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〜んです explanatory (んだ / のだ): Meaning & Examples

n desu · JLPT N5

JLPT N526 textsStudy card

〜んです means “explanatory (んだ / のだ)”. It is a JLPT N5 pattern: below are its construction, the nuances that trip learners up, and the sentences where real Japanese writers use it.

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一枚いちまいStudy card

A free one-page study card for 〜んです (explanatory (んだ / のだ)), JLPT N5: what it means, how it attaches, 3 example sentences with furigana, and the nuances that trip learners up. Read it right here, or take the PDF or PNG with you. We never ask for an email for this card.

The 〜んです study card: one A4 page holding the pattern, its JLPT N5 meaning, the construction rules, 3 example sentences with furigana, and the nuance notes.
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All 8 JLPT N5 grammar cards

How 〜んです works

It is the spoken contraction of 〜のです (plain forms 〜のだ / 〜んだ), attached to plain-form verbs and い-adjectives, while nouns and な-adjectives take なんです. Speakers use it to explain themselves ("the thing is…"), and in questions 〜んですか asks the listener for an explanation of something noticed.

構文こうぶんConstruction

  • Verb / い-adjective (plain form) + んです

    頭が痛いんです。 — The thing is, I have a headache.

  • Noun / な-adjective + なんです

    彼は留学生なんです。 — (You see,) he’s an exchange student.

  • Question: plain form + んですか

    どうして泣いているんですか。 — Why are you crying?

  • Casual 〜んだ / written 〜のだ・〜のです

    明日、試験があるんだ。 — I’ve got an exam tomorrow, you see.

例文れいぶんIn a sentence

Sorry — the thing is, I got a little lost.
How come your Japanese is so good?
Actually, I’m moving to Osaka next month.

注意点ちゅういてんNuances

  • Using it with nothing to explain — 私はアメリカ人なんです as a cold self-introduction — sounds like you are justifying yourself.
  • In questions, 〜んですか signals "I noticed something; tell me the story": どうしたんですか to a friend with a bandage. A bare 〜ますか question is neutral.
  • Register ladder: 〜のです (formal writing) → 〜んです (polite speech) → 〜んだ (casual). In soft casual speech the sentence can end in just の: どうしたの?
  • After nouns and な-adjectives you need な: 学生なんです, 便利なんです — never ×学生んです.
How 〜んです differs from similar patterns
  • ので — ので gives a reason mid-sentence, connecting clause A to clause B ("because A, B"). んです wraps a whole statement in an explanatory tone and lets context supply what is being explained.
  • 〜から — から states a cause explicitly and can sound assertive; 電車でんしゃが止とまったんです explains your lateness more softly than the bare 電車でんしゃが止とまったから.

練習れんしゅうYour Turn

Tip

Imagine you arrive twenty minutes late to meet a friend. Apologize and explain what happened using 〜んです, then ask them a question with 〜んですか.

〜んです (explanatory (んだ / のだ)) in real sentences

Each one is quoted from a published Japanese text in this library and links to the story it came from. Some use older spellings, or break off where the sentence carried on. They are transcribed exactly as their authors wrote them.

— from Excellent English and American Jokes (N3)

— from The Mouse's Mistake (N4)

— from The Festival (N4)

— from The Lame Donkey (N3)

Appears in 26 of 367 texts in our library.

蔵書ぞうしょThe texts

26 texts in the library use 〜んです

Free to read in full. Furigana over every kanji, a dictionary on any word you tap, and an English breakdown of each sentence.

