Existence and Location: あります and います
You can already say what things are — now you'll say what exists and where. Japanese splits English "there is" into two verbs, あります and います, and this chapter adds the position and direction words that will keep you from staying lost in Noun Town for long.
Listen: directions at the office
Bob gives Bolin directions — みぎ, ひだり and location words with native audio.
Bobあの～、すみません
anō, sumimasen
Err, excuse me
Bob１０５室はどこですか？
ichi maru go shitsu wa doko desu ka?
Where is room 105?
Bolin突き当りで、右です
tsuki atari de, migi desu
All the way down and to the right
Bobありがとうございました
arigatō gozaimashita
Thank you very much
Listen: I got lost!
What to actually say when you are lost — a real rescue conversation.
Cassianあっ！ここは男の人のトイレではありません。
ah! koko wa otoko no toire dewa arimasen.
Ops! This is not the male toilet!
Meera男の人のトイレは外ですよ！
otoko no hito no toire ha soto desu yo
The male toilet is outside
Cassianうそ！本当に外ですか？
uso! hontōni soto desu ka?
No way! Is it really outside?
Meeraうん、食堂の左です
un, shokudō no hirari desu
Yep, on the left of the canteen
Two verbs for "there is"
English has one phrase for existence — "there is". Japanese has two verbs, and it chooses between them with a simple test: can it move by itself?
- 「猫がいます。」 — "There's a cat." Cats move on their own: います.
- 「ベンチがあります。」 — "There's a bench." Benches stay put: あります.
People and animals take います; objects, buildings and plants take あります. Mixing them up sounds genuinely odd to Japanese ears — 「ねこがあります」 suggests a cat-shaped object on a shelf — so this small distinction punches far above its weight on the JLPT N5.
〜があります・〜がいます — saying something exists
The thing that exists is marked with が, not は. Existence sentences usually introduce something new to the listener, and pointing at new information is exactly が's job. The negatives are ありません ("there isn't") and いません ("isn't there / isn't present") — you've already met ありません hiding inside じゃありません.
噴水があります。
funsui ga arimasu.
There is a fountain.
猫がいます。
neko ga imasu.
There is a cat.
窓がありません。
mado ga arimasen.
There is no window.
ありません on its own is the negative of あります — the same ありません you know from じゃありません.
犬がいません。
inu ga imasen.
There is no dog. / The dog isn't here.
Adding the place with に
Mark the place of existence with に. Two word orders share the work:
- [place]に [thing]が あります — introduces what's there. Use it to answer "what is there?"
- [thing]は [place]に あります — locates something you both already know about. Use it to answer "where is it?"
Swap あります for います whenever the thing is a person or an animal — the particles stay exactly the same.
公園に噴水があります。
kōen ni funsui ga arimasu.
There is a fountain in the park.
動物園にパンダがいます。
dōbutsuen ni panda ga imasu.
There are pandas at the zoo.
田中さんはカフェにいます。
tanaka-san wa kafe ni imasu.
Mr Tanaka is at the café.
Mr Tanaka is known to both speakers, so he's the topic with は and the place comes before います.
お手洗いはどこにありますか。
otearai wa doko ni arimasu ka.
Where is the toilet?
Swap the place for どこ (where) and add か — instant question. The shorter お手洗いはどこですか works too.
Position words: on, under, in front, behind
Position words like 上 (top) and 下 (underside) are nouns in Japanese, so they attach to a landmark with の: 机の上 is literally "the desk's top". Add に and you can place anything precisely. The N5 set:
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 上 | ue | on / above |
| 下 | shita | under / below |
| 前 | mae | in front of |
| 後ろ | ushiro | behind |
| 中 | naka | inside |
| 外 | soto | outside |
| 隣 | tonari | next to |
| 近く | chikaku | near |
机の上に本があります。
tsukue no ue ni hon ga arimasu.
There is a book on the desk.
家の前に犬がいます。
ie no mae ni inu ga imasu.
There is a dog in front of the house.
カフェはパン屋の隣にあります。
kafe wa pan'ya no tonari ni arimasu.
The café is next to the bakery.
The は order again: the café is the known thing, and の隣に pins down exactly where it is.
橋の下に猫がいます。
hashi no shita ni neko ga imasu.
There is a cat under the bridge.
Asking the way
These lines come straight from the game's Direction lesson at the office and the I-got-lost scene at school. Three little words — みぎ, ひだり, まっすぐ — plus the です patterns you already own will get you anywhere.
すみません、学校はどこですか。
sumimasen, gakkō wa doko desu ka.
Excuse me, where is the school?
すみません is the universal attention-getter — start every direction request with it.
カフェは右です。
kafe wa migi desu.
The café is on the right.
動物園は左です。
dōbutsuen wa hidari desu.
The zoo is on the left.
まっすぐです。
massugu desu.
It's straight ahead.
まっすぐ (straight) is normally written in kana — no kanji to worry about.
道に迷いました。
michi ni mayoimashita.
I'm lost. (lit. I lost my way.)
A set phrase worth memorising whole — it's in the past tense because the getting-lost has already happened.
Direction and position words
The compass points, left and right, and this chapter's position words — straight from the game.
Tap ► to hear the native audio from the game, or tap a word to open its dictionary entry.
Places and landmarks
Landmarks around Noun Town to anchor your location sentences — each one slots straight into 〜があります.
Tap ► to hear the native audio from the game, or tap a word to open its dictionary entry.
Addresses without street names
Most streets in Japan have no names. Addresses narrow down through nested areas instead: city, then district, then a numbered block (丁目, chōme), then a plot number (番地, banchi) — and in older neighbourhoods the building numbers can follow the order the buildings went up, not their position along the road. Even locals navigate by landmarks, which is why directions like 「パン屋の隣です」 are everyday language, why corner notice boards carry neighbourhood maps, and why the local police box (交番, kōban) spends a good part of its day pointing people the right way. The grammar in this chapter is, quite literally, how Japan finds things.
Test yourself
Eight questions on あります, います, position words and directions.
8 quick questions on this chapter.
Your score
Common questions
Quick answers about this chapter's grammar.
Trees and flowers are alive — why do they take あります?
The test isn't being alive but moving under your own power. Plants stay where they're rooted, so Japanese groups them with objects: 木があります, never います. If it walks, swims or flies — people, animals, fish, insects — it takes います.
Can あります and います also mean "to have"?
Yes, and it's one of their most common jobs. 時間があります means "I have time" and 質問があります "I have a question", while family and pets take います: 妹がいます, "I have a younger sister". Japanese frames possession as existence — literally "a younger sister exists (for me)".
What's the difference between に and で for places?
に marks where something exists and pairs with あります and います: 公園に噴水があります. で marks where an action happens: 公園でパンを食べます, "I eat bread in the park". Easy rule: if the verb is あります or います, use に.
Should I ask どこですか or どこにありますか?
Both are correct and both appear at JLPT N5. トイレはどこですか is shorter and the everyday default; トイレはどこにありますか sounds a touch more careful. When you're looking for a person, swap in いますか: 田中さんはどこにいますか.
Want more practice? Browse all free Japanese lessons or look words up in the Japanese dictionary.