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 as it is sometimes 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 through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “daijoubu desu ka” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
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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 phrase meaning ‘are you okay?’ in Japanese.
Native speakers use this phrase to ask someone if they are okay in Japanese. So, this can work in more or less the same way as the English phrase, “are you okay?”, does.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear. To understand this phrase more clearly, however, let me explain its grammatical components in detail, one by one.
What does “daijoubu desu ka” literally mean?
The phrase consists of the following three components:
- daijoubu – 大丈夫 (だいじょうぶ) : the stem part of the na-adjective, “daijoubu na”, which means ‘okay’, ‘acceptable’, ‘safe’, or such in Japanese. This can also express satisfaction and mean ‘no thanks’ or ‘no thank you’ especially in speaking.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. In the phrase, this is used after “daijoubu” to make it sound polite.
- ka – か : a sentence-ending particle used to make a question. This is often used with the pitch raised. As the definition suggests, this is used at the end of the phrase to make the question.
These three components tell us that the formed phrase literally means ‘okay?’ politely in Japanese. This literal interpretation is very close to the actual meaning.
This Japanese phrase does not contain any word referring to “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, a bit rude. This kind of omission would be confusing to Japanese learners, but is 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 components in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, grammatical 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.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “daijoubu desu ka” together with its grammatical components. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “are you okay?” in Japanese
「daijoubu desu ka」 to kanojo ga it ta – 「大丈夫ですか」と彼女が言った (「だいじょうぶですか」とかのじょがいった)
“Are you okay?,” she said.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- to – と : a case particle working as a quote marker. In the example, this works after the clause to indicate what she said.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ 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 “kanojo” to make the subject in the sentence.
- it – 言っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iu“, which means ‘to say’ or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its past tense form, “it ta”.
This is a typical usage of “daijoubu desu ka”. In the example, it works to ask the listener if they are okay in Japanese. When we want to say “are you okay?” in Japanese, this phrase is always a very good option.
Example #2: another usage of “daijoubu desu ka”
「arigatou. demo kimi mo daijoubu desu ka」 to boku wa kotae ta – 「ありがとう。でも君も大丈夫ですか」と僕は答えた (「ありがとう。でもきみもだいじょうぶですか」とぼくはこたえた)
“Thank you, but are you okay too?,” I answered.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- arigatou – ありがとう : a phrase meaning ‘thank you’ in Japanese.
- demo – でも : a conjunction meaning ‘but’ in Japanese.
- kimi – 君 (きみ) : a pronoun meaning ‘you’ in Japanese.
- mo – も : a binding particle making the subject word or the object word in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘too’. In the example, this works after “kimi” to make the subject in the clause with adding the meaning of ‘too’.
- 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.
- kotae – 答え (こたえ) : one conjugation of the verb, “kotaeru”, which means ‘to answer’ or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
This is another typical usage of “daijoubu desu ka”. In this example, first the speaker answers it with saying “thank you” in Japanese and then use it to ask the listener if they are okay too.
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 sentences. 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 phrase meaning ‘are you okay?’ in Japanese. Native speakers use this phrase to ask someone if they are okay in Japanese. So, this can work in more or less the same way as the English phrase, “are you okay?”, does. These three components literally mean ‘okay?’ politely in Japanese. This literal interpretation is very close to the actual meaning.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