ひかる cover Read ひかる Shining 新美 南吉 3 min read · Short Story ねずみさんの失敗 cover Read ねずみさんの失敗 The Mouse's Mistake 村山 籌子 11 min read · Short Story オマツリ cover Read オマツリ The Festival 村山 籌子 8 min read · Short Story 三匹　の　こぐまさん cover Read 三匹　の　こぐまさん Three Little Bear Cubs 村山 籌子 3 min read · Short Story ガチヨウノ　タンジヨウビ cover Read ガチヨウノ　タンジヨウビ Goose's Birthday 新美 南吉 9 min read · Short Story 石塀幽霊 cover Read 石塀幽霊 The Ghost of the Stone Wall 大阪 圭吉 96 min read · Short Story 他人の夏 cover Read 他人の夏 The Summer of Others 山川 方夫 23 min read · Short Story 英米笑話秀逸 cover Read 英米笑話秀逸 Excellent English and American Jokes 佐々木 邦 18 min read · Short Story 悪魔 cover Read 悪魔 The Devil 芥川 竜之介 12 min read · Short Story マロニエの花 cover Read マロニエの花 Horse Chestnut Flowers 岡本 かの子 5 min read · Short Story みみず先生の歌 cover Read みみず先生の歌 The Earthworm Teacher's Song 村山 籌子 12 min read · Short Story 終電車に乗る妖婆 cover Read 終電車に乗る妖婆 The Hag on the Last Train 田中 貢太郎 4 min read · Short Story
Show the other 14 texts
天国へいった仕立屋さん cover Read 天国へいった仕立屋さん The Tailor Who Went to Heaven グリム ヤーコプ・ルートヴィッヒ・カール 15 min read · Short Story 似たひと cover Read 似たひと The Look-Alike 宮本 百合子 3 min read · Article 赤い蝋燭 cover Read 赤い蝋燭 Red Candle 新美 南吉 11 min read · Short Story おりこうハンス cover Read おりこうハンス Clever Hans グリム ヤーコプ・ルートヴィッヒ・カール 24 min read · Short Story 火星の芝居 cover Read 火星の芝居 The Theater on Mars 石川 啄木 11 min read · Short Story 蘭丸の絵 cover Read 蘭丸の絵 Ranmaru's Picture 牧野 信一 21 min read · Short Story ナガレボシ cover Read ナガレボシ The Shooting Star 新美 南吉 6 min read · Short Story 驢馬の　びっこ cover Read 驢馬の　びっこ The Lame Donkey 新美 南吉 9 min read · Short Story 壊れたバリコン cover Read 壊れたバリコン The Broken Variable Capacitor 海野 十三 79 min read · Short Story カメサン　ノ　サウダン cover Read カメサン　ノ　サウダン Turtle's Consultation 村山 籌子 8 min read · Short Story 夏と人形 cover Read 夏と人形 Summer and the Doll 坂口 安吾 2 min read · Short Story 夏の夜の冒険 cover Read 夏の夜の冒険 A Summer Night's Adventure 平林 初之輔 39 min read · Short Story 指 cover Read 指 The Finger 佐左木 俊郎 16 min read · Short Story 小夜の中山夜啼石 cover Read 小夜の中山夜啼石 The Night-Crying Stone of Sayo no Nakayama 岡本 綺堂 45 min read · Short Story

解説かいせつBackground

Where this 〜んです explanation comes from

〜んです sits at JLPT N5 in the 302-point taxonomy every text in this library is tagged against. Each text is read for the patterns it contains, which is what lets this page list every text that uses 〜んです and pull its example sentences out of them.

The example sentences were not written to demonstrate the rule. They are quoted from published Japanese texts in this library (Excellent English and American Jokes and The Mouse's Mistake among them), and each one links back to the story it came from, so you can read the sentence where it actually happened.

質問しつもんQuestions

〜んです: questions & answers

What is the difference between んです, のです, and んだ?

They are the same grammar at different registers: 〜のです is the full form used in formal writing, 〜んです is standard polite speech, and 〜んだ is casual. In soft casual speech the sentence can also end in just の, as in どうしたの?

When should I NOT use んです?

When there is nothing to explain. Plain facts and first-time information take ordinary です/ます; adding んです out of nowhere implies the listener questioned you and you are justifying yourself.

Is どうしたんですか different from どうしましたか?

Both ask "what happened?", but 〜んですか shows you noticed something concrete — tears, a bandage, a strange noise — and want the story behind it. どうしましたか is more neutral and service-like; it is what a doctor or shop clerk says.

Is there a printable 〜んです cheat sheet?

Yes. A free one-page 〜んです (explanatory (んだ / のだ)) study card sits at the top of this page, as both a PDF and a PNG. It carries the JLPT N5 meaning, how the pattern attaches, 3 example sentences with furigana, and the nuances learners get wrong. You do not need an account or an email address to download it.

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