です and ます make speech polite. ます goes on a verb’s stem, as in 行きます, “I go”. です follows nouns and adjectives, as in 学生です, “I’m a student”.
Polite speech is the default with teachers, seniors, customers, and people you’ve just met. Friends and family use the plain style. In manga, who uses です and ます with whom, and when they stop, tells you about the relationship.
Usage Notes
ます has its own endings: ました for the past, ません for the negative, ませんでした for the past negative, and ましょう for “let’s”. です becomes でした in the past. Its negative is じゃないです, or ではありません in careful speech.
い-adjectives keep their own endings and add です. The past of 楽しいです is 楽しかったです, never 楽しいでした.
In everyday polite speech, only the end of the sentence needs to be polite. A clause before から or けど can stay plain, as in 給食だったから.
Formation
View formation details
Verb (ます-stem) ＋ ます
毎日学校に行きます
"I go to school every day."
〜ました (past)
昨日、映画を見ました
"I watched a movie yesterday."
〜ません (negative)
肉は食べません
"I don't eat meat."
〜ませんでした (past negative)
宿題をしませんでした
"I didn't do my homework."
〜ましょう (let's)
一緒に帰りましょう
"Let's go home together."
〜ませんか (invitation)
お茶でも飲みませんか
"Would you like to have some tea?"
Noun / な-adjective ＋ です
私は学生です
"I'm a student."
Noun / な-adjective ＋ でした (past)
昨日は雨でした
"Yesterday was rainy."
い-adjective ＋ です
この店は安いですよ
"This shop is cheap, you know."
い-adjective ＋ かったです (past)
映画は面白かったです
"The movie was interesting."
Note: でした never follows an い-adjective, so 面白いでした is wrong.
〜ですか・〜ますか (question)
駅はどこですか
"Where is the station?"
です → っす (casual)
そうっすね
"Yeah, that's right."
Polite Verbs with ます
To make a verb polite, put it in its stem form and add ます. Godan verbs move their last sound to the い row, so 行く becomes 行き and 飲む becomes 飲み. Ichidan verbs drop る. する and 来る are irregular.
Verb type
Dictionary form
Polite
Godan
行く
行きます
Godan
飲む
飲みます
Ichidan
食べる
食べます
Irregular
する
します
Irregular
来る
来ます
ます then takes its own endings, and the stem stays the same.
Tomo stands up in the middle of class to announce that she forgot her homework. 忘れる is an ichidan verb, so its polite past is 忘れました. Then she offers to go stand in the hallway, an old classroom punishment that nobody asked her to take. 立つ is godan, and its stem is 立ち. Japanese has no separate future tense. 立ちます is the non-past, and here it means “I will stand”. A student talking to a teacher in class uses です and ます.
Example 2 of 7: Kindrid spirits in drinking tea with 気が合う
Hinata took a classmate to the school nurse and found an old man there sipping tea. He offers her a cup, and she says she’s glad to drink tea at school. 気が合う, “get along”, becomes 気が合いますね: the stem 合い plus ます. Hinata’s own line puts です after an い-adjective, 嬉しーです.
Example 3 of 7: Wanting to be cared about with 〜たい
After a fight, Cocoa and Chino are finally on good terms again until Cocoa flips a pancake she’s cooking and it lands on Chino’s face. Soon after, Chino finds Cocoa face down on the table with a dying message written in ketchup.
チノ:
「大変です！ココアさんがケチャップで死んでます！」
“This is terrible! Cocoa's died in a pool of ketchup!”
リゼ:
「構ってもらいたいんだよ真に受けるな」
“She just wants attention from you, so don't take it seriously.”
Cocoa flipped a pancake onto Chino’s face, and now Chino finds her face down beside a “dying message” in ketchup. 死んでいます, “is dead”, shortens to 死んでます, a common contraction even in polite speech. Chino stays polite even in a panic: 大変です！
Example 4 of 7: Playing chess while soaking with 〜ながら
Chino explains the chess set at the hot spring. 白熱する is “get heated”, and its polite past progressive is 白熱していました. Speech drops the い: 白熱してました, “Grandpa used to get really fired up”.
