Introduction
When travelling in Japan, you may want to ask questions like:
“Is there a toilet?”
“Is there a convenience store nearby?”
“Is there a station near here?”
To ask these questions in Japanese, you need to use two verbs:
あります – used for things
います – used for people and animals
Let’s learn how to use them.
Particle “に”
This particle expresses the place of existence. This is used many times with “あります” and “います”.
You have to put “に” after the place.
So the basic structure is:
Subject ＋は＋Place＋に＋あります/います
Affirmative, Negative and Question sentence
あります
・トイレはここにあります。（The toilet is here.)
“ありません“ is the negative word of “あります“.
・トイレはここにありません。（The toilet isn’t here.)
You add “か”, and the intonation will be up.
・トイレはここにありますか？（Is the toilet here?)
います
・田中さんは部屋にいます。（Mr Tanaka is in the room.)
“いません“ is the negative word of “います“.
・田中さんは部屋にいません。（Mr Tanaka isn’t in the room.)
You add “か”, and the intonation will be up.
・田中さんは部屋にいますか？（Is Mr Tanaka in the room?)
どこ(where)
“どこ“ means “where”.
“〜はどこにありますか?” means “Where is the ~?”
・トイレはどこにありますか？（Where is the toilet?)
You can also omit “にあります“ and say
・トイレはどこですか？ (Where is the toilet?)
This still makes sense.
Vocabulary
Since we are learning existence, let’s look at words that express place.
| Noun | ||
| ここ | koko | here |
| あそこ | asoko | that place |
| そこ | soko | that place(the place is near the listener rather than speaker. |
| どこ | doko | where |
| トイレ | toire | toilet |
| えき（駅） | eki | station |
| あたり（辺り） | atari | around/area |
| さる（猿） | saru | monkey |
| レジ | reji | cash register |
| いりぐち（入り口） | iriguchi | entrance |
| えきいん（駅員） | ekiin | station staff |
| Other | ||
| 〜のなか（中）に | no naka ni | inside~ |
| 〜のちか（近）くに | no chikaku ni | near~ |
Example
・トイレはどこにありますか？(Where is the toilet?)
(Toire wa doko ni arimasu ka?)
・トイレは駅の中にあります。(The toilet is inside the station.)
(Toire wa eki no naka ni arimasu.)
・トイレはこの辺りにありません。（The toilet isn’t around here.)
(Toire wa kono atari ni arimasen)
・さるのパンチくんはどこにいますか？(Where is monkey Panchi-kun?)
(Saru no Panchi-kun wa doko ni imasu ka)
・あそこにいます。（It is over there.)
(Asoko ni imasu.)
・レジはどこですか？(Where is the cashier?)
(Reji wa doko desuka.)
・レジは入り口の近くにあります。(The cashier is near the entrance.)
(Reji wa iriguchi no chikaku ni arimasu.)
Practice
Exercise 1: Translate to Japanese
1.Where is the station?
2.The station is over there.
3. The toilet isn’t around here. It is inside the station.
Exercise 2: Translate to English
1.駅の入り口はどこですか？
2. 駅員さんはどこにいますか？
3. あそこにいます。
Answers are at the end.
Summary
・あります (Arimasu): This verb is used for non-living things to express existence.
• います (Imasu): This verb is used for living things to express existence.
• に (Ni): This particle indicates the specific location where the object or person exists.
• Sentence Structure: The standard pattern is [Subject] + は + [Place] + に + あります/います (e.g., “The toilet is inside the station.”).
• Negative Forms: To say something “is not” there, use ありません (Arimasen) for objects and いません (Imasen) for living things.
Answer
Exercise 1: Translate to Japanese
1.Where is the station? → 駅はどこですか？
2.The station is over there. → 駅はあそこです。
3. The toilet isn’t around here. It is inside the station. → トイレはこの辺りにありません。駅のなかにあります。
Exercise 2: Translate to English
1.トイレはこの辺りにありますか？→Is the toilet around here?
2. 駅員さんはどこにいますか？→ Where is the station staff?
3. あそこにいます。→He(She) is over there.