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LEARN + JAPANESE / 107 of 186 JLPT N4

The Thing Is んです

Someone notices you turning down lunch and asks why. んです lets you give the background behind what they can already see, rather than stating a bare fact.

んです attaches after the plain form and frames a statement as background, an explanation, or the reason behind something the listener can already sense, rather than a plain, standalone fact. な-adjectives and nouns take なんです instead of plain んです.

Hint · 힌트
Compare 嬉しいです, a plain statement of fact, with 嬉しいんです, which implies there’s a story or a reason behind the feeling worth knowing. んです invites the listener into the background, why you’re happy, why you’re declining, why something is the way it is.
In Real Life
んですか asks for the story behind an observed situation, not a plain fact, どうしたんですか asks specifically because something visibly seems off, more natural here than a plain どうしましたか, which would sound oddly detached from what you’re noticing.
Hint · 힌트
んですが, trailing off unfinished, is an extremely common way to open a request or complaint, laying out the background first and letting the listener infer what you need, softer and more natural than stating the request outright.

When asking what a situation or statement means, どういうことなの？ is a casual “what do you mean?” or “what’s going on?” どういうことですか is the polite version. This question asks for the meaning of the whole situation; it is different from using んです to explain the background behind a statement.

Hint · 힌트
Use どういうことですか when you need a clear explanation. どういうことなの？ is casual and can sound surprised or concerned, so use it with people you know well.

ということは draws an inference: “if that is so, then…” It is often used to check a conclusion or point out what follows from new information.

Vocabulary

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