After starting her first year of high school, Rin signs up for the same club as her upperclassmen from middle school. She expected to be signing up for the kendo club, only to find that Ayumu (Tanaka) and Takeru are in the shogi club now. Rin tells Urushi, as the club’s leader, to give them back.
Rin joined what she thought was the kendo club to be with her former seniors, Ayumu and Takeru, only to find they’re in the shogi club now. 申し込む, “challenge”, becomes 申し込みます. The formal ます suits a declaration of a duel.
Example 6 of 7: Training so as to be able to swim with 〜ように
Rize has admitted that she can’t swim, so Cocoa takes charge. 始める is ichidan, so its ます form is 始めます. 特訓を始めます, “we’ll now begin special training”, sounds like a coach making an announcement.
Mizuho-sensei is a new teacher. During her student teaching in Tokyo, a class survey called her lessons boring, and she wants her first graders to have fun. Today she is leading them on a school exploration. In the music room, the children crowd around the grand piano, and Sami asks whether it plays any songs. Mizuho-sensei sees her chance. She sits down at the piano, offers to play, and asks the class for requests.
みずほ先生:
「フフフ… この日のために子供の好きな童謡から流行の曲まで練習してきましたよ！！」
“Heh heh heh... For this day, I've practiced everything from the nursery rhymes kids love to the latest hits!!”
Mizuho-sensei is about to play the music room piano for her first graders, and she recalls how much she practiced. 練習してくる, “have been practicing”, ends in the irregular 来る, whose stem is き. Its polite past is 練習してきました. She uses ます with her class throughout the school tour.
Polite Negatives with ません
The negative of ます is ません. ある, “to exist” or “to have”, becomes あります, and its negative is ありません. Plain speech says ない, but polite speech keeps the verb, as in 時間がありません, “there’s no time”. The past negative adds でした, as in 行きませんでした, “didn’t go”.
Adding です to the plain negative is polite too. 行かないです sounds softer and more conversational than 行きません. See Negation with 〜ない.
Example 1 of 3: Because her teaching method is unreliable with 〜ので
At a study session in the library, Syaro learns that Cocoa has been tutoring Chiya. She asks why Cocoa didn’t tutor Chino instead, and Chino answers before Cocoa can. 頼りになる is “to be reliable”, and its polite negative is 頼りになりません. アレ, “that”, stands in for whatever word Chino would rather not use about Cocoa’s teaching.
Example 2 of 3: Determining the cause of death with 解剖
Inspector Megure thinks the suspect drowned himself, and the medical examiner disagrees. 溺死ではありません, “it wasn’t drowning”, is the polite negative of a noun. The second line has a verb: 断定できません, “I can’t say for certain”.
A news broadcast has cut into the baseball game Tetsuhiro is watching at his neighbor’s beach house. ある becomes あります, and its negative is ありません. ありませんか？ politely asks “don’t you have…?”, and Ayako answers with あります.
Let’s with ましょう
ましょう is the polite “let’s”. It replaces ます, as in 行きましょう, “let’s go”. The plain version is the volitional 行こう. See Volitional with 〜う・〜よう.
With か, it becomes an offer. 持ちましょうか？ is “shall I carry it?”
Example 1 of 3: Agreeing to go somewhere else with 賛成
After moving and transferring schools, Lulu has finally made some friends in class. Following some after-school shopping, they stop by the group’s favorite café, only to find it filled to the brim with hoodlums.
Lulu has moved and changed schools, and she has finally made friends in her new class. After shopping, the group heads to their favorite café, and it’s full of thugs. Kyouko suggests going somewhere else with 行きましょう. Kiyomi says 賛成, “agreed”. Miyoko adds そうしましょう, “let’s do that”, the polite form of そうしよう. These girls are classmates, and the plain 行こう would work just as well. Kyouko’s 残念だけど is plain, and only the suggestion is polite. Between friends, ましょう sounds gentle and a little proper.
A storm knocked out the power during a sleepover, and the ghost stories keep coming. Chino calls it a night: 今日はもう寝ましょう, “let’s just go to bed”. 寝る is ichidan, so ましょう replaces る.
