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Text books normally teach that the negative of です is じゃありません. However it seems
very common to hear native Japanese use じゃないです.

Is this slang or somehow less correct than じゃありません? Would it be marked as
incorrect in a JLPT exam?

If they are both equally correct why is じゃありません taught to beginners? (To me
じゃないです seems simpler for a beginner to remember.)
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2011-08-10T12:15:47.987
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2023-04-05T21:45:39.897
2011-08-10T16:09:01.807
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word-choice negation formality
Is じゃないです equally correct as じゃありません?
`じゃないです` is a colloquial, uneducated way of saying `じゃありません`. It is not
totally ungrammatical, but is not totally correct either.

My reasoning for this is because it is not the shortest way of saying it.
Assuming that `ない` results from obligatory deletion of `ara` in Tokyo dialect
and that the `i`-ending of an i-adjective is an obligatorily replaced form of
`ku aru`, the fully expanded form of the two expressions are:

> ないです (7 morphemes)  
>  ar-ana-ku ar-u des-u  
>  DUMMYVERB-NEG-ADJECTIVE DUMMYVERB-NONPAST POLITE-NONPAST  
>
>
> ありません (4 morphemes)  
>  ar-imas-en-u  
>  DUMMYVERB-POLITE-NEG-NONPAST

Using `ありません` is much shorter. For those people who do not use `じゃありません`, the
negative morpheme `en`, which is conditioned to be used only with politeness,
is either blocked temporarily or is not known by the speaker.

I am interested in hearing other accounts of this contrast.

**To answer ento's question:**

In general (in any language), a well phrased (correct) sentence has to be the
shortest among the alternative strategies that have the exact same meaning
(including connotation, naunce, etc.). This is a genaral, basic fact about
language, and is observed at various levels (word, sentence, discourse). For
example, in English, it is not fully appropriate, unless there is a special
connotation or purpose, to say sentences like

> I am doing eating of a sandwich  
>  I am feeling sadness  
>  It is the case that it is sunny today [As a main sentence]

because there are shorter ways of saying them with the same meaning:

> I am eating a sandwich  
>  I am sad  
>  It is sunny today

My explanation above handles `ないです` vs. `ありません` in relation to this basic
principle. This is about awkardness, appropriateness, consiceness, and
correctness, but is not directly related to formality.

As for the measure of shortness, there can be several possibilities, but for
symplicity, I used the number of morphemes.
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2011-08-10T12:59:56.020
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2011-08-10T17:41:44.107
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_Disclaimer: I'm neither a native speaker nor a linguist so this answer of
mine is entirely my opinion and theory as a beginner, which may not be
appropriate here but I wanted to share it anyway._

To me ではないです or じゃないです is like turning a negation statement into polite:

> Xではない (a negation statement) + です (make it polite)

While ではありません or じゃありません is like a polite negation of a statement:

> X (a statement) + ではありません (politely negate it)

I'm not sure how it actually affects the quality of politeness of the
sentences, but my guts feeling is that ではないです is slightly less elegant than
ではありません due to the following reason: Making a plain negative statement polite
gives off the feeling of not thinking about being polite from the beginning.
It is like being forced to be polite due to the circumstances, unlike politely
negating the statement which gives off the feeling that you are already
thinking about being polite before being negative.
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2011-08-10T13:13:55.943
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2011-08-10T13:42:30.170
2011-08-10T13:42:30.170
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I read an interesting paper on this very topic a few months ago. Let's see…ah,
here it is:

[A Discussion of the Polite Negative Verb Forms _masen_ and _nai
desu_](http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/nichigen/menu7_folder/symposium/pdf/8/10.pdf)
(PDF, Japanese)

This paper by Kayoko Tanaka was presented at the eighth annual conference on
Japanese language education research at Nagoya University in 2010. Ms. Tanaka,
using sentences drawn from a survey of _spoken Japanese_ , draws the following
contrast:

