Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 2: 2/22

であるFormal or literary だ, Authoritative, Copula

Primarily used in literary work

Structure

Noun + である
［な］Adjective + である

Details

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    Formal

About である

である (or であります) is a construction in Japanese that is considered to be the formal equivalent of だ. This should not be confused with the polite speech word です, as である is simply a combination of the conjunctive form of だ, and the う - Verb, ある.

である may be used in any place that だ would usually be used, but is most likely to be found at the end of sentences/statements.

Fun Fact

Because the な that is used with な-Adjectives is simply the attributive form of だ, である may replace な or の when connecting one noun to another. The attributive form just means the form of a word that can be directly linked to a noun. As ある's attributive form is just ある, it does not need to be modifed at all.

However, although this is grammatically correct, it would sound quite stiff in many circumstances, and should be avoided in standard speech.

Caution

であります (as opposed to である) is very formal, and will almost exclusively be used by people within jobs that absolutely require this level of formality (politics, police force, military, etc). Due to this, its use within regular conversation will sound stiff, or perhaps even like the speaker is jokingly being over polite.

Related

Examples

--:--

    彼(かれ)はとてもハンサムである。

    He is very handsome.

    彼(かれ)はパイロットであった。

    He was a pilot.

    とても面白(おもしろ)いドラマである。

    It is a very interesting drama.

    題名(だいめい)：「吾輩(わがはい)は猫(ねこ)である。」

    Title: 'I am a cat.'

    夢(ゆめ)は海外(かいがい)で成功(せいこう)することである。

    My dream is to be successful overseas.

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である – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (8 in total)

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    English translation:
    be, is, will be

    Structure:
    Noun + である
    なAdj + である

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  • ezhmd

    ezhmd

    [Unlike だ/です - である can be used instead of な and の when modifying nouns in formal writing. (Look: example 6)]

    Regarding to the note above, which one is the example 6? There’s no numbering in the example tab.
    I counted from the top and ended up in this example --> この資料は極秘 である 。 , but I don’t see the modifying noun case in it.

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Ohh sorry, it seems that only I have numbered examples. And the first one is counted as 0.

    本来、ミノキシジルという 薬は 高血圧のための薬であるはず だったが、今では 脱毛を予防する薬になった。

    Originally, medicine called minoxidil was expected to be a medication for high blood pressure, but nowdays it has become a medication that prevents hair loss.

    Normally before はず you will see な after な adjective and の after a noun (or だった for both).
    This is why you will often see in later grammar points that である is also allowed next to な/の.

  • CrisH

    CrisH

    彼かれはパイロットであった。
    For this sentence it asks for the polite version, and it turns でありました into the above. Is that right? Is that the polite form of this copula?

  • Pushindawood

    Pushindawood

    @CrisH Hey! You should be getting the hint “[formal・literature・past]” for this particular sentence (not “polite”). Both であった and でありました are valid/acceptable answers here. Cheers!

  • CrisH

    CrisH

    I was fairly sure it asked for the polite version - I would double-check (is that what you’ve done?), but I don’t think we end-users can see the hints for each question anywhere unless we’re currently answering the questions. Is that right?
    I know I do sometimes mix up formal with polite, so that probably is it. I just wanted to confirm.

  • Pushindawood

    Pushindawood

    Yes, I made sure when you made your comment that the hint displayed was “[formal・literature・past]." Cheers!

  • steffuld

    steffuld

    で御座います should be a synonym too!

  • lunchbox1

    lunchbox1

    Random question, but can anyone explain the humor behind using polite forms as a joke in Japanese?

    The provided example:
    最後のプリンを食べたのは私であります。

    I guess I’m just trying to understand the context in which someone would say this, and why it would be considered a joke.

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