How do you say ‘is’ in Japanese? It’s just one tiny word in English, but it has several equivalents in Japanese! We’ll go over two of these here: ある (aru) and いる (iru).
What Are ある (Aru) and いる (Iru)?
ある (aru) and いる (iru) are what we call ‘verbs of existence.’ In English, you’d translate both of them as ‘to be.’
Unfortunately, ‘to be’ has more than one grammatical role in English. It can be a verb of existence, or it can be a copula*. That means that the English ‘to be’ has three equivalents in Japanese: the verbs of existence ある (aru) and いる (iru), and the copula です (desu).
Here’s a quick test to figure out which you need. If, in your English sentence, you can replace ‘to be’ with ‘to exist,’ then you have a verb of existence. If you can’t, then you have a copula. For example, if you rephrase “He is at work” as “He exists at work,” the sentence is still grammatically correct. This ‘is’ is a verb of existence. But if you change “This is a pen” to “This exists a pen,” that doesn’t make sense; this ‘is’ is a copula.
In this article, we’re focusing on verbs of existence. There are two main verbs of existence in Japanese: ある (aru) and いる (iru).
What’s the Difference between ある (Aru) And いる (Iru)?
It all depends on whether the thing that you’re saying exists is a living creature or not. Living things get いる (iru), and non-living things get ある (aru).
Types of Words to Use With ある (Aru): Non-Living Things
| Japanese | Rōmaji | English Translation |
| ペン | pen | pen |
| 地図 | chizu | map |
| 木 | ki | tree |
| 晩ご飯 | bangohan | dinner |
Types of Words to Use With いる (Iru): Living Things
| Japanese | Rōmaji | English Translation |
| 母 | haha | mother |
| 犬 | inu | dog |
| 友達 | tomodachi | friend |
| ゴジラ | Gojira | Godzilla |
Hold up—why are trees on the nonliving list? Since ancient times, these words have been used, so when I say ‘living,’ I don’t mean it the way modern biology means it. I mean that it seems lifelike.
いる (iru) is used for humans and animals, which move around, think, and acts on their decisions. Everything else gets ある (aru).
Weird Words: Do You Use Aru or Iru?
I bet you’re already coming up with some extreme examples to test the limits of the living/nonliving divide. Am I right? Bring it on!
What about a corpse? A dead body might have been living once, but it’s not living now. Use ある (aru) for this.
A ghost? It might be dead, but it acts like a living being. That’s what makes it creepy! Use いる (iru).
A robot? This one is tricky! For something like a Roomba, which doesn’t resemble a living thing, use ある (aru). But there’s no consensus about what to use for a humanoid robot or an AI. Nobody knows!
How to Make Sentences With Aru and Iru
Now you know when to use ある (aru) versus いる (iru). The next step is using these words in sentences.
Saying That Something Exists
One of the common uses for these verbs is stating that something exists. To make this basic sentence, you take your subject, add the subject particle が (ga), and add the verb of existence after it.
地図がある。
(Chizu ga aru)
There is a map.
Saying That You Have Something
This same sentence structure can be used to imply that you have something.
Let’s say someone asks you if they can borrow a pen or pencil. You’re not sure if you have one, so you look inside your bag. When you find one, you can say:
ペンがある。
(Pen ga aru)
I have a pen.
Making a sentence with いる (iru) is almost identical. If your subject is a person or an animal, replace ある (aru) with いる (iru).
犬がいる。
(Inu ga iru)
I have a dog.
Using Aru and Iru With Locations
What if you want to do more than say that something exists? Maybe you want to tell your friend where something is.
To do this, add an extra section in the middle of your sentence, with the location followed by the location marking particle に (ni):
地図が壁にある。
(Chizu ga kabe ni aru)
The map is on the wall.
You can also do this with living things:
ゴジラが東京にいる。
(Gojira ga Tōkyō ni iru)
Godzilla is in Tokyo.
Negative Form: Something Does Not Exist
What about when something doesn’t exist? To make a negative statement, replace the verb of existence with its negative form.
For ある (aru), the negative form is ない (nai):
トイレがない。
(Toire ga nai)
There is not a bathroom. (There are no bathrooms.)
For いる (iru), the negative form is いない (inai):
母が東京にいない。
(Haha ga Tōkyō ni inai)
My mother isn’t in Tokyo.
Negative Form: Questions Words + も (Mo)
What about if you’re answering a question? Let’s say your friend asked what you have in your pocket, but your pocket is empty. To answer them, take the question word and add the particle も (mo) after it, then follow that with your negative verb:
Examples:
1. ポケットに何もない。
(Poketto ni nani mo nai)
I don’t have anything in my pocket.
2. ペンがどこにもない。
(Pen ga doko ni mo nai)
There isn’t a pen anywhere.
3. トイレに誰もいない。
(Toire ni dare mo inai)
There isn’t anybody in the toilet.
