これは桜という花です。
- This is a flower called sakura.
This Japanese sentence "これは桜という花です。" means "This is a flower called sakura." in English. It is an N4 High-level example sentence.
Words Contained
AI Explanation
これは桜という花です。 meaning: This is a flower called a cherry blossom.
⚫︎ The sentence follows a simple subject-topic-predicate structure, common in Japanese. ⚫︎ The topic is これ (this), marked by the topic particle は (wa). ⚫︎ は indicates what the sentence is about. In this case, it's "this". ⚫︎ The predicate, what is being said about the topic, is 桜という花です。 (is a flower called a cherry blossom).
⚫︎ という (to iu) is a particle used to introduce a definition, explanation, or a name. It means "called" or "is named". ⚫︎ It is used here to define what 桜 (sakura - cherry blossom) is. ⚫︎ It acts as a quotation marker. In this context, it's similar to saying "a flower *called* cherry blossom".
⚫︎ です (desu) is the polite copula (linking verb), equivalent to "is" or "are" in English. ⚫︎ It adds politeness to the sentence. Without it, the sentence would be considered casual. ⚫︎ It conjugates to でした (deshita) in the past tense, でしょう (deshou) for speculation/prediction, etc. ⚫︎ It is a fundamental part of polite Japanese speech.
⚫︎ This sentence demonstrates the common pattern: Noun + という + Noun. ⚫︎ The first noun (in this case, 桜 - sakura) is being *defined* or *explained* using the second noun (花 - hana - flower). ⚫︎ This pattern often introduces a name or description. You could also use this to say "a person called Tanaka" - 田中という人 (Tanaka to iu hito).
⚫︎ これ (kore): this (near the speaker) ⚫︎ 桜 (sakura): cherry blossom ⚫︎ 花 (hana): flower ⚫︎ です (desu): is/are (polite copula) ⚫︎ Putting it all together: "This is a flower called a cherry blossom." The meaning is also "This is a cherry blossom".