Japanese Arimasu and Imasu for Beginners

います vs あります, the core rule

Both います (imasu) and あります (arimasu) mean “to exist” or “there is.” The difference isn’t about grammar, but about what is doing the existing. ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻)

• います (imasu) is used for things that can move on their own, such as people, animals, and insects.
• あります (arimasu) is used for everything else, including objects, furniture, buildings, plants, weather phenomena, and abstract things like events, problems, or plans.

Think of it this way: if it can move by itself, use います. If it can’t, use あります. It’s a simple rule that works almost every time! ✨

Confusing exceptions: Why plants use arimasu?
Plants and trees are alive, but in Japanese they’re treated as あります, not います.

CORRECT
庭に木があります。
WRONG
木がいます。
There’s a tree in the garden.

This surprises many beginners! The key idea isn’t “living vs. non-living.” Instead, it’s whether something can move under its own power. Trees stay rooted in place, so they use あります. ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻)

What about dolls, robots, and other special cases?
Some things fall into a gray area, and even native speakers don’t always agree.

• A robot that’s portrayed as an independent character in a story is often described with います.
• A stationary factory robot or a simple machine usually takes あります.

If you’re ever unsure, choosing あります for non-biological objects is usually the safest option. You’ll almost never sound unnatural that way. ٩(^ᗜ^ )و ´-

Conjugation

	あります	います
Present	あります	います
Negative	ありません	いません
Past	ありました	いました
Past Negative	ありませんでした	いませんでした

Good news! Both verbs follow the exact same conjugation pattern. The only thing that changes is the base verb, making them easy to learn together. (ᵔᵕᵔ)

The ～に～が pattern
To say that something exists somewhere, use this pattern:

[Place] に [Thing/Person] が あります／います

Examples:

つくえのうえにほんがあります。
There’s a book on the desk.

こうえんにこどもがいます。
There’s a child in the park.

You can also switch the sentence around:

[Thing] は [Place] に あります／います

Here, the thing becomes the topic of the sentence instead of the location.

This pattern is also how Japanese expresses possession. For example:

ともきさんのいえにはねこがいます。
Tomoki has a cat.

Literally, this means “At Tomoki’s house, a cat exists.” Since Japanese doesn’t normally use a separate verb meaning “to have” in this situation, あります and います naturally do that job. Once you get used to this way of thinking, it starts to feel very natural! ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻)

Today’s lesson will help you to get a topic to converse with your friend. Happy learning!

What do you have?

A: たなかさんのへやになにがありますか?
B: ベッドやテレビやほんなどがあります

A: What exist in Tanaka’s room?
B: There are bed, tv, books and other stuff.

B: ともきさんのいえにはいぬがいますか？
A: いぬがいませんですがねこがいますよ

B: Is there a dog in Tomoki’s house?
A: There is no dog, but there is a cat!

Important Points

Below are some points you might need to know~

Literal and natural translation
In いぬがいませんですがねこがいますよ (Inu ga imasen desu ga neko ga imasu yo), the translation is rather childish. But it’s the literal translation of how Japanese really speak. Translated naturally, it would be “I don’t have any dog but I do have a cat in my house”.

Addressing other people in Japanese
In Japanese, we need to address other people with names & suffix to be polite. It also seems childish in English, but it’s very normal in Japanese.

“What exist in Tanaka’s room?” is the literal translation of how Japanese speak. The normal translation would be “What is in your room, Tanaka?”. And the natural translation for “Is there a dog in Tomoki’s house?” would be “Do you have a dog in your house, Tomoki?”

…があります
Use this pattern to talk about the existence of an object. For animate/living object, replace あります (arimasu) with います (imasu).

…や…や…など
Use this pattern to talk about an incomplete list of objects. や acts similarly like a comma. While など can be translated as “etc” or “others”. You can read more about it here.