### ～ません (in spoken Japanese)

>
> 「ません」はフォーマルであるという意識【いしき】が強【つよ】く、話者【わしゃ】の強【つよ】い否定【ひてい】が現【あらわ】れやすい。また、断定【だんてい】の意味【いみ】や、言【い】い切【き】りの形【かたち】が多【おお】い。それは、丁寧【ていねい】さより否定【ひてい】の意志【いし】が強【つよ】く現【あらわ】れる（丁寧【ていねい】（ませ）＋否定【ひてい】（ん）の順序【じゅんじょ】で現【あらわ】れる）という言語【げんご】形式【けいしき】が影響【えいきょう】していると考【かんが】える。これにより、話【はな】し手【て】は聞【き】き手【て】に否定【ひてい】の機能【きのう】を強調【きょうちょう】できる。より文末【ぶんまつ】に近【ちか】い位置【いち】に来【く】る表現【ひょうげん】が強【つよ】い印象【いんしょう】を与【あた】えるとすると、「ません」は否定【ひてい】の機能【きのう】が強【つよ】い印象【いんしょう】を与【あた】えている。
>
> `masen` has a strong sense of formality, and often expresses the speaker's
> firm denial. Also, it is often used to add a **sense of assertion** or in
> **emphatic constructions**. This is thought to arise from the influence of
> the linguistic form (where the order is polite `mase` \+ negation `n`), in
> which **the intent of negation appears stronger than the politeness**. From
> this the speaker can draw the listener's attention to the negating function.
> If we assume that expressions which appear nearer to the end of the sentence
> leave stronger impressions, the negating function of `masen` leaves a strong
> impression. _(emphasis mine)_

### ～ないです (in spoken Japanese)

>
> 「ないです」は、口語【こうご】で多【おお】く使用【しよう】される。野田【のだ】（2004）の指摘【してき】通【どお】り、終助詞【しゅうじょし】を伴【ともな】いやすく、動詞【どうし】＋「シテイル形【けい】」と結【むす】びつきやすいという結果【こうか】を得【え】た。それは、否定【ひてい】の機能【きのう】より、丁寧【ていねい】さが強【つよ】く現【あらわ】れる（否定【ひてい】（ない）＋丁寧【ていねい】（です）の順序【じゅんじょ】で現【あらわ】れる）という言語【げんご】形式【けいしき】が影響【えいきょう】していると考【かんが】える。これにより、話【はな】し手【て】は聞【き】き手【て】に丁寧【ていねい】さを強調【きょうちょう】できる。より文末【ぶんまつ】に近【ちか】い位置【いち】に来【く】る表現【ひょうげん】が強【つよ】い印象【いんしょう】を与【あた】えるとすると、「ないです」は丁寧【ていねい】さが強【つよ】い印象【いんしょう】を与【あた】えている。また、さらに否定【ひてい】表現【ひょうげん】という話者【わしゃ】本人【ほんにん】の強【つよ】い主張【しゅちょう】を和【やわ】らげる効果【こうか】があるのではないかと考【かんが】える。
>
> `nai desu` is often used in spoken Japanese. As indicated by Noda (2004),
> the effects of this construction are such that it is often used in concert
> with sentence-ending particles, and that it is easily joined with the
> `(verb) + shiteiru` form. This is thought to arise from the influence of the
> linguistic form (where the order is negation `nai` \+ polite `desu`), in
> which **the level of politeness appears stronger than the negating
> function**. From this the speaker can draw the listener's attention to the
> level of politeness. If we assume that expressions which appear nearer to
> the end of the sentence leave stronger impressions, the politeness of `nai
> desu` leaves a stronger impression. Also, it is further thought that this
> may have the effect of **softening the speaker's strong assertion of a
> negative expression**. _(emphasis mine)_

### So basically…

～ません and ～ないです are semantically equivalent, but ～ないです is softer and less
insistent. If you need to give a firm denial with no wiggle room, go with
～ません. But since this level of bluntness can be inappropriate in _some_
situations, ～ないです is there if you need it.

Also, this applies to every negative sentence (not just those ending in a form
of です):

> 好【す】きじゃないです／好【す】きじゃありません
>
> 楽【たの】しくないです／楽【たの】しくありません
>
> 飲【の】まないです／飲【の】みません
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2011-08-10T15:25:36.977
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2011-09-29T13:19:36.893
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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As per my Sensei (who is a native speaker of Japanese and grew up in Tokyo),
there is absolutely no grammatical difference between ～ないです and ～ません.
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2011-08-11T22:36:30.597
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2011-09-30T02:26:51.263
2011-09-30T02:26:51.263
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