Jisho

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Ab6e3c96adb569badb4446772fcaeca2
2 Replies ・ Started by tiwa at 2025-04-09 01:36:06 UTC ・ Last reply by Sombrero1 at 2025-04-09 11:32:11 UTC
This is a discussion about 在す

Whats the difference?

I want to know the difference between imasu and desu? Im not sure when to use either

F99b5f53127086c4264095d5599894cf
Sombrero1 at 2025-04-09 10:17:17 UTC

The verb you've linked is something totally different, as indicated by the PoS(Part of speech) marker it belongs to an archaic verb class not used in modern day speech.

I believe the います you mean is the one used in e.g. 猫がいます(there is a cat), i.e. the existential verb used for animate beings. Also the one found in auxiliary constructions like 猫が寝ています (the car is sleeping (gerund)).

That います is not a single word but it is comprised of the stem of いる (い), the above mentioned existential verb, and the politeness marker ます which attaches to this certain form of a given verb.

です on the other hand is also a verb, but a special one. It's a copula or linking verb in english terms, i.e. it establishes the connection "A is B" as in "あの鞄は俺のです" (That bag(A) is(です) mine(俺の)). It is somewhat similar to "is" in english but not the same. です also serves as another politeness marker, unlike its informal or casual counterpart だ

TLDR
います is a normal verb with the politeness marker ます attached. And です is a copula, a word (and verb) that often comes at the end of a sentence, but not every sentence.

I'm going to link some further sites to read once I get home.

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