Breakdown of kankyouhogo ha taisetu desu.
はha
topic particle
ですdesu
to be
大切taisetu
important
環境保護kankyouhogo
environmental protection
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Questions & Answers about kankyouhogo ha taisetu desu.
How do you read 環境保護 and what does it mean?
環境保護 is read かんきょうほご. 環境 (かんきょう) means “environment” and 保護 (ほご) means “protection,” so together it means “environmental protection.”
Why are there spaces in 環境保護 は 大切 です? Japanese usually doesn’t have spaces.
The spaces here are for learner clarity, showing word and particle boundaries. In normal Japanese writing you wouldn’t add those spaces.
What is the role of the particle は in this sentence?
は marks the topic of the sentence (“environmental protection”). It tells the listener “as for environmental protection, …” and sets up the comment that follows.
Could I use が instead of は, as in 環境保護が大切です?
Yes, grammatically that’s possible. が marks the subject or new information—“environmental protection is important.” Using は makes it a general topic (“as for environmental protection…”). With が you’re simply stating a fact, whereas は carries a slight topical or contrastive nuance.
What part of speech is 大切, and why is it followed by です?
大切 is a na-adjective (形容動詞). Na-adjectives need the copula です in polite speech to form a complete predicate. So 大切です means “is important.”
How would you say the same idea in casual or plain Japanese?
You can replace です with the plain copula だ:
• 環境保護は大切だ。
You can also soften it informally with よ:
• 環境保護は大切だよ。
Are 大切 and 大事 interchangeable here?
They both mean “important,” but 大切 often emphasizes value or significance in an abstract sense, while 大事 can stress something you must take care of or protect. In 環境保護は大切です, 大切 is more common, though 環境保護は大事です would still be understood.
How can I make the statement stronger or more emphatic?
Insert an adverb before 大切. For example:
• 環境保護はとても大切です。 (“very important”)
• 環境保護は非常に大切です。 (“extremely important”)
How do I form the negative of this sentence?
Use the negative copula:
• Polite: 環境保護は大切ではありません。
• Casual: 環境保護は大切じゃない。
How can I express “Protecting the environment is important” using a verb phrase instead of the compound noun 環境保護?
Nominalize the verb phrase:
• 環境を守ることが大切です。
Here 環境を守る means “to protect the environment,” and こと turns it into “the act of protecting the environment,” which you then state is important.