Example 3 of 3: Leaving the mountain at the shortest route with 最短
Kumada takes a trip to the mountain, in hope that the bear living in his apartment will follow him there, then he can run away and leave the bear stranded behind. He has with him his employee Sanami, an expert on mountains, to act as a guide. During their hike, Sanami asks Kumada why he’s placing beans on the ground as they go.
熊田:
「帰りはこの豆を頼りに最短ルートで駆け下りる」
“On the way back, I'll use these beans as a guide and run down by the shortest route.”
Kumada plans to race down the mountain by the shortest route, following beans he dropped on the way up. Sanami, the mountain expert he brought as a guide, would rather not. 普通に下山しましょうよ is “let’s just go down normally”, and よ presses the point.
Inviting with ませんか
A negative question makes a polite invitation. 食べませんか？ is literally “won’t you eat?”, and it means “would you like to eat?” It leaves the listener room to say no, so it’s softer than ましょう. Casual speech uses a rising ない？ the same way, as in 食べない？
After Hase finally became friends with Fujimiya, her warning came to pass: her weekly memory reset, which causes her to forget her friends on Monday morning, left her with no recollection of spending time with Hase last week. Hase asks Fujimiya to be his friend, but realizes that it was too sudden, so he decides to create an opportunity to remind her of last week.
長谷:
「えっと…とりあえず 一緒に昼ご飯食べません か…？」
“Um, for now, how about we have lunch together...?”
Every Monday, Fujimiya forgets the friends she made the week before. Hase became her friend last week, and now she doesn’t remember him. So he invites her to lunch the way you’d invite someone you barely know. His follow-up slips into casual speech. いつも通り屋上でいいんで… is “the rooftop, as usual, is fine”.
Example 2 of 2: Because this is chance encounter with 〜ので
Cocoa picks up a handkerchief an older student dropped, and she sees her chance. She’s talking to a 先輩, so she stays polite. 今度お昼一緒にどうですか？ is “how about lunch together sometime?” どうですか is another polite way to invite.
Nouns and な-Adjectives with です
です follows a noun or a な-adjective where plain speech uses だ. 学生だ becomes 学生です, and 静かだ becomes 静かです.
Plain
Polite
Non-past
学生だ
学生です
Negative
学生じゃない
学生じゃないです・ではありません
Past
学生だった
学生でした
Past negative
学生じゃなかった
学生じゃなかったです・ではありませんでした
ではありません sounds more careful than じゃないです. See The copula だ for the plain forms.
Cocoa stops to rest at a coffee shop called Rabbit House, and she notices a ball of fluff on the head of Chino, the barista. これはティッピーです is “this is Tippy”. 一応 is “for what it’s worth”, so 一応うさぎです is “it’s a rabbit, sort of”. Chino is talking to a customer, so every sentence ends in です.
Example 2 of 6: Greeting a cousin's friend with どうも
On his way home from buying groceries, Hiroto sees his cousin Natsumi cheering and dancing over a winning popsicle stick. While Natsumi agonizes over having been seen, Hiroto notices she’s brought a friend he hasn’t met.
なつみ:
「ぎゃ〜 はずかしー」
“Gah, how embarrassing!”
ヒロト:
「どうもーーー なっちゃんのいとこの生田ヒロトです。」
“Howdy. I'm Nacchan's cousin, Hiroto Ikuta.”
あかり:
「え！ あ、初めまして。横山あかりです！」
“Oh, ah, pleased to meet you. My name's Akari Yokoyama!”
Hiroto spots his cousin Natsumi with a friend he hasn’t met, and they introduce themselves. A name plus です is the standard self-introduction: 生田ヒロトです and 横山あかりです. Both stay polite, since they’ve just met.
Example 3 of 6: Came to be studying with us with 〜ことになる
A new student has joined Conan’s class, and the teacher introduces her. The whole description, 今日からみんなと勉強する事になった, modifies one noun, 灰原哀さん. です at the end makes it “this is Ai Haibara”.
Chiyo and Ayumu have a summer job at Magnetron Hamburger, and Sakaki has just ordered the set with a cat toy. ジャガーって感じ, “a jaguar kind of feel”, ends in a noun, so polite speech adds です. ね asks Ayumu to agree, and she does in Kansai style: そやな.
