How to Say ‘Polite past ending’ in Japanese
ました
mashi ta
[mah-shee tah]
💬 Usage Tip: [ました] is the polite past ending, but with some verbs it often sounds like present perfect in English: [わかりました] usually means "I understand / got it," not only "I understood." You'll see the same thing in replies like [できました] for "I've done it / it's ready."
Phrase Breakdown
まし
mashi
[mah-shee]
polite past stem
This part is the polite past auxiliary stem used before た to make a polite past form.
説明を聞きまし。
I listened to the explanation.
た
ta
[tah]
past marker
This part completes the past tense in polite verb forms.
説明を聞きました。
I listened to the explanation.
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