Learn Hardcore Japanese: ano mise ha yasui desu.

この = “this” (near the speaker)
- この店 = this store (near me)
その = “that” (near the listener, or something the listener has)
- その店 = that store (near you)
あの = “that (over there)” (far from both speaker and listener, or just not near either)
- あの店 = that store (over there / that store we both know about)

So in あの店は安いです, the speaker is talking about a store that is not right next to either person, or a store they both already know about.

How do you pronounce 店, and does it always have the same reading?

In this sentence, 店 is pronounced みせ (mise) and means “shop, store”.

However, 店 has more than one common reading:

By itself as a word: 店（みせ） – shop, store
In many compound words: 店（てん）
- 喫茶店（きっさてん） – coffee shop
- 書店（しょてん） – bookstore

So:

あの店 here is あのみせ, not あのてん.

What does the particle は do in this sentence? Is it the subject marker?

は is the topic marker, not really a simple subject marker.

In あの店は安いです:

あの店 = “that store”
は = marks “that store” as the topic (what we’re talking about)

A simple way to feel it is:

あの店は… = “As for that store, …” / “Talking about that store, …”

The actual subject (in a strict grammatical sense) is often left out or marked with が, but for many beginner sentences like this, you can think:

Xは Yです ≈ “X is Y” (topic X, statement Y).

Why is it は and not が after 店 here? What would あの店が安いです mean?

Both are grammatically possible, but the nuance changes.

あの店は安いです。
- Neutral, descriptive.
- “As for that store, (it) is cheap.”
- Just giving information about that store.
あの店が安いです。
- Emphasises which store is cheap.
- Often used when choosing or contrasting:
  - どの店が安いですか。 – Which store is cheap?
  - あの店が安いです。 – That store is the one that is cheap.

So:

は: sets topic, more “about that store in general”.
が: marks the specific one that fits the description, often in answer to “which / who”.

What kind of word is 安い? Is it a verb or an adjective?

安い is an adjective in Japanese, specifically an い‑adjective.

Key points about い‑adjectives:

Dictionary form ends in 〜い: 安い, 高い, 新しい, etc.
They can directly describe nouns:
- 安い店 – a cheap store
They can also form a complete predicate without any extra verb:
- 安い。 – (It) is cheap.

So 安いです is basically the polite form of the adjective 安い used as a predicate.

Why do we add です after 安い? Can we just say 安い?

です is added for politeness.

安い。
- Plain / casual.
- Used with friends, family, informal situations.
安いです。
- Polite.
- Suitable with people you don’t know well, in shops, in class, etc.

In あの店は安いです, です does not change the basic meaning of 安い; it just makes the sentence polite and softer.

So yes, you can say just 安い (or あの店は安い) in casual conversation.

Is です the same as だ? When would you use だ instead?

です and だ are related but not identical:

です
- Polite sentence ending.
- Used in polite speech (です／ます style).
- With い‑adjectives, it follows the adjective: 安いです, 高いです.
だ
- Plain (informal) copula.
- Commonly used after nouns and な‑adjectives:
  - 学生だ。 – (I’m) a student.
  - 静かだ。 – (It’s) quiet.
- With い‑adjectives, you normally do not add だ:
  - 安いだ is unnatural. You just say 安い。

So:

Polite: あの店は安いです。
Casual: あの店は安い。 (no だ)

Can you drop あの, は, or です in casual speech? How would the sentence change?

Yes, in real conversation Japanese often drops elements that are clear from context.

Starting from: あの店は安いです。

Drop です (casual speech):
- あの店は安い。
- Still clearly “That store is cheap”, but informal.
Drop は (very conversational, topic implied by intonation/context):
- あの店、安い。
- Literally “That store, cheap.”
- Very natural in spoken Japanese.
Drop あの if it’s already clear which store:
- (After you’ve just said “that store over there”) you could then just say:
  - 店、安いよ。 – “The store (we’re talking about) is cheap, you know.”

What you cannot do in normal speech is drop everything and just say 安いです out of nowhere and expect “that store” to be understood, unless the context is very obvious. Usually, at least the topic must be clear from the situation or recent mention.

How do you say “That store is not cheap” or “That store was cheap”? How does 安い change?

安い is an い‑adjective, so it changes form by modifying the い part.

Negative (not cheap)
- Present polite:
  - 安くないです / 安くありません – is not cheap
  - あの店は安くないです。 – “That store is not cheap.”
- Plain:
  - 安くない。 – is not cheap.
Past (was cheap)
- Past polite:
  - 安かったです。 – was cheap
  - あの店は安かったです。 – “That store was cheap.”
- Plain:
  - 安かった。 – was cheap.
Past negative (was not cheap)
- Polite:
  - 安くなかったです。
- Plain:
  - 安くなかった。

Pattern to remember for い‑adjectives like 安い:

Present: 安い
Negative: 安くない
Past: 安かった
Past negative: 安くなかった

Why is 安い at the end? Can you put it before 店 like in English “cheap store”?

Japanese has two main patterns with adjectives:

Adjective + noun (attributive use):
- 安い店 – “a cheap store”
- Here 安い comes before the noun it describes.
Noun は adjective です (predicate use):
- あの店は安いです。 – “That store is cheap.”
- Here the adjective comes at the end of the sentence, as the predicate.

So:

安い店 = “cheap store” (adjective directly modifying the noun)
あの店は安いです = “That store is cheap” (making a statement about the store)

You cannot just say あの安い店はです; that’s incorrect. It must be either:

あの安い店 – “that cheap store”
あの店は安いです – “That store is cheap.”

What level of politeness is あの店は安いです, and how would you say it very casually?

あの店は安いです is in polite (です／ます) style. It’s suitable for:

Talking to strangers
Speaking to teachers, customers, or superiors
Any neutral, non‑slang context

Very casual versions include:

あの店は安い。 – plain, neutral casual
あの店、安いよ。 – casual and friendly, adding よ for “you know / I’m telling you”
あの店、めっちゃ安い。 – very casual, adding slang めっちゃ (“super / really”).

All of these keep the same core meaning, but the politeness and mood change.