Example 5 of 6: Precisely because of the fundamentals with 〜からこそ
During a training session, Tsubaki quickly subdues Asagao. Sazanka uses this opportunity to launch a surprise attack, only for Tsubaki to anticipate it and take her down as well.
ツバキ:
「不意をつくばかりじゃダメです。」
“You can't rely just on surprise attacks.”
「基本があるからこそ奇襲が活きるんです。」
“It's precisely from having fundamentals that surprise attacks become effective.”
Tsubaki pinned Asagao, and when Sazanka tried a surprise attack, Tsubaki saw it coming. ダメ, “no good”, is a な-adjective, so it takes です: ダメです. Her next sentence ends in んです and explains why: a surprise attack only works with the fundamentals behind it.
Chino recalls the coffee fortunes her grandfather used to read. 有名 is a な-adjective, and its polite past is 有名でした, “was famous”. The fortunes were so accurate they were scary.
い-Adjectives with です
An い-adjective can end a sentence on its own, so plain speech never adds だ. Polite speech adds です anyway, as in 楽しいです. Here です only adds politeness, and the adjective still does its own conjugating.
Plain
Polite
Non-past
楽しい
楽しいです
Negative
楽しくない
楽しくないです・楽しくありません
Past
楽しかった
楽しかったです
Past negative
楽しくなかった
楽しくなかったです・楽しくありませんでした
Example 1 of 3: A meal provided by the school with 給食
Chiyo is ten years old and has skipped ahead to high school. On her first day, two classmates invite her to eat lunch with them. Her elementary school served lunch, so a boxed lunch from home is a treat. お弁当は楽しいです is “boxed lunches are fun”. Chiyo talks politely to her classmates, who are five years older than her.
Syaro is helping Chino with her homework at the library. 〜やすい makes an い-adjective, 分かりやすい, “easy to understand”, and polite speech adds です. Chino thanks her tutor politely.
Rintaro has friends over for the first time, and his mother has cooked a huge meal. Ayato says 美味しいです, “it’s delicious”: an い-adjective with です, the right tone with a friend’s mother. She’s thrilled to see them eat so much.
Her reason clause is plain. 給食だったから uses だった, not でした. In everyday polite speech, only the end of the sentence needs to be polite.
Polite questions end in か, as in ですか and ますか. Casual speech usually asks with a rising tone alone, and か after a plain verb, as in 行くか？, sounds blunt. In polite speech, か is the normal way to ask.
Makoto and her cousins visit a trendy witch-owned café. As the trio chats over tea and cake, the café’s owner and her daughter, Anzu, return home. Anzu goes out to greet the guests.
Makoto and her cousins are having tea and cake at a café run by witches. The owner’s daughter, Anzu, comes home and goes over to greet them. いかが is a polite どう, “how”, so いかがですか is “how about it?” Shop staff use it to offer things. Between friends, the same offer would be おかわりどう？ いらっしゃいませ, “welcome”, is what shop staff say when a customer comes in. The ませ at the end is a command form of ます.
Chino worries about her height, and Rize suggests that a loud voice makes your presence seem bigger. Cocoa asks, 錯覚ですか, “an optical illusion?” A noun plus ですか makes the polite question.
Example 3 of 4: Difficult to discard a photo with 〜がたい
Inui’s class is collecting photos of couples for a school festival contest. He asks which picture to print: どっちの画像プリントします？ There’s no か. In speech, a rising tone on the ます form makes the question.
Syaro wants to know who misread the flier that brought her friends to her workplace. Chino has a different question: いかがわしいってどういう意味です？, “what does ‘shady’ mean?” It ends in です with no か, and the rising tone does the asking.
Explaining with んです
んです is the polite form of the explanatory んだ. It gives an explanation, or asks for one. A plain ほしいですか？ asks “do you want one?” ほしいんですか？ reacts to something the speaker has noticed, like “oh, is it that you want one?” See Reasoning with 〜のだ.
