In this article you will learn about the words arimasu, imasu and desu; three ways of saying “is” and “are” in Japanese.
The meaning “is” or “are” may be expressed by the word desu, and by the verbs arimasu and imasu.
- Desu – is used when one thing is, or equals, another
- Arimasu – refers to the existence of inanimate objects (including plants, which don’t move about)
- Imasu – refers to the existence of animate objects.
The following table showing when to use the different words:
| Animate | Inanimate | ||
 |
 |
 |
|
| です (desu) | 女の人 です。 onna no hito desu. (It) is (a) woman. |
犬です。 inu desu. (It) is (a) dog. |
かばん です。 kaban desu. (It) is (a) bag. |
| あります (arimasu) | — | — | かばん が あります。 kaban ga arimasu. There is (a) bag. |
| います (imasu) | 女の人 が います。 onna no hito ga imasu. There is (a) woman. |
犬がいます。 inu ga imasu. There is (a) dog. |
— |
Desu and Da
The word です (desu), and its plain form だ (da), express the equivalent of the English words “is” and “are”, but is always placed in the end of a clause. In grammatical terms, desu/da is a special type of construct called copula, but for a beginner, you can begin thinking of it as an ordinary verb.
Desu can be used for any type of things; people, animals, things or concepts. It is used when introducing something, saying one thing is the same as another, or when describing someone or something with an adjective.
The polite version, “desu”, can be used in most situations, but often feel too formal when talking to family and close friends. Then the plain form “da” is more commonly used. Please note that usage plain forms in Japanese can be considered rude if you are not close.
ここは横浜駅です。
Koko wa Yokohama eki desu.
This is Yokahama station. (polite)
ここは横浜駅だ。
Koko wa Yokahama eki da.
This is Yokahama station. (plain / casual form)
彼は私の先生です。
Kare wa watashi no sensei desu.
He is my teacher.
私はアメリカ人です。
Watashi wa amerikajin desu.
I am an American.
猫は黒いです。
Neko wa kuroi desu.
The cat is black.
The negative of desu is dewa arimasen or ja arimasen or dewa nai desu or ja nai desu. When describing the location of something, ni arimasu can often be replaced by desu.
アメリカ人 では ありません。イギリス人 です。
Amerikajin dewa arimasen. Igirisujin desu.
I’m not American. I’m English.
アメリカ人 じゃ ありません。イギリス人 です。
Amerikajin ja arimasen. Igirisujin desu.
I’m not American. I’m English.
アメリカ人 では ない。イギリス人 だ。
Amerikajin dewa nai. Igirisujin da.
I’m not American. I’m English.
Arimasu and aru
Arimasu indicates the existence of a thing. It cannot be used for people and animals. The plain form of arimasu is aru.
喫茶店 は 銀行 と 郵便局 の 間 に あります。
Kissaten wa ginkou to Yuubinkyoku no aida ni arimasu.
The coffee shop is between the bank and the post office.
銀行 は どこ に ありますか。
Ginkou wa doko ni arimasu ka.
Where’s the bank?
The polite negative form is ありません (arimasen), and the plain negative form is ない (nai).
三円 も ありません。
(watashi wa) San en mo arimasen.
(I don’t) even have 3 yen.
三円 も ない。
(watashi wa) San en mo nai.
(I don’t) even have 3 yen.
Imasu and iru
Imasu indicates the existence of a person or animal. The plain form of imasu is iru.
渡辺さん は どこ に いますか。
Watanabe san wa doko ni imasu ka.
Where’s Mr. Watanabe?
The polite negative form is いません (imasen), and the plain negative form is いない (inai).
誰もいません。
Daremo imasen.
There is no one (here). (polite)
誰も いない。
Daremo inai.
There is no one (here). (plain/casual)
Inflections (plain, negative, polite and polite negative forms)
Here is a table summarizing the words da, iru and aru:
| Plain | Plain Negative |
Polite | Polite Negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| da | ja nai dewa nai |
desu | ja arimasen dewa arimasen |
| iru | inai | imasu | imasen |
| aru | nai | arimasu | arimasen |
Keigo – Honorific and Humble Forms
In situations demanding a high degree of courtesy, e.g. if a sales person in a department store is talking to a customer, the sales person is likely to use the formal and humble gozaimasu instead of arimasu and irasshaimasu instead of iru.
お客: このホテルには、ファックスがありますか。 ホテルの人: はい、ございます。 okyaku: Kono hoteru ni wa, fakkusu ga arimasu ka? hoteru no hito: Hai, gozaimasu. Guest: Do you have a fax in this hotel? Hotel staff: Yes, we do
お客: すみません、このセーターはいくらですか。 店の人: それは９０００円でございます。 okyaku: Sumimasen, kono seetaa wa ikura desu ka. mise no hito: Sore wa kyuu-sen en de gozaimasu. Customer: Excuse me, how much is this sweater? Shop staff: It’s 9,000 yen.
もしもし、田中さんはいらっしゃいますか。
Moshi, moshi. Tanaka san wa irasshaimasu ka.
Hello. Is Mr. Tanaka there?
This page is a based on a modified version of “Some Notes on Japanese Grammar” published for your personal use, with the kind permission of Keith Smillie (http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~smillie/)
Related posts:
8:01 am on December 27th, 2011
Thanks man, this article is really useful.
2:02 am on September 6th, 2011
hmm how about on tv.. do people (or japanese actors/actresses/hosts) use polite expressions?
