Joshua Gehlhausen
Why would adding が to the end of ____ です be translated as "Haven't you heard?" I"ve been watching an anime called "坂本ですが?" And the english name is translated as "Haven't you heard? I'm Sakamoto" I know if it was just "坂本です?" It'd be translated as "I'm Sakamoto?", no? So why does adding が add "Haven't you heard?" All I can seem to find on other forums is that adding が after です can make it be more polite or make you seem a bit more hesitant but that doesn't really answer my questsion at all. Any help would be much appreciated :)
Nov 5, 2017 6:50 PM
Answers · 2
As Shiho san explained, the title seem to include some hidden word;「坂本ですが(何か)?」 This expression has used since 2001, by a famous Japanese comedy group called 「おぎやはぎ」. When they introduce themselves at the beginning, they tend to mention 「おぎやはぎですけど、何か?」(It seems おぎやはぎですけど、何か(問題でもありますか)?)It sounds weird though. I'm not sure why 「が」 was translated as "Haven't you heard?".
November 7, 2017
「~ですが」 is an abbreviated phrase of「~ですが、何か(問題ある?)」 It means “~but is there anything wrong?” or “~but what’ s wrong with that?” You can see the phrase 「~ですが、何か?」 often used on Internet. It is quite prevalent among young people although it’ s informal and can offend others. There is a TV program called 「ゆとりですがなにか」 and this 「~ですが何(なに)か」 form is often used as a title of manga and novels. It is a catchy phrase.
November 5, 2017
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!