Example 1 of 2: Do you want an origami ninja star with んです
A couple of girls admire the foreign student Sotoka, as she has a sparkle about her. Sotoka notices the girls, mistaking their admiration as being for the origami ninja stars adorning her school bag.
A couple of girls are staring at Sotoka, a foreign student who seems to sparkle. Sotoka decides they must be admiring the origami throwing stars on her school bag. Her ほしいんですか？ is her guess at the reason for their stares.
During a free day from training, Touwata and Mizubashou approach Tsubaki to request a favor. She would like Tsubaki to challenge Benisumomo to a one-on-one fight.
トウワタ:
「そのですね… ベニセンパイは才能があるのにそれにかまけて、ぜんっぜん努力しないんです。」
“Well, you see... Beni-senpai has talent, but she takes it for granted and doesn't put in any effort at all.”
「いっつも一人で昼寝するってどっか行って。」
“She always goes off somewhere to take a nap alone.”
Touwata and Mizubashou want Tsubaki to challenge Benisumomo to a fight. Touwata explains why: Beni has talent, but she relies on it and 努力しないんです, “she doesn’t put in any effort”. んです presents it as the background to their request.
Who Gets Polite Speech
Polite speech goes to people above you or outside your circle. Students use it with teachers, juniors with their seniors, staff with customers, and adults with people they’ve just met. Plain speech goes to friends, family, and people below you. When one person is polite and the other stays plain, the difference shows who ranks higher.
Example 1 of 3: Looking good in a summer uniform as well with 夏服
Ayumu goes to the shogi club room after school. There, he and Urushi find they’ve both switched from their winter uniform to their summer uniform on the same day.
Ayumu plans to confess to Urushi once he beats her at shogi. She’s a year ahead of him, so he calls her センパイ and uses ます, even when he compliments her. 似合う, “to suit”, becomes 似合います. They’ve both switched to summer uniforms on the same day, and the compliment catches her off guard.
Example 2 of 3: Thank you for the water with ありがとうございました
Natsumi tried making new friends from college only to end up drunk and abandoned. At class one day, she finds herself face to face with the helpful person who had found her and briefly helped her afterward.
なつみ:
「……… ……… あのっ。」
“Um...”
「この前水くれた方…ですよね？」
“You're the one who gave me water before...right?”
女:
「…はい。」
“...yes.”
なつみ:
「あ…あの時はありがとうございました。」
“Ah... Thank you for what you did back then.”
女:
「イエ…同じ科の人が倒れてると思って…」
“Not at all... I thought it was someone from the same department who had collapsed...”
Natsumi recognizes the woman who gave her water the night she was left drunk and alone. They’re in the same department, but they’ve never really met. Natsumi stays polite throughout, from 〜ですよね？ to ありがとうございました.
Example 3 of 3: Thank you for inviting me with お招きいただきありがとうございました
Akari, Aika, and Alice hosted a dinner for the Festa del Redentore as part of their training. Alicia is their senior, but she thanks them as a guest, so her speech is formal: お招きいただきありがとうございました and 過ごせました.
The Clipped っす
っす is a clipped です. Young men use it with seniors they’re close to, especially in sports clubs. It keeps a little respect and drops the stiffness. いいっすよ is “sure”, and そうっすね is “yeah, that’s right”. Some manga write it in katakana, as ッス or っス.
Urushi returns from her school trip with gifts for the underclassmen in the shogi club. First she presents the treats she bought for everyone, then she pulls out shogi piece keychains.
うるし:
「凛ちゃんは香車」
“Rin, this one's the lance.”
「タケルは角と竜買ってきたから桜子ちゃんにもあげてくれ」
“Takeru, I bought a bishop and a dragon, so give one of them to Sakurako too.”
Urushi is back from a school trip with presents for the younger members of the shogi club. Rin gets a keychain shaped like the lance shogi piece. Takeru gets the bishop and the dragon, and Urushi tells him to give one to Sakurako. あざっす is a squeezed-down ありがとうございます, “thank you”. It’s how a younger guy thanks a senior he’s on easy terms with. To a teacher or a stranger, it would sound too loose.
Friends Who Stay Polite
Some characters use です and ます even with close friends. In manga, that marks them as well-bred, earnest, or a little distant.
