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Context: I have been chatting with a Japanese girl who is going to move to
Germany, and I asked if she had any experience with the German language and
told her I had been considering learning German recently.

Her response went along the lines of, "I'm very enthusiastic about learning
German..." and then...

> 素晴らしい。ドイツ語も勉強 **しない** とですね。

Am I right in thinking that means...

> Wonderful, if you **aren't** learning learning German too.

Am I missing something with the grammar/context here? Surely she would rather
say "Wonderful, if you're learning German too."? Could it be a typo? I am not
advanced enough in the language yet to know whether something is an obvious
mistake or not!
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2012-11-18T14:04:42.863
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grammar
Typo or am I missing something? 「ドイツ語も勉強しないとですね。」
"sinai to" is short for "sinai to ikenai". She is saying that she must also
study German.
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2012-11-18T14:16:26.207
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This girl is actually expressing the concept of: _Must do something_. In
Japanese grammar you can use two basic grammars to achieve this.

But remember that we are not talking about giving orders (which has a complete
independent form in Japanese grammar).

## Quite direct and informal approach

When you talk with a friend, this is actually the easiest way to say: _Must do
something_ , intended as something needed, some sort of task to do.

> (Verb:ない-Form)と ==> Must/Have to...

Or, extended...

> (Verb:ない-Form)といけません ==> Must/Have to...

Here are some examples:

> 1) 明{あし}日{た}は試{し}験{けん}があるね。勉{べん}強{きょう}しないと！ => Tomorrow I have a test. I
> gotta study!
>
> 2) ごめん、スーパーへ行{い}かないと〜今{きょ}日{う}は用{よう}事{じ}があるから、遊{あそ}びはちょっとだめ！ => Sorry, I
> have to go to the supermarket... Today I have errands so, I cannot play with
> you!
>
> 3) 映{えい}画{が}って？やだよ！まだ宿{しゅく}題{だい}をしないと！ => What? A movie? That's impossible!
> You still have to finish homeworks!
>
> 4) まだ下{へ}手{た}なので、もっと練{れん}習{しゅう}しないと〜 => 'Cause I am still bad at it, I must
> train more...

## Saying it a little bit more formally (but not that much)

When you are not with friends but with adults or superiors or in a context new
to you, you should use the following form:

> (Verb:ない-Form->{drop い})ければなりません ==> Must/Have to...

Here are some examples:

> 1) ああ、明{あし}日{た}は学{がっ}校{こう}へ行{い}かなければなりません！ => Mmm, tomorrow I have to go to
> school.
>
> 2) 昨{き}日{のう}は試{し}験{けん}があったので、京{きょう}都{と}へ行{い}かなければなりませんでした。 => Yesterday I
> had a test, so I had to go to Kyoto.
>
> 3) この薬{くすり}を飲{の}まなければなりませんから、その薬{くすり}まで飲{よ}めない！ => I must take this
> medicine, so I cannot that one too.
>
> 4) 強{つよ}くなりたいんですね、じゃたくさん食{た}べなければならないね〜 => So you want power... you must eat
> a lot...

## Another way...

There is another way to express this. It is actually used by kids and girls
and it is encountered very often in spoken language (believe me, they use it a
lot). It is the following:

> (Verb:ない-Form->{drop い})きゃ ==> Must/Have to...

Here are some examples:

> 1) ああ、難{むずか}しいよ！もっとまじめにしなきゃ〜 ==> Mmm, this is difficult! I must go for it
> more seriously...
>
> 2) あの電{でん}車{しゃ}に乗{の}らなきゃ！ ==> I must get on that train.
>
> 3) 車{くるま}はだめだよ！歩{ある}かなきゃ！ ==> Car is not allowed! You must go by foot.

## About your question...

The girl is saying this:

> 素{す}晴{ば}らしい。ドイツ語{ご}も勉{べん}強{きょう}しないとですね。 => Wonderful. I have to study German
> too.

From the context you provided it might sound quite sarcastic as well.

This should help you in future when you encounter other similar situations...
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Just to add the other two answers, ～しないとです is a very colloquial polite form,
which some people consider to be corrupted.

> ドイツ語も勉強しないといけないね。 (non-polite form) → ドイツ語も勉強しないといけませんね。 (polite form)  
>  ドイツ語も勉強しないとね。 (non-polite form, colloquial) → ドイツ語も勉強しないとですね。 (polite form
> (?), very colloquial at best)

As Dono explained, ～しないと is an abbreviation of the phrase ～しないといけない. Whereas
いけない can be turned into its polite form いけません, the しないと part cannot be turned
into a polite form. Because of this, some people use です as a generic suffix to
make a polite form.

Another example of this use of です is よろしくです.

> よろしくお願いする。 (non-polite form, rare) → よろしくお願いします。 (polite form)  
>  よろしく。 (non-polite form, colloquial) → よろしくです。 (polite form (?), very
> colloquial at best)

Related question: “[What does っす at the end of a sentence
mean?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/36/what-
does-%E3%81%A3%E3%81%99-at-the-end-of-a-sentence-mean)” by sartak.
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