I really don’t like it. I know it is a more polite form of です but I often just read it with some confusion due to the ある part. Since で is an often used particle it always seems like it’s more particle then verb で ある instead of a verb itself.
仕様がない.
But… it is で+ある…
Also, I would say it’s more formal (as in it would be used in technical writing) rather than more polite.
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But this form gives insight into the origin of the word です！
A common linguistic theory is that です is just a shortened form of であります。 (You just cut out all the letters in the
middle, and you get です）
Just like how じゃない simply comes from ではない (two particles + ない, the opposite of ある). And then, では becomes じゃ, a contraction you see a lot.
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It’s not really, though. It is a more formal version of だ. Since it doesn’t end with ます, it has no politeness implied. I suppose there is a nuance between politeness and formality that we don’t often make in English.
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[quote=“Naphthalene, post:2, topic:32019”]
Also, I would say it’s more formal (as in it would be used in technical writing) rather than more polite.
[/quote] @Leebo
Yea I meant to type formal instead of polite.
I like how Shalltear in Overlord says ～でありんす。
//Even though I don’t like her character at all.//
Turns out でありんす is a variation of であります that was used by the prostitutes of the Yoshiwara red light district in the Edo period.
I have mixed feelings now.
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Then there’s all the vocab and grammar forms that are largely unique to the である-form, which I’ve never once managed to save to the long-term memory banks.
Still, if you want to get some practice with the である-form: 「聖書」をApp Storeで
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