During an overnight school trip, a classmate tells a ghost story right before bedtime. While everyone else easily falls asleep, Sakura is too scared to close her eyes. The next morning, when Sakura washes her face, Tomoyo hands her a towel.
On an overnight school trip, a classmate told a ghost story at bedtime, and Sakura was too scared to sleep. The next morning, Tomoyo hands her a towel. Tomoyo comes from a wealthy family and talks politely to everyone, Sakura included, though they’re best friends. Sakura answers with a plain ありがとー.
Example 2 of 5: Experiencing danger during hide-and-seek with 〜目にあう
Example 2 of 5
眠れました？ has no か. A polite question can also rise at the end, and that sounds softer than 眠れましたか.
During a hide-and-seek game at the park, Ayumi hides in a car trunk and falls asleep. She wakes to find the car moving and discovers a bag of money, a slimy saw, and what seems like a severed head. Conan, tracking her via their Detective Boys badges, prepares to pursue on his electric skateboard. Genta and Mitsuhiko join him on it, but Conan urges them to stay behind due to the danger.
元太:
「歩美が危ない目にあってんのに、じっとしてられっかよ！！」
“Ayumi is in danger, so how can I just stand by and do nothing?”
光彦:
「そうですよ！！ 女性をお守りするのは男の義務ですからね！！」
“That's right! It's a man's duty to protect women!”
During hide-and-seek, Ayumi hid in a car trunk, and the car drove off with her. Conan gets ready to chase it on his skateboard and tells Genta and Mitsuhiko to stay behind. Genta refuses in rough speech. じっとしてられっかよ is “like I can just sit still”. Mitsuhiko backs him up in polite speech. そうですよ is “that’s right”, and ですからね gives the reason, a man’s duty to protect women. Mitsuhiko is a first grader who talks politely to his friends, and it marks him as the earnest one.
Chiya wants to play chess with Chino, though she has never played. Chino speaks politely even to friends: いいですよ, “sure”, and 勝負です, “you’re on”. Chiya talks to her in plain speech.
Cocoa wanted to sleep hugging Tippy, Chino’s rabbit. Chino lives and works with Cocoa, and she still says ティッピーは抱き枕じゃないですよ. Polite speech is simply how Chino talks.
Syaro is recommending teas at the shop where she works. Chino hears the sweet chamomile as a drink for kids and objects with 子供じゃないです. Syaro’s ラベンダーがオススメです is polite too, the way she talks to her senpai, Rize.
Older Men’s ですな and Refined ですわ
Sentence-ending particles still follow です and ます. ですよ and ですね are everywhere. Two others mark a type of speaker. ですな, with な in place of ね, sounds like a middle-aged or older man. ですわ sounds refined and feminine. In manga, it’s the speech of rich girls and young ladies.
Heiji shows up at Detective Mouri’s office looking for the missing Shin’ichi. While there, a case presents itself. Heijii tags along with Mouri to investigate.
Heiji shows up at Kogoro’s detective agency looking for Shin’ichi, and a case comes in while he’s there. When Kogoro goes to investigate, Heiji tags along. Kogoro stops at the gate to admire the house. お屋敷 is a mansion, and 立派なお屋敷ですなー is “what a splendid mansion”.
Fuu finds herself spirited away to another world, along with two other girls. A wizard appears before them, saying they cannot return home until they accomplish a specific goal.
風:
「困りましたわ。 わたし 先生に提出するレポート作成が残ってますのに」
“Oh dear. I've still got to write that report to hand in to the teacher...”
海:
「もう 戻れないならレポートの心配なんてしなくていいんじゃないの？」
“If we can't go back anyway, isn't there no point worrying about the report?”
Fuu, Umi, and Hikaru have been pulled into another world, and a wizard says they can’t go home until they finish a task. Fuu’s first worry is a school report. 困りましたわ, “oh dear”, is ました with the refined わ. Umi points out that the report hardly matters now.
Detective Mouri is invited as a special guest to the birthday party for Reika, daughter of the Yotsui Group’s chairman. At the event, Reika announces her intent to marry.
