desu

See also: děsu

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese です (desu, “be”), the polite form of the Japanese copula, found most often at the end of a sentence.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛsuː/, /dɛs/
• Rhymes: -ɛsuː, -ɛs

Particle

desu

1. (slang, humorous, chiefly fandom slang) Used at the end of a sentence to imitate Japanese sentence structure.
   • 2002 March 20, Mahoronyan [username], “Re: I was wrong about Kokoro Library...”, in rec.arts.anime.misc‎^[1] (Usenet):

     My contribution desu.

   • 2003 January 30, Ethan Hammond, “Re: Nuku Nuku DVD Impressions”, in rec.arts.anime.misc‎^[2] (Usenet):

     Freaky desu.

   • 2006 February 22, sanjian [username], “Re: FMA 47 - Sealing the Homunculus”, in rec.arts.anime.misc‎^[3] (Usenet):

     Awww, but it was just getting fun, desu.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:desu.

Usage notes

When the term is added to a sentence but does not replace the English copula (is/are), the result will be perceived by listeners familiar with Japanese as a failed attempt at code-switching.

Anagrams

• Dues, dues, duse, sued, used

Japanese

Romanization

desu

1. Rōmaji transcription of です

Latvian

Noun

desu f

1. inflection of desa:
   1. accusative/instrumental singular
   2. genitive plural