야

casual "is/are"

The blunt, friends-and-family version of "it is": 기적이야 is "you're a miracle", 거야 is "it's that…". Use it only with people you are close to or younger than — with a stranger it sounds rude, and the polite equivalent is 예요/이에요. The negative 아니야 ("isn't it?") is everywhere in these clips as a way of floating a guess: 아니야? at the end turns the whole sentence into "…don't they?" or "…isn't it?". With a rising tone 거야? asks "what are you doing?" or "why are you doing that?", often with an edge of complaint.

Register: casual, close relationships only