6:11 pm on August 28th, 2011
I wish more people would write sites like this that are actually interesting to read. With all the crap floating around on the internet, it is refreshing to read a site like yours instead.
7:16 pm on November 21st, 2010
As I understand it, いらっしゃいます is the exalted form of いる while the humble form is おる. Thus, if you are calling to ask for Mr. Tanaka, you might say, 「もしもし、田中さんはいらっしゃいますか。」 In response, the secretary at the other end of the line might say, 「はい、おります。」
3:46 am on May 25th, 2010
静穏な少女san, hajimemashite. It would be better to ask this kind of question in the forum.
The polite past tense and negative past tense of aru are arimashita and arimasen deshita.
The polite past tense and negative past tense of iru are imashita and imasen deshita.
The plain past tense and negative past tense of aru are atta and nakatta.
The plain past tense and negative past tense of iru are ita and inakatta.
3:26 am on May 25th, 2010
What’s the past tense and negative past tense of ‘aru’ and ‘iru’? Or does it not exist in japanese language?
12:12 pm on May 2nd, 2010
i know now the differences between desu, arimasu and imasu !! this helps a lot !!
11:00 pm on March 31st, 2010
Congjugation should be Conjugation.
3:21 am on January 1st, 2010
iru and aru refer to existence, especially existence in a specific location. So the following sentences use iru and aru, respectively:
There is a cat on the table. (iru/imasu)
There is a book on the table. (aru/arimasu)
desu is used to say that something has an attribute, or that two things are the name for the same thing. So desu would be used for the following sentences:
The cat is white.
The doctor’s husband is my brother.
My sister is a lawyer.
That’s not a complete answer to the question, but I hope it helps.
2:29 am on January 1st, 2010
10:30 am on October 29th, 2009
These were clearly copy-and-paste errors. I hate to think about how many people may have been confused by them.
Thanks.
5:15 am on October 29th, 2009
Topic title: “Arimasu and aru”, sentence “The polite negative form is いません (imasen), and the plain negative form is いない (inai).” Should be arimasen, at least, how is the plain negative form on arimasu, I don’t know
10:14 am on August 7th, 2009
Thank you tony-san i get it now ;D
1:59 pm on August 4th, 2009
You might say “kore wa enpitsu desu” when pointing to a pencil, or in answer to a question as to whether it was a pencil or a pen. You might say “enpitsu ga arimasu” if someone asked you “is there anything to write with?”. Think about the difference between “This is a pencil” and “There is (exists) a pencil” in English; it is pretty much the same.
The most common word for box that I know is “hako”. “Is there a pencil in the box?” would be “Hako ni enpitsu ga arimasu ka?”– “hako ni” = “in (the) box”. You might say “kono/sono hako ni…” if you were pointing to a box, and there were other boxes around as well.
11:51 am on August 4th, 2009
hmm, if you were to say
kore wa enpitsu desu.
This is a pencil
and
enpitsu ga arimasu.
There is a pencil
(I hope i did it right)
Is there a difference? Would you say ‘there is a pencil’ if you were further away from the pencil, and ‘this is a pencil’ if you were closer? If so..
could you use
‘are wa enpitsu desu’ ??
Maybe im getting confused.. could it be a response to a question like
‘enpitsu ni sono kou ga arimasu ka?’
‘enpitsu ga arimasu’
(What i tried to say is ‘Is there a pencil in that box?’ But i don’t know if i said it right so can someone correct it please? Thank you ^_^)
I don’t know. I’m confusing myself now D;
6:15 pm on July 15th, 2009
Now I know and remember!
Ki ga arimasu
(There is a tree)
Ki desu
((It) is (a) tree)
Tori ga imasu
(There is a bird)
Tori desu
((It) is (a) bird)
Tori dewa nai. Usagi da.
(It is not a bird. It is a rabbit)(Plain/casual)
Tori dewa arimasen. Usagi desu
(It is not a bird. It is a rabbit) (Polite)
Abou ga imasu(or iru)
(There is a tree frog)
Abou desu
(It is a tree frog)
Abou dewa nai. Tori da.
(It is not a tree frog. It is a bird)(Plain/casual)
Abou dewa arimasen. Tori desu.
(It is not a tree frog. It is a bird)(Polite)
Kore wa maru to deshou ka.
(Is this right? I’m trying to say ‘I wonder if this is right’)
atashi no chi wa daremo ga ako imasen.
(Is this right? I’m trying to say ‘There is no-one there, in my house’)
12:31 pm on July 15th, 2009
yokata!!!!
i finally know the difference between iru and aru.kedo i still have a lot to learn, ne?
10:47 pm on June 8th, 2009
This is great reference material! I always have trouble with this part! Thanks!
7:25 am on May 13th, 2009
getting confused, a bit..
7:41 am on March 4th, 2009
In japanese Tree (ki) is considered to be non living thing. So it will always take arimas.
eg. ki ga arimasu.
This is opposite to indian languages where trees are also considered as living beings.
2:18 am on February 20th, 2009
The appropriate level of politeness is usually determined by who is speaking and who is being spoken to. When speaking to someone you don’t know well, it is always safest to use the “normal polite” level– the level that includes desu, and verb endings like masu, masen, mashita, mashou.
1:41 am on February 20th, 2009
Do you sue polite form only when speaking to someone that requires it? Or can it also be if your speaking about someone who also does?
Like me talking to a parent, or ABOUT a parent?
12:10 am on January 28th, 2009
just a bit though………