I'm looking for example situations of when to use each level of politeness. I know they all are the same but when situational wise to use each one is where I am having confusion.
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3And ではない, if you want to have all combinations of [±formal] and [±polite].– user1478Sep 25, 2018 at 17:36
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1 Answer
In terms of situational usage, it partially depends on how one wishes to present themselves.
That said, the way I've used these forms is as follows:
ではありません
- Formal writing, such as a report or documentation
ではない
- Formal writings in combination with
のでwhen giving an explanation. - Formal writings with longer sentences in place of
ではありません(both between phrases and at the end of the compound sentence).
じゃありません
- Formal conversation, such as during an interview.
じゃない
- Casual conversation with friends and / or casual writing such as text messages
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2I believe that for scientific writing (which is also formal), such as for reports or documentation, ではない is standard and ではありません would usually be considered too wordy.– Earthliŋ ♦Sep 27, 2018 at 6:14
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In that context, is it used in the middle of a sentence still (to combine two clauses), or would the sentence end with ではない?– Tim F.Sep 27, 2018 at 6:24
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3Both in the middle in the sentence, like you also mention, and at the end of a sentence.– Earthliŋ ♦Sep 27, 2018 at 6:28