あります・います | Saying Something Exists in Japanese

Two Verbs for "There Is"

Japanese splits existence in two, and the split is living vs non-living:

• あります — things that don't move on their own: books, buildings, rivers, appointments
• います — people and animals

Noun が + あります／います

• 机(つくえ)の上(うえ)に本(ほん)があります。(There's a book on the desk.)
• 教室(きょうしつ)に学生(がくせい)がいます。(There are students in the classroom.)

Getting this backwards is immediately noticeable — ×犬(いぬ)があります sounds like the dog is furniture.

The Tricky Cases

Plants take あります, despite being alive — they don't move.

Vehicles normally take あります. Some speakers switch to います when there is a driver aboard — タクシーがいます for a cab waiting with someone in it — but あります is always safe.

Dead things take あります. A living fish in a tank is います; a fish on your plate is あります.

Marking the Place: に

Location takes に, not で:

• 公園(こうえん)に猫(ねこ)がいます。(There's a cat in the park.)

に marks where something exists; で marks where an action happens. 公園(こうえん)で遊(あそ)びます — I play in the park.

They Also Mean "Have"

Both verbs cover possession, again split by living:

• 時間(じかん)がありますか。(Do you have time?)
• 兄弟(きょうだい)がいますか。(Do you have siblings?)
• お金(かね)がありません。(I don't have money.)

And Events

あります covers scheduled events:

• 明日(あした)テストがあります。(There's a test tomorrow.)
• 毎年(まいとし)福岡(ふくおか)でお祭(まつ)りがあります。(There's a festival in Fukuoka every year.)

Conjugation

The plain forms are ある and いる. Note the plain negative of ある is irregular: ない, not ×あらない.