だ To be, Is
だ is the casual form of である, it's similar to です, it means "To be, Is"
だ is an auxiliary verb in Japanese that acts as an expression of determination, or strong assertion. It simply states that something ‘is’ a certain way. It is a casual equivalent of です (another auxiliary verb).
だ should always be attached to the end of nouns, or words that can behave like nouns, such as な-Adjectives.
Structure 1: Noun + だ
Examples:
It is an ice cream.
アイスクリームだ。
It is a temple.
お寺だ。
寺=tera
Structure 2: ［な］Adjective + だ
Examples:
It is dangerous.
危険だ。
危険=kiken
It is important.
大切だ。(な-Adj + だ)
大切=daisetsu
です To be, Is
です means "To be, Is"
Similarly to だ, です is an auxiliary verb that is an expression of determination or assertion. It states that something ‘is’ a certain way. です is considered to be the polite variation of だ.
です connects to words in exactly the same way as だ, but is also regularly seen attached to the end of い-Adjectives.
Structure 1: Noun + だ
Examples:
I am a college student.
大学生です。
大学生=daigakusei
It is a store.
店です。
店=mise
Structure 2: Adjective + です
Example:
It is beautiful.
綺麗です。
綺麗=kirei
It is funny.
面白いです。
面白い=omoshiroi
Caution:
Although です is regularly attached to the end of い-Adjectives, some may actually consider this incorrect Japanese, and it should not be used in formal writing. In daily ‘spoken’ language/texting, however, it is completely normal.
It is hot.
暑いです。
暑い=atsui
は As for... (highlights sentence topic)
は (pronounced わ) is often considered to be one of the most difficult particles to master in Japanese, alongside が. は marks the topic of the sentence, and describes the whole sentence broadly. However, が primarily marks single actions or statements.
は is usually said to highlight what comes after it, while が highlights what comes before it.
Example:
I dislike tests.
テストは嫌いです。
Tanaka-san is a teacher.
田中さんは先生です。
田中=tanaka 先生₌sensei
が Subject marking particle, Identification particle
が is considered to be the subject marker in Japanese. This means that it marks someone or something that is performing an action, or it identifies someone or something as having a specific feature (this is usually a feature that the listener is not aware of).
が is usually said to highlight what comes before it, while は highlights what comes after it.
Structure: Subject + が
Example:
I like coffee.
コーヒーが好きです。
好き=suki
も Also, Too, As well, Even, Either, Neither
も can mean ‘too/also’, or ‘even’, or ‘neither/either’, depending on if the sentence is affirmative or negative. Multiple meanings like this are quite common for Japanese particles, as there is no need to use different words simply to agree with other statements in the sentence (unlike English).