N4 トピック
L1: No Need to Be So Formal
No Need to Be So Formal
In this Topic, we are going to learn about two structures we have seen before but in a new way, だが and ですが. Both of these can be translated as ‘but’ or ‘however’, in a similar way to けど or が, except this time we will be using them to start sentences, not end them.
After looking at the grammar points individually, we will examine a few other patterns of the Japanese language in relation to formality.
このトピックに出てくる文法
だが・ですが
But, Still, However, Nevertheless
While だが (or ですが as a polite equivalent) are classified as their own words, they are actually just combinations of だ, or です, and が. だが is usually used as a formal way of saying 'but', or 'nevertheless'. Due to this, we can see that だ is being used to 'determine' that a statement is true, while が simply shows that there is other important information to follow.
In this way, だが is very similar to the expression 'that may be, but…' in English. だが may be used at the beginning of any phrase, or between sentences.
Caution
When using ですが, it will automatically mean that the rest of the sentence should also use polite speech.
To make だが sound a little bit softer, sometimes ね is added. However, this is not so common in modern-day Japanese, and is more limited to the older generation.
Fun Fact
Due to だが and ですが using が (the formal equivalent of けど), this phrase can sound quite stiff. Therefore, it is far more common to hear でも at the beginning of a sentence in casual speech.
詳細
Just like けど, だが and ですが can either be used within a sentence to separate clauses, or at the beginning of a new sentence to indicate a contrastive statement. There are many such grammar patterns in Japanese, but how do we recognize formality and politeness?
In N5 Topics, we discussed how we can separate formality and politeness within Japanese. Often they overlap, but sometimes they don’t. For example, です and ます indicate politness, but vocabulary can indicate a familiar tone even when using polite language. Formality often comes down to word choice, with が ‘but’ being one example of a word that is very often used in formal speech. With this in mind, let’s consider how we can tell how polite and/or formal a sentence is.
Primarily, Japanese exhibits politeness or formality in these parts of a sentence:
The beginning of a sentence - This is usually done via conjunctions.
Between clauses - Again, this is frequently achieved with conjunctions.
Verb conjugations - Like ます, there are many other ways that verbs can be conjugated in order to show politeness.
Particles - Many particles are far more likely to appear in polite sentences than in casual ones.
Let’s look at a few examples of the ones we have seen so far.
As we go along and continue to learn more and more, you will notice that all grammar points are described as formal, standard, polite, and casual. Let’s keep these in mind, as it will help us recognize what type of sentence we are reading, and who is talking to who!