I need help with Japanese

[genyue]

Hi,

Let me make this short and sweet.

いいんです (iin desu)
What does the 'n' (beside ii) actually means?

書くんです　(kakun desu)
What does the 'n' (beside kaku) actually means?

Also, whatever ん (n) used as a suffix for other possible words.. what does it refer to?


That's all with questions, answers please ^^

[toryn]

I might be wrong, but I think 'nde[su]' is sort of like 'node[su]', which is one way of saying 'so' or 'because'. So 'iindesu' would be 'because it's good', and 'kakundesu' would be 'because you/I write', I think.

I've seen it mostly as an elaboration or an answer to someone. Like if a friend asks why you're resting in bed with 'doushitandesuka' (what happened?), you might say 'onaka ga itaindesu' ([the reason is that] I've got a stomach ache).

I think that's right...

[Smooth]

I was always under the impression that n was used to connect -i adjectives with desu to show empathy.

[Mukade]

Smooth wrote:
I was always under the impression that n was used to connect -i adjectives with desu to show empathy.

〜んです emphasizes whatever is being said, but it doesn't just have to be い-Adjectives.

There's really no way to translate this 〜んです into English, as we tend to show this sort of emphasis with our intonation or the volume of our voice (or both).

- So, for example, if you said:
いいです。 it would be the equivalent of "It's okay/good," said in a normal tone of voice.
- But, if you said:
いいんです。 it would be like saying "It's okay," saying the word "okay" a little louder/higher/etc.

Even in Japanese, the いいん part would be stated a little stronger. Also, since this form tends to be used when trying to emphasize something, you'll often hear it used in combination with よ.

-----

If you use this form with a verb, keep the verb in Plain Form (Dictionary Form):
くるんですよ。 "I'm coming!"

If you use it with a な-Adjective or a Noun, attach な first:
元気なんですよ。 "(He's) (really) full of energy!"
and
チワワなんですよ。 "It's a chihuahua!"

[Oni]

Nda, noda, nodesu, ndesu all mean the same thing, just different levels of politeness. I can't explain it myself (at least well). So I'll give ya a link.

Check out affirmation sufix here.
[/url]http://www.barabbi.org/nihongo/emotion.html[/url]

The write makes it seem like the difference between ndesu and desu is huge, but I am under the impression that the difference is quite small.
For instance, 'ii ndesu' and 'ii desu', just on their own, would both translate to '(it/I) am good.'

Sorry I can't give a good explination.