1.
it is that...; you see; the fact is
A sentence ending that presents what is said as an explanation of, or background to, the current situation rather than as bare new information. Spoken Japanese usually contracts it to んです.
2.
asking for an explanation (in questions)
In questions, のですか / んですか asks the listener to account for something the speaker has noticed, rather than simply asking whether a fact is true.
The nominalizer の plus the polite copula です. The plain equivalent is のだ / んだ.
How IT attaches
- Verbs and i-adjectives: plain form + のです (行くのです、高いんです)
- Na-adjectives and nouns: な + のです (静かなんです、学生なのです)
Usage
- のです is the written and formal form; んです is the normal spoken contraction
- Adding it turns a bare statement into an explanation, so it can sound insistent where no explanation is called for — 私は田中です is a self-introduction, 私は田中なんです sounds like you are correcting a misunderstanding
Common patterns
Related Words
Related:
です