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Grammar · です and negatives

じゃないです, is not

The pattern

[Noun] ja nai desu

The everyday polite negative. ではありません is the same thing in a more formal register, and じゃありません sits between them.

The mistake to avoid

じゃ is a spoken contraction of では. Both are correct; では is what you write.

Examples

Rōmaji help
gakusei ja nai desu.
I'm not a student.
kore wa watashi no de wa arimasen.
This is not mine.
kore wa mizu ja nai desu.
This is not water.
kyō wa yasumi ja nai desu.
Today is not a day off.