Daijoubu desu ka is the Japanese phrase for ‘are you okay?’, explained

What does “daijoubu desu ka” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “daijoubu desu ka” to mean ‘are you okay?’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this phrase well as it is often used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain it in detail based on its grammatical components. And also, I will explain how to use it and how to answer it through example conversations. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand this phrase more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “daijoubu desu ka”
• Components of “daijoubu desu ka”
  • Example #1: how to say “are you okay?” in Japanese
  • Example #2: another usage of “daijoubu desu ka”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “daijoubu desu ka”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “daijoubu desu ka”.

• daijoubu desu ka – 大丈夫ですか (だいじょうぶですか) : a Japanese phrase for ‘are you okay?’

Native speakers use this phrase to ask someone if the situation he or she is in is acceptable or comfortable in Japanese. So, its usage is similar to that of the English phrase, “are you okay?”

The definition and meaning are simple and clear, I think. To understand this phrase more clearly, however, let me explain its grammatical components in detail, one by one.

Components of “daijoubu desu ka”

Below are the grammatical components:

• daijoubu – 大丈夫 (だいじょうぶ) : the shortened version of the na-adjective, “daijoubu na”, which means ‘okay’, ‘acceptable’, ‘safe’, or such in Japanese. This can also be used to mean ‘no thanks’ or ‘no thank you’ especially in speaking to express the satisfaction to a current situation.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the phrase, this is used after “daijoubu” to make it sound polite.
• ka – か : a sentence-ending particle used to make a question. Normally, this is used with the pitch raised. As the definition suggests, this is used at the end of the phrase to make the question.

From these three components, we can understand that “daijoubu desu ka” is literally a Japanese polite expression for ‘okay?’

This Japanese phrase does not contain any word referring to the listener, “you”. In many cases, however, its meaning can be interpreted as ‘are you okay?’ In Japanese, words directly referring to listeners are often omitted as they can sound a little too strong, in other words, a bit rude. This kind of omission would be a bit confusing to Japanese learners, but is very necessary to make indirect expressions in Japanese. Native speakers think that indirect expressions are more polite.

When we meet new Japanese phrases, we should check their grammatical components in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, components tell us a lot about the meanings of the phrases they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “daijoubu desu ka” through the detailed check above. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example conversations below.

Example #1: how to say “are you okay?” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example conversation.

• arigatou – ありがとう : a Japanese phrase for ‘thank you’.
• boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku” to make the subject in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “daijoubu desu ka”. The question has been directed to B, and he answered it by saying “daijoubu desu” after expressing his appreciation to A. When we want to say “are you okay?” in Japanese, anyway, this phrase is a very good option. It is very acceptable and understandable even in formal situations.

Example #2: another usage of “daijoubu desu ka”

Below are the new words used in the example conversation.

• demo – でも : a conjunction used to connect two sentences or phrases which have different or opposite meanings. This is often translated into English as “but”, “however”, or such. In the example, this is used to start the new sentence after expressing the appreciation to C.
• totemo – とても : an adverb of degree meaning ‘very’, ‘much’, ‘so’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this is used to emphasize the meaning of the i-adjective, “warui”. This combination has been reflected as “very bad” in the English sentence.
• kimochi – 気持ち (きもち) : a noun meaning ‘feeling’ or such in Japanese.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kimochi” to make the subject in the sentence.
• warui – 悪い (わるい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘bad’ in Japanese.

This is another typical usage of “daijoubu desu ka”. In this example, D has answered the question by saying “kimochi ga warui” after expressing his appreciation to C. The answer literally means ‘my feeling is bad’ in Japanese, but is often translated into English as “I’m feeling bad”, “I’m not feeling good”, or such. When we are not okay, we can answer the question like this. This is just one example, though.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “daijoubu desu ka” in detail based on its grammatical components. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example conversations. Let me summarize them as follows.

• daijoubu desu ka – 大丈夫ですか (だいじょうぶですか) : a Japanese phrase for ‘are you okay?’ Native speakers use this to ask someone if the situation he or she is in is acceptable or comfortable in Japanese. So, the usage of this phrase is similar to that of the English one. From the grammatical components, we can understand this phrase is literally a Japanese polite expression for ‘okay?’ So, this is very acceptable and understandable even in formal situations.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.