How to Say "Was" in Japanese - How To Say Guide

だった

datta

In Japanese, the phrase for "was" is だった (datta).

This phrase is used to describe a previous state or identity. It functions as the past tense of the verb "to be."

Which one should you use?

The form だった is the informal or plain version. In contrast, でした is the polite form used in standard conversation with strangers or superiors.

だった is the casual past tense form. For a polite way to say "was", use でした.

The form だった is used after nouns and na-adjectives to indicate a past state or identity.

datta

If you are talking about a person's existence in the past rather than their identity, you should not use だった at all, but instead use the past tense of the verb 'to exist', which is あった or いた.
While だった is the past tense for nouns, you cannot use it with 'i-adjectives' like 'cold' or 'expensive'. To say something 'was' cold, you must change the adjective itself rather than adding だった to the end.
Adding んだ to だった to make だったんだ changes the nuance from a simple statement to an explanation or a discovery of a hidden truth.

闇夜だった。
It was a dark night.
This sentence shows how to describe a previous state of the environment using だった.
Tatoeba #191229 by small_snow, translation #28390 by CK
簡単だった。
It was easy.
This sentence demonstrates the use of だった to describe a previous quality.
Tatoeba #3507431 by arnab, translation #2248821 by CK
地獄だった。
It was hell.
This sentence illustrates how だった can be used to describe a previous intense state.
Tatoeba #8533869 by e4zh1nmcz, translation #8533242 by Amastan
1657 more sentences on Tatoeba

Ren and Misaki are talking about their weekend.

蓮 Ren

昨日はいい天気だったね。
Kinō wa ii tenki datta ne.
The weather was nice yesterday, wasn't it?
美咲 Misaki

うん、本当に最高だったよ。
Un, hontō ni saikō datta yo.
Yeah, it was really the best.
蓮 Ren

どこかに出かけたの？
Dokoka ni dekaketa no?
Did you go somewhere?
美咲 Misaki

公園にいたけど、静かだった。
Kōen ni ita kedo, shizuka datta.
I was at the park, and it was quiet.

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