A young woman in a kimono sitting down on a rock in front of a pond in a Japanese garden. The text on it reads, "ある (Aru) Vs. いる (Iru) What's the Difference?"

How to Use ある (Aru) and いる (Iru) in Japanese

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 … Read more

A woman wearing a traditional Japanese outfit (kimono) holding a Japanese style umbrella walking on a street towards a temple in the background. The text on this images says, "Transitive and Intransitive Verbs in Japanese: A Step-By-Step Guide."

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs in Japanese

If you’re speaking English, you probably don’t think much about whether your verbs are transitive or intransitive. In Japanese, though, the difference matters a lot. You might have to use a different sentence structure or even a different word!  First, you might be wondering… What Are Transitive and Intransitive Verbs? A transitive verb is a … Read more