であるis, are (in formal writing)
The だ of formal writing: "is", "are". At the end of a sentence it is formal but not polite, so you read it and write it, and don't say it to anyone.
Water is a resource essential to life.
How to form it
Noun／な-adjective + である
It ends a sentence where だ would: 簡単だ becomes 簡単である.
Before a noun
Noun + である + noun／こと
医者である父: "my father, who is a doctor".
- Where you'll meet it
- Textbooks, encyclopedias, editorials, novels, and the essays in reading tests. Aloud, it ends a sentence only in speeches, lectures and narration.
- When you'll write it
- Reports and academic essays, where it is the expected style.
- How it sounds
- Firm and impersonal: a statement for the record.
In use
This region is relatively mild even in winter.
This building was formerly a municipal library.
This result is not a coincidence.
Formal, but not polite
Whales are mammals.
Plain. To a friend, or in your own notes.
Whales are mammals.
Polite. To a person, aloud or in writing.
Whales are mammals.
Written. To no one in particular.
English has one "are" for all three.
Sounds odd: はじめまして。
Nice to meet you. I am Canadian.
Face to face, it sounds like a document being read aloud. Say カナダ人です.
Only だ changes
A text in this style has である where everyday writing has だ, though plain だ still turns up beside it. Nothing else changes: verbs and い-adjectives stay in the plain form, and です and ます don't appear.
| Everyday plain | である style | |
|---|---|---|
| is | だ | である |
| was | だった | であった |
| isn't | じゃない | ではない |
| is, and… | で | であり |
| probably is | だろう | であろう |
| if it is | なら | であれば |
The purpose of this survey is to clarify user trends. There were two hundred respondents. The results are shown in Table 1. The most common answer was "price."
示す is a verb, so it is just plain.
Not said: この
(This method is expensive.)
An い-adjective never takes だ, so it can't take である. Just 高い.
Before a noun or こと
だ can't stand before a noun or こと. である can, so there it turns up in every style, polite speech included.
My father, who is a doctor, gets home late every day.
Please tell them that you are an international student.
Close neighbours
んです・のですN5
In this style it becomes のである: an explanation, or a conclusion driven home.
In other words, there was more than one cause.
確認し、報告したN3
The same kind of writing links clauses with a verb stem where speech has the て-form.
The research team gathered the materials and organized them by period.
Check yourself
1You hand your teacher an essay. Which do you say?
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which belongs in a report written in である style?
Choose an answer to see why.
3Which pair sticks to one style?
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
A famous one
Natsume Sōseki's title 吾輩は猫である ("I Am a Cat") is a joke in itself: a cat introducing itself in the grandest style there is.
More sentences
The purpose of this system is to promote interaction within the community.
At the time, the greatest challenge was a lack of funding.
The difference between the two is by no means small.
Today's agenda is future safety measures.