のだ (noda)

Meaning & usage

のだ adds an explanatory tone, presenting the sentence as a reason, background, or new realization, and it also turns a question into a request for an explanation. It follows the plain form of verbs and i adjectives, as in 行くんだ and 高いんだ, while nouns and na adjectives require な, as in 学生なんだ and 静かなんだ, with past forms like 行ったんだ keeping the same pattern. In speech んだ is common and のです or んです sounds polite, so avoid placing のだ directly after a polite ます form.

Example sentences 4

1. なんて言いわれたんだ？

   What did they say?

2. よう、何が起こってるんだ？

   Hey, what's going on?

3. はっきりさせたいんだけど、どっちについて話してるの？

   Just so we're clear, which one are we talking about?

4. フランス語の勉強を始めたとこなんだ。

   I've just started studying French.