である details
is; are — the written copula that stands in for だ in reports, essays and rules
この装置の最大の利点は、操作が簡単であることである。
kono souchi no saidai no riten wa, sousa ga kantan de aru koto de aru.
The greatest advantage of this device is that it is simple to operate. neutral
当時、この地域の主な産業は漁業であった。
touji, kono chiiki no omo na sangyou wa gyogyou de atta.
At the time, the main industry of this region was fishing. neutral
- noun
- na-adjective
- formal
- formal
- past
- negative
Examples
is; are — predicating in the written plain style, where speech would use だ or です
この装置の最大の利点は、操作が簡単であることである。
kono souchi no saidai no riten wa, sousa ga kantan de aru koto de aru.
The greatest advantage of this device is that it is simple to operate. neutral
当時、この地域の主な産業は漁業であった。
touji, kono chiiki no omo na sangyou wa gyogyou de atta.
At the time, the main industry of this region was fishing. neutral
調査の結果は、必ずしも十分ではない。
chousa no kekka wa, kanarazushimo juubun de wa nai.
The results of the survey are not necessarily sufficient. neutral
本サービスの利用は、当社の会員である方に限る。
hon saabisu no riyou wa, tousha no kaiin de aru kata ni kagiru.
Use of this service is limited to those who are members of this company. formal
Formation
{N}であるattaches to noun{NA-stem}であるattaches to na-adjective
Variant notes
- であり — cut short mid-sentence to join the next clause — 田中は本校の卒業生であり、現在は教員である。
- であれば — the conditional — 会員であれば無料です; commoner in writing than なら, and it takes a noun or a na-adjective just as である does.
Notes
だ・である throughout. Mixing the two inside one report or essay is the first
thing a reader notices.
Related patterns
Similar
The two styles a whole text has to choose between — です・ます addresses a reader directly and suits letters, speeches and anything spoken, while である addresses nobody and suits reports, essays and rules; picking one commits every sentence in the text to it.
のだ・んです explains something the listener can see and needs a reason for; である explains nothing and merely predicates, which is why an essay full of である can still carry a single のである at the point the writer draws the conclusion.
The same copula at the two ends of the register scale: である addresses nobody and belongs to reports and rules, でございます addresses the listener as ceremoniously as Japanese allows — no text uses both.
Lookalikes
Both end in である to the eye, and the split is at the て — 書いてある is a verb's て-form plus ある and reports a state someone left behind, while 便利である is one copula on a noun or a na-adjective and reports what the thing IS.
Combines with
である joins clauses the same written way any other predicate does, by cutting off at であり、 — which is why a である text can run several clauses long without a single て.