Japanese Grammar: Verbs Imasu & Arimasu

Japanese Grammar: Verbs “imasu” and “arimasu” – Review Notes

Today we learned two ways to show existence in Japanese using the verbs arimasu (for non-living things) and imasu (for living things). But what about dead things, robots, and plants?!? Do they use arimasu or imasu?! Read more to find out!

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Showing existence using Arimasu or Imasu:

★　The Japanese verbs arimasu and imasu both translate to “there is” in English.

★　Generally, Imasu is used for living things and arimasu is used for everything else.

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Example 1: Imasu

猫がいます。

Neko ga imasu

There is a cat.

★　Cats are living creatures, so we use the verb imasu.

★　When using the verbs imasu or arimasu to show existence, we use the subject particle “ga” between the noun (neko) and the verb (imasu).

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Example 2: Imasu

子供がいます。

Kodomo ga imasu

There is a child.

★　Children are also living, so we use the verb imasu.

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Example 1: Arimasu

本があります。

Hon ga arimasu

There is a book.

★　Books are not living, so we use the verb arimasu.

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Example 2: Arimasu

かばんがあります。

Kaban ga arimasu

There is a bag.

★　A bag is not living, so we use the verb arimasu.

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EXCEPTIONS:

★　 We mentioned that there are a few exceptions or surprising cases.
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★　 For dead people/animals, you use arimasu. The word for dead body in Japanese is 死体 (shitai). So you would say:

死体があります。

Shitai ga arimasu.

There is a dead body.

I hope you never have to say that (>ω<);

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★　 For robots, you use imasu even though they are not really living.

ロボットがいます。

Robotto ga imasu.

There is a robot.

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★　 For plants, you use arimasu even though they are actually living.

木があります。

Ki ga arimasu.

There is a tree.

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Last Note:

★　 Depending on the context, arimasu can also be used to indicate possession. For example:

宿題があります。

Shukudai ga arimasu.

There is homework. / I have homework.

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Conclusion:

Today we learned how to use the Japanese verbs arimasu and imasu. Basically, imasu is for living things and arimasu is for other things, but there are some exceptions or surprises as we saw.

I hope you enjoyed today’s lesson! If you have any questions, leave a comment below (◕ω◕)♪

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Get Japanese dictionary!

Do you want to know a lot of Japanese words? I recommend you to get a dictionary!

If you have dictionary, you can always look up new Japanese words\(◕ω◕)/♥

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