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How to Say ‘Is it? (polite question)’ in Japanese

ですか。

desu ka

[dess kah]

💬 Usage Tip: [ですか] turns a statement into a polite question: [大丈夫ですか。] = “Are you okay?”

🇯🇵 In Japan: Japanese questions often keep a calm tone; [ですか] helps you sound polite even if your Japanese is simple.

Phrase Breakdown

です

desu

[dess]

is/are (polite)

です is the polite copula. With か, it becomes a polite question: ですか = “Is it?”

Example

ほんとうですか。

Is it true?

ka

[kah]

question particle

か makes the phrase a question. ですか is a very common question ending.

Example

ほんとうですか。

Really?

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