……
Breakdown of raamen ha yasukute oisii desu.
はha
topic particle
ですdesu
to be
安いyasui
cheap
おいしいoisii
delicious
〜くて〜kute
connective form
ラーメンraamen
ramen
Questions & Answers about raamen ha yasukute oisii desu.
What does the particle は indicate in this sentence?
は is the topic marker. It tells the listener what you’re talking about—here, ラーメン. A natural translation is “As for ramen…” rather than a strict “subject = ramen.”
How do you connect two い-adjectives like 安い and おいしい?
You use the 〜くて form of the first adjective. For 安い:
- Drop い, giving 安
- Add くて, giving 安くて
This 〜くて both means “cheap” and “and,” so 安くておいしい = “cheap and tasty.”
Can I reverse the order as ラーメンはおいしくて安いです?
Yes. Grammatically it’s fine. The nuance shifts slightly: by saying おいしくて安いです, you first emphasize “tasty” then “cheap.” Native speakers choose order by which quality they want to highlight.
Why don’t we need a particle like と (and) between the adjectives?
Particles like と connect nouns, not adjectives. Adjectives use their own て-form to link. If you tried 安いとおいしい, it would sound ungrammatical.
What role does です play after an い-adjective?
です makes the sentence polite. With い-adjectives you can either end there (ラーメンは安い) for plain speech or add です (ラーメンは安いです) for the polite form. Here, 安くておいしいです stays polite throughout.
Can you drop です entirely in this sentence?
Yes. In casual conversation you might hear ラーメンは安くておいしい. It’s perfectly natural among friends or in writing like tweets, but it’s less formal than using です.
Why is there no separate verb like “is” in English?
Japanese uses adjectives and です (or copula だ) in place of the English “to be.” You don’t need a separate verb plus adjective; the adjective itself carries the meaning, and です/だ adds politeness or finality.
More from this lesson
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“How do verb conjugations work in Japanese?”
Japanese verbs conjugate based on tense, politeness, and mood. For example, the polite present form adds ‑ます to the verb stem, while the past tense uses ‑ました. Unlike English, Japanese verbs don't change based on the subject — the same form works for "I", "you", and "they".
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning JapaneseMaster Japanese — from raamen ha yasukute oisii desu to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions