Page 181 - Easy Japanese - Learn to Speak Japanese Quickly! (TUTTLE)

Takakute oishi’i desu. It’s expensive and delicious.

For a noun predicate, add de (the te-form of desu/da) to the noun.
rāmen da → rāmen de It’s ramen and…

Hirugohan wa rāmen de bangohan wa sushi desu.
(We’ll have) ramen for lunch and sushi for dinner.

For a verb, switch the vowel a of the Informal Past form to e (ta→te; da→de).
U-verb: nomu→ nonda→ nonde drinking and…

Ru-Verb: taberu→ tabeta→ tabete eating and…
Tabete, kaerimasu. I’ll eat and go home.

When the te-forms is combined with i’i desu “it’s okay”, the entire sentence
typically means “it’s fine if/given that…” or “It’s good that …”
Kaette i’i desu. It’s okay if you go home.

Rāmen de i’i desu. Ramen is fine (although it may
not be my first choice.)

Kirei de i’i desu nē. It’s nice and beautiful. (I’m
happy with it.)
Yasukute yokatta desu. I’m happy that it turned out to
be cheap.

Note the difference in meaning between the following.
Densha ga i’i desu. Train is good. (I’d like to take a
train.)

Densha de i’i desu. I’m fine with (taking) a train.

CULTURAL NOTE Apology First
In Japan causing trouble or inconvenience (meiwaku 迷惑) to others (Hito ni

meiwaku o kakeru 人に迷惑をかける) is considered irresponsible and should
be avoided as much as possible. Japanese children are repeatedly taught this
from an early age at home and at school. Signs in many public places remind
people of this standard of behavior. Naturally, an apology is expected for not

meeting this norm in all types of social interactions in Japan. This concept is
closely related to the perception of humility as a virtue.
An apology is commonly expected in Japan in the following situations: 1) at