what is desu?

please

[sublight]

Eh, what the hell...

Encyclopedia Dramatica gives a good definition here.

Desu (??), (pronounced "dess"...) is a Japanese linking verb used in keigo, or polite language. In casual speech, speakers either drop it entirely or change it to its short form "da".

Moar importantly, DESU is also a grammatical meme that gets spammed ALL THE FUCKING TIME on the *chans... upon exposure to the /b/tarded brain like some kind of viral Tourette's Syndrome bug. After its introduction into lexicon of the Chanese people in 2006, prominent lulzologists quickly concluded that you can nevar have too much DESU and thus, everything needs moar DESU.

spelling is as in the original.

And we do not need more desu.

[Caught@Work]

"Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" is the title of the 10th movement of the cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 composed by Johann Sebastian Bach.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesu,_Joy_ ... s_Desiring

[Giles]

If it's the Japanese word that the OP is interested in, then some more points about it are:
(1) It's roughly equivalent to the verb "be" in English, and
(2) Hence it's one of the commonest words in Japanese, particularly spoken Japanese.
(3) As well as being politer than "da", "desu" tends to be used by women more, while "da" is used by men.
(4) Because of the Japanese subject-object-verb word order, "desu" often comes at the end of a sentence -- or if the sentence is a question, it often ends with "desu ka", with "ka" being the particle that marks questions.
(5) When spoken, the "u" in the word is hardly pronounced, so "desu" sounds like the "des" in the English word "desk" (and "desu ka" sounds like "desk" with an "a" added at the end).

[drewbert]

Desilu Productions was a Los Angeles, California-based company jointly owned by couple and TV actors Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball.

[Feirefiz]

"Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" is the title of the 10th movement of the cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 composed by Johann Sebastian Bach.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesu,_Joy_ ... s_Desiring

Is the form Jesu so rare in English that this title is the only well-known example and that's why people keep making that reference, or is there some other connection that I am missing?

[Cerowyn]

To be even more specific than the Encyclopedia Dramatica definition, keigo ("polite language") encompasses several different levels of politeness. The 'desu/-masu/o-' forms of words are part of the 'lowest' level, called teineigo. It's the level first taught to most non-native learners of the language, as it's acceptable in most situations (particularly for foreigners). As Giles notes, it's also common for women* to use it more often in more casual speech.

* Sublight and I both know a guy who unfortunately learned a lot of his Japanese by hanging out in hostess bars. An acquaintance of mine once remarked to me that his Japanese was very good, but that he spoke like a woman.

[danceswithcats]

It's "USED" spelled backwards.

[Vox Imperatoris]

All this is true, but it actually comes from its use by an anime character with one green and one red eye, who is associated with the meme. "Desu" was overused by her because it signifies cuteness, as well as politeness.

[TheFlame]

Vox: Can you link to this (that's quite a cool story if its true)?

[Vox Imperatoris]

Vox: Can you link to this (that's quite a cool story if its true)?

From that Encyclopedia Dramatica link:

It originated with a character in Rozen Maiden who would always end her sentences with DESU the emphatic form of da. She often appears in image macros featuring one red eye and one green eye and a green dress. She has the habit of killing people with a watering-can. Her name in DESU the anime is Suiseiseki (soo-see-seh-SEK-kee), and she's a doll or some weird anime shit. The excessive use of a polite form of greeting is ironic because out of all the Rozen Maiden characters Suiseiseki is the most impolite to Jun, the human to whom they are attached. 4chanians forgot how to spell her name, and just referred to her as Desu.

Note that I've never actually watched this show; I just know that this character is associated with the meme. Also, a casual image search turns up lots of things like this and this.

[parzival]

Is the form Jesu so rare in English that this title is the only well-known example and that's why people keep making that reference, or is there some other connection that I am missing?

It is pretty much non-existent outside of this usage. 'Jesu' was commonly used in Middle English, alongside 'Jesus' (which dates to 1175 according to the Online Etymological Dictionary) and that's what's used in every modern case. I'd guess that it's more likely a blending from the German title than a throwback to an archaic English word. Occasionally you'll see "Jesus, Joy of Man's Desiring", but I've never seen any alternate, more accurate translation of the title, so someone must have come up with it a few hundred years ago and it stuck.