麗花:
「そう思って今日のパーティーにも、有能そうな男性を数人、お招きしてますわ…」
“With that in mind, I've invited several promising gentlemen to today's party...”
Reika, daughter of the Yotsui Group’s chairman, has announced at her birthday party that she intends to marry. She has invited several promising men, お招きしてますわ. The humble お〜する plus ますわ makes her sound every bit the rich young lady.
Having received a letter requesting help solving a mystery, Kogoro finds himself in a house filled with animal designs everywhere, including the doors, the chairs, and the plates. His attention turns to the clocks covering the walls.
小五郎:
「しかし動物もさることながら、時計もたくさんありますなー．．．」
“But aside from the animals, there are also a lot of clocks, huh...”
男:
「当たり前ですよ．．． 祖父は時計職人だったんですから．．．」
“Of course there are... Grandfather was a clock maker, after all...”
Kogoro has been called to a house full of animal designs, and now he notices the clocks. ありますなー is あります plus a drawn-out な. It’s Kogoro’s middle-aged way of musing, polite but relaxed.
Playing a Role
A character who’s normally plain may switch to です and ます to play a part, like a shop clerk, a tour guide, or a game show host.
Takagi challenges Nishikata to guess what ingredient is inside a riceball in her lunch box. Seeing a bit of salmon from the other riceball, Nishika goes with salmon as his guess.
Takagi challenged Nishikata to guess what’s inside a rice ball from her lunch. He spotted a bit of salmon in the other rice ball and guessed salmon. Takagi talks to Nishikata in plain speech, but she reveals the answer in polite speech. 正解は〜でした, “the correct answer was…”, is the line a quiz show host uses. The past でした is part of the formula, since the answer was set before anyone guessed.
Example 2 of 2: Why is it called Rabbit House with 〜のであります
Cocoa’s bunny-ear uniforms were shot down, so she asks why the café is called Rabbit House at all. であります is a stiff, military-sounding です, and のでありますか mimics a soldier questioning a superior. Cocoa is playing at being formal, and Rize answers plainly.
Dropping です and ます
When two people get closer, one of them may stop using です and ます, or ask the other to stop. Japanese calls plain talk between equals タメ口. A senior who says 敬語はいらない, “you don’t need to be polite”, is offering friendship.
Ran seems angry as Shin’ichi basks in the media attention he’s getting for solving a difficult case. When Shin’ichi asks Ran why she’s angry, she points out that it’s because of Shin’ichi that her father’s been getting fewer case requests.
Shin’ichi is enjoying the press coverage for a case he solved. Ran is upset, because since he got famous, her father has been getting fewer cases. Ran and Shin’ichi are childhood friends and normally talk plainly. 怒ってなんかいませんよー！！ is “I’m not angry at all!” The sudden ません says the opposite.
Beyond です and ます
です and ます are the polite style, called 丁寧語. Japanese honorific speech, 敬語, has two more layers on top of it. Respectful verbs raise the other person, like いらっしゃる for いる and 行く. Humble verbs lower the speaker, like おる for いる and 頂く for もらう. Both kinds still end in ます. ございます is a formal ある, and でございます is a formal です. Shop clerks, receptionists, and announcers use these forms all day.
Upon entering the mall, Yui notices a lottery wheel. Sacchan and Kotoha join her, the two quickly pestering Subaru, the part-timer working the lottery, with random questions. Subaru pushes on with her script.
すばる:
「ただ今こちら記載の近隣店舗にてお買い物頂くとこちらの画像の福引券を配布させて頂いておりまして」
“Currently, when you make a purchase at a neighborhood store, we are distributing the raffle tickets shown in this image.”
「これを５枚集めますと１回福引きをお楽しみ頂ける形となっております」
“If you collect five tickets, you'll be able to enjoy one lottery draw.”
Yui and her friends find a lottery booth at the mall, and they pester Subaru, the part-timer running it, with random questions. Subaru sticks to her script, and it stacks one humble form on another. 頂く is a humble もらう, “to receive”. お買い物頂く treats the customer’s shopping as a favor the store receives. おります is a humble います, and となっております is a stiff “it’s set up so that”.
