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

ですか。

desu ka

[dess kah]

💬 Usage Tip: [ですか。] turns a statement into a polite question. Rising intonation helps: “[〜ですか?]”.

🇯🇵 In Japan: On the phone, Japanese tends to sound “extra polite,” so you’ll hear [ですか] a lot even in quick confirmation questions.

Phrase Breakdown

です

desu

[dess]

to be (polite)

Polite copula used to state or identify something. Often used in set phrases like 「〜です」.

Example

こちらは〇〇小学校です。

This is ○○ Elementary School.

ka

[kah]

(question marker)

Placed at the end of a sentence to make it a question. Polite questions often end in 「ですか」.

Example

学校ですか。

Is this the school?

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