Translation guide
The indicative mood is the default way to state facts, opinions, or ask questions in Japanese. It is not marked by a special verb form; instead, the plain or polite ending of a sentence itself indicates the indicative mood.
The learner wants to express a straightforward statement or belief, equivalent to the English indicative mood.
今日は暑い。
It's hot today.
Verbs in their dictionary form or polite form directly express indicative statements. No additional mood marker is needed.
毎日運動する。
I exercise every day.
彼は日本語を話します。
He speaks Japanese.
I-adjectives in their plain form directly express indicative statements. Add です for politeness.
このケーキはおいしい。
This cake is delicious.
このケーキはおいしいです。
This cake is delicious. (polite)
The learner wants to ask a factual question, which is also part of the indicative mood.
Adding か to the end of a statement turns it into a question. In casual speech, か is often omitted and replaced by rising intonation, or の is used.
In casual speech, の is often used instead of か to ask questions, especially when seeking explanation.
何してるの？
What are you doing?
The learner wants to understand how the indicative differs from other moods like imperative or conditional.
Japanese has distinct forms for commands (imperative), suggestions (volitional), and conditions (conditional). The indicative is the unmarked form used for simple statements.
食べる (indicative) vs. 食べろ (imperative)
eat (indicative) vs. eat! (command)
行く (indicative) vs. 行こう (volitional)
go (indicative) vs. let's go (volitional)
Unlike some languages, Japanese does not have a distinct indicative mood marker. The plain or polite form of verbs, adjectives, and nouns inherently expresses the indicative mood. Focus on learning the basic sentence endings.
彼は来る。
He comes/will come.
While だ is the indicative copula in casual speech, it is often dropped or replaced by です in polite contexts. Using だ in polite speech can sound abrupt.
これは本です。 (polite) vs. これは本だ。 (casual)
This is a book.