Standard
About ~んです・のです
のです is a construction with several different forms, each meaning roughly the same thing. This expression behaves similarly to だ and です by themselves (asserting that something is true). However, the addition of の strengthens the relationship being highlighted. Due to this, it will come across a bit like 'it is a fact that (A)' in English.
In these sentences, we can think of the ん, or の as simply adding emphasis to the statement. Due to の adding emphasis, this expression will be heard very frequently in explanations.
Caution
There is no real difference between ん and の. Only の is considered 'correct Japanese', but ん evolved to make things easier to say. ん is the most common form in spoken Japanese, and the use of の could be considered a bit formal, or 'stiff'.
While both the だ and です forms are equally as natural, only the です form will be used if adding か to the end ~んですか. This construction shows that the speaker is looking for an explanation about something.
Related
Examples
--:--
いいんですか。
Is it good?
赤がいいんですか。
Is red good?
いいのですか。
Is it good?
これがいいのですか。
Is this good?
川があるんです。
There is a river.
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~んです/~のです- Japanese Grammar
Japanization
Explanations and expectations
Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese
Explanatory のだ (んだ)
Wasabi
When and how to use ん
Maggie Sensei
Offline
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 325
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 322
Genki I
Page 230
Genki I 2nd Edition
Page 270
Marugoto Elementary 1 (A2) Rikai
Page 154
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 73
みんなの日本語 II
Page 12 [CH 26]
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~んです・のです – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (40 in total)
PapaYeti
Thanks!
AshleyAutumn
So I’m a bit confused about one of the review questions for this topic. It has the word "覚える” - “to remember” and I always get it wrong because I’m used to it as a verb but in this case it’s conjugating with ”です” like a noun or adjective. Is this because it’s more like a state of being for the speaker than an active action? Or is the there something special about "ん・の” connector?
Pablunpro
Hi! 初めまして!
I guess you are referring to the example sentence ‘覚えるんです’. If you look at it closely, you will see that 覚える still works as a verb and that んです (the subject of this grammar point) is attached to the verb to give emphasis to the statement ‘覚える’ (I will remember), adding the nuance ‘it is a fact that I will remember’ or ‘The thing is that I will remember’.
In fact, this is the exact same usage as the last example, ‘忘れるのです’ (‘it is a fact that I will forget’).
HTH!
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