Polite Form of Aru and Iru
So far, we’ve been working with the plain form of ある (aru) and いる (iru). This form is ideal to use when talking to close friends.
If you’re talking to someone you don’t know well, though, using the plain form can sound curt. Instead, you should use the polite form. The polite form, or ます (masu) form, is used to show courtesy towards strangers and acquaintances. The polite form of ある (aru) is あります (arimasu):
ペンがあります。
(Pen ga arimasu)
I have a pen.
And いる (iru) becomes います (imasu):
ボブがいますか？
(Bobu ga imasu)
Bob is here.
Negative Polite Form
For negative expressions, change the ます (masu) portion of the polite form verb to ません (masen):
Examples:
1. ペンがありませんか？
(Pen ga arimasen ka)
Don’t you have a pen?
2. ボブがいません。
(Bobu ga imasen)*
Bob isn’t here.
*Note: If you are talking about someone who you should be very polite to (your boss, people you deal with in business, teachers, etc.), you can use the respect word いらっしゃる (irassharu). This is keigo, or honorific language in Japanese.
In the sentence above, if Bob were someone you were doing business with, you would add an honorific title さん (san)、先生 (sensei)、社長 (shachō), etc. and use いらっしゃいません (irasshaimasen), the negative polite form of いらっしゃる (irassharu).
ボブさんがいらっしゃいません。
(Bobu san ga irasshaimasen)
Bob is not here.
Asking Questions with Aru and Iru
So far, we’ve composed statements using ある (aru) and いる (iru). What about asking questions? For a yes or no question, this is simple.
Formal/Polite Questions
First, compose a statement as we’ve covered above. Then, us the polite form (あります or います) and add the question marker particle か (ka) to the end of your sentence. Voila, a polite, yes-or-no question:
Examples:
1. 地図がありますか？
(Chizu ga arimasu ka)
Is there a map?
2. 犬がいますか？
(Inu ga imasu ka)
Do you have a dog?
Question Words
For more complex questions, you need a question word:
| Japanese | Rōmaji | English Translation |
| 誰 | dare | who |
| 何 | nani | what |
| どこ | doko | where |
Making a sentence with ‘who’ and ‘what’ is a lot like the basic sentence we started with. Your question word becomes the subject of your sentence. Add the subject marker が (ga) after it, then follow with your verb, and finally end with the question marker か (ka):
1. 何がありますか？
(Nani ga arimasu ka)
What do you have?
2. 誰がいますか？
(Dare ga imasu ka)
Who is there?
‘Where’ is a little different. Because it’s about location, you need to use the location sentence structure we discussed above. Replace the location word with どこ (doko), keep the location marker に (ni), and add the question marker か (ka) at the end:
トイレはどこにありますか？
(Toire wa doko ni arimasu ka)
Where is the bathroom?
Casual/Informal Questions
If you’re talking with your friends or peers, you may want to use the casual form of Japanese. All you need to do use the plain/dictionary form (ある or いる) and raise the intonation of it to make it sound like a question. Let’s use the examples above and change them into the casual form:
1. 地図がある？
(Chizu ga aru)
Is there a map?
2. 犬がいる？
(Inu ga iru)
Do you have a dog?
3. 何がある？
(Nani ga aru)
What do you have?
4. 誰がいる？
(Dare ga iru)
Is someone there? / Who’s there?
5. トイレはどこにある？
(Toire wa doko ni aru)
Where is the bathroom?
Negative Form: Something Does Not Exist
What about when something doesn’t exist? To make a negative statement, replace the verb of existence with its negative form.
For ある (aru), the negative form is ない (nai):
トイレがない。
(Toire ga nai)
There is not a bathroom. (There are no bathrooms.)
For いる (iru), the negative form is いない (inai):
母が東京にいない。
(Haha ga Tōkyō ni inai)
My mother isn’t in Tokyo.
Negative Form: Questions Words + も (Mo)
What about if you’re answering a question? Let’s say your friend asked what you have in your pocket, but your pocket is empty. To answer them, take the question word and add the particle も (mo) after it, then follow that with your negative verb:
Examples:
1. ポケットに何もない。
(Poketto ni nani mo nai)
I don’t have anything in my pocket.
2. ペンがどこにもない。
(Pen ga doko ni mo nai)
There isn’t a pen anywhere.
3. トイレに誰もいない。
(Toire ni dare mo inai)
There isn’t anybody in the toilet.
Conclusion
Now you know how to decide whether to use ある (aru) and いる (iru) and how to make a variety of sentences with each word. These are very common words, so using them properly will help you sound fluent when speaking Japanese. It’s time to see how often you can use them in real life!
Notes
* A copula is a linking word. It connects the subject of a sentence to a ‘subject complement,’ meaning a phrase that describes or names the subject. For example, in “I am happy,” “am” is a copula linking the subject “I” to the description “happy.”
