Lesson 2: Verbs of Existence: Iru/Aru
Sorry about the delay, Fukuzawa-shachou has decided I need to start school, so I’ve been a bit busy (〃＞＿＜;〃)
Anyway, time for Lesson 2! In this lesson, we’ll learn to say that people and things exist, ask where people and things are, and learn how to say you have something. We’ll also cover some words of location and continue the Ko-So-A series for locations.
あ、太宰さんがいます。Ah, Dazai-san is here. Of course, he’s not really working….(；⌣̀_⌣́)
Iru/Aru. A wa B ni imasu.
In Japanese, there are two basic verbs of existence, or ‘to be’. One for inanimate objects and plants: ある aru (Dictionary/Plain form) あります arimasu (Polite)
and one for living things (besides plants): いる iru います imasu
This pair of existence verbs (iru/aru) are used both to say that: 1) something exists/something is there 2) somebody owns something, has something
For example:
When I arrive at the Agency in the morning, and I open the door and I see Dazai-san (which is strange, because he’s rarely here in the morning), I think to myself: あ、太宰さんがいます。 あ、だざいさんがいます。 A, Dazai-san ga imasu. Lit. Ah, Dazai-san exists. Or, more colloquially, “Ah, Dazai-san is here.” (‘Here’ isn’t specifically stated, but it’s understood.)
Now, what if I want to specify the location someone is in? Let’s say Dazai-san asks me where Atsushi-san is: 鏡花ちゃん、敦君はどこですか。 きょうかちゃん、あつしくんはどこですか。 Kyouka-chan, Atsushi-kun wa doko desu ka?
‘Doko’ means ‘where’, as in where is a thing, where is a person.
And if you remember Lesson 1, ‘desu’ is the polite sentence ending when you aren’t using another verb at the end. Dazai-san could casually say “Atsushi-kun wa doko?”
Key Point: “Where is ____?” = “____ wa doko desu ka?”
So, because I saw Atsushi-san in the first floor café on the way in, I’d then respond to Dazai-san: 敦さんはカフェにいます。 あつしさんはカフェにいます。 Atsushi-san wa kafe ni imasu. Lit: As for Atsushi-san, he is located in the café./Atsushi-san exists in the café. Or: Atsushi-san is in the café.
敦さんはカフェにいます。 Atsushi-san is in the café.
I can also simply say: Kafe ni imasu.
Since it’s obvious we are talking about Atsushi-san, so I don’t need to specify the subject again.
Key Point: “Person A is located/exists/is in location B.” = “A wa B ni imasu.” Or: “B ni imasu.” if the subject is already understood.
Japanese grammar is rather flexible, so I can also exchange the two pieces of the sentence and say: Kafe ni Atsushi-san ga imasu. Lit. In the café, Atsushi-san exists. In the café is Atsushi-san.
‘Ga’ is more commonly used in this structure than ‘wa’.
Key Point: “In location B is Person A.” = “B ni A ga imasu.”
no•の connector and location words:
The 2 patterns above can be used for inanimate objects if aru is used instead!! Dazai: 私の本はどこですか。 わたしのほんはどこですか。 Watashi no hon wa doko desu ka? Where is my book?
Me: 太宰さんの本はカフェのテーブルの上にあります。 だざいさんのほんはカフェのテーブルのうえにあります。 Dazai-san no hon wa café no teeburu no ue ni arimasu. Lit. Dazai-san’s book is located on the table in the café. Or: Your book is on the table in the café.
Oh my gosh, what’s going on? What happened to my A wa B ni arimasu structure??? Answer: It’s still there! But now we’re giving a relative location of the book, on the table.
On the table: Teeburu no ue.
In order to give relative locations such as: on top of, under, next to, in front of, etc, we connect the relative locations words to the objects they refer to using the connection particle の ‘no’. ‘no’ can also be thought of as: ‘s (apostrophe s)
Here is a list of relative location words:
上•うえ• ue• on top, above 下•した • shita• under 近く• ちかく• chikaku• nearby 隣• となり• tonari• next to 前• まえ• mae• in front of 中•なか • naka• inside 後ろ• うしろ• ushiro• back, behind (of people, buildings, etc)
So we can say:
on top of the table: teeburu no ue under the table: teeburu no shita near the table: teeburu no chikaku next to the table: teeburu no tonari in front of the table: teeburu no mae inside the table!?: teeburu no naka (maybe the table has a drawer or something….) behind the table: teeburu no ushiro
Hon wa teeburu no ue ni arimasu. The book is on the table. (A wa B ni arimasu.)
To say that the table is in the café, we also use the connection particle ‘no’.
kafe no teeburu lit. The café’s table. The table in the café
Connecting the two sentence pieces, we have:
Hon wa kafe no teeburu no ue ni arimasu. Lit. As for the book, it’s on the café’s table’s top. Or: The book is on the top of the table in the café.
But we also had ‘no’ connecting Dazai-san and book: Dazaisan no hon! ‘no’ is a connector particle and also shows ownership!
Dazaisan no hon: Dazai-san’s book Atsushisan no chazuke: Atsushi-san’s chazuke Chuuyasan no boushi: Chuuya-san’s hat Watashi no kimono: My kimono
So, putting everything together, we have: Dazaisan no hon wa kafe no teeburu no ue ni arimasu. Dazai-san’s book in on the table in the café.
But if I’m speaking TO Dazai-san and I say this exact sentence, it means more colloquially: “YOUR book is on the table in the café.” Since if you remember from Lesson 0, it is polite to refer to the person you are talking to with their name if you know it.
And finally, some other important location words come from the Ko-So-A Series that I introduced in Lesson 1! This is really a Ko-So-A-Do series because we have:
ここ• here そこ• there あそこ• over there どこ• where
And remember: Ko~ for locations closer to the speaker (yourself, if you are the speaker) So~ for locations closer to the listener A~ for locations far from both the speaker and listener
So I can easily say, “The book is here, Dazai-san!” Dazai-san, hon wa koko ni arimasu. (A wa B ni arimasu.)
With koko, soko, asoko, and doko, you can also replace ‘ni arimasu’ with desu: Hon wa koko desu.
Hon wa doko desu ka: Lit. Where is the book? Hon wa doko ni arimasu ka: Lit. Where is the book located?
So now you can say where all sorts of things and people are located in relation to other things and people!
As a final note, you can use iru and aru to say that somebody has a thing or person. For example:
Watashi wa kimono ga arimasu. I have a kimono. Chuuyasan wa boushi ga arimasu. Chuuya-san has a hat. Akutagawasan wa imoutosan ga imasu. Akutagawa-san has a younger sister.
It’s important to try not to mix up iru and aru!! Why? Well, if you say ‘aru’ in regards to a person, that brings to mind the image of their body existing in a location, rather than the fact that they are living and existing in a location:
*near the river*
Dazai-san wa asoko ni arimasu.
Atsushi *worried*: Dazai-san wa doko desu ka? Kyouka *points near the river*: Asoko ni arimasu. Atsushi: Dazai-saaaan! <sobbing> Kyouka: ……sorry, I mean imasu. Dazai-san wa asoki ni imasu. (-_-;)
Dazai-san wa asoki ni imasu. (-_-;)