There is A B. / AがBにあります。
Contents
How to Say “There Is A in B” in Japanese
In this beginner Japanese grammar lesson, you will learn how to say that something or someone exists in a place.
A が B にあります。 / A が B にいます。
Use あります for non-living things.
Use います for living things, such as people and animals.
The basic meaning is:
- A が B にあります。= There is A at/in B.
- A が B にいます。= There is A at/in B. / A is at/in B.
The particles が and に are important.
A が marks what exists, and B に marks where it exists.
You can also change the word order:
- A が B にあります。
- B に A があります。
Both sentences have almost the same basic meaning. The second pattern often sounds more natural when the location is the starting point of the sentence.
You can use は instead of が, but the nuance changes. が simply marks what exists, while は makes that thing the topic.
For example, A は B にあります。 means something like “As for A, it is at B.”
If the location is already clear from the context, you can omit it and simply say A があります or A がいます.
Location and Direction Words
To say where something is, Japanese often uses the pattern B の location word に, such as 机の上に “on the desk.”
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| Japanese | Hiragana | Relationship with B | Location Meaning | Direction Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 上 | うえ | Bの上 | above B, on B | up |
| 下 | した | Bの下 | under B, below B | down |
| 右 | みぎ | Bの右 | to the right of B | right |
| 左 | ひだり | Bの左 | to the left of B | left |
| 前 | まえ | Bの前 | in front of B | front |
| 後ろ | うしろ | Bの後ろ | behind B | back / rear |
| 中 | なか | Bの中 | in B, inside B | inside |
| 近く / そば | ちかく / そば | Bの近く / Bのそば | near B, close to B | – |
| 隣 | となり | Bの隣 | next to B | – |
| 横 | よこ | Bの横 | beside B, to the side of B | – |
| 間 | あいだ | BとCの間 | between B and C | – |
| ここ | ここ | ここ | here | こっち |
| そこ | そこ | そこ | there, near the listener | そっち |
| あそこ | あそこ | あそこ | over there | あっち |
You can combine some direction words.
For example, 右上 means “upper right,” and 左後ろ means “behind and to the left.”
右 or 左 usually comes first, followed by 上, 下, 前, 後ろ, 隣, or 横.
Examples
- あそこにコンビニがあります。
- 猫がかばんの中にいます。
- さとしはピカチュウの右後ろにいます。
Practice
Translate the following sentences into Japanese using location and direction words.
There is a banana on the desk.
There is an escape button on the upper left of the self-destruct button.
Mario is in the pipe under the Piranha Plant.
Supplement: Other Uses of あります
あります can also be used when talking about time, availability, events, and scheduled things.
- 時間があります = I have time.
- 予定があります = I have plans.
- お祭りがあります = There is a festival. / A festival will be held.
When talking about an event happening at a place, Japanese often uses で instead of に.
- 近所にコンビニがあります。= There is a convenience store in the neighborhood.
- 近所でお祭りがあります。= There is a festival in the neighborhood. / A festival will be held in the neighborhood.
The negative form of あります is ありません. The negative form of います is いません.
| Japanese | Negative Form | Used For |
|---|---|---|
| あります | ありません | non-living things, events, time, availability (polite) |
| います | いません | people and animals (polite) |
| ある | ない | non-living things, events, time, availability |
| いる | いない | people and animals |
- 明日、時間があります。
- 来週、近所でお祭りがあります。
- 財布がない。
- 誰かいませんか？
Summary
To say “There is A in B” in Japanese, use A が B にあります or A が B にいます.
- Use あります for non-living things.
- Use います for people and animals.
- Use に to mark the location where something exists.
- Use で when talking about an event happening at a place.
- The word order can often be changed: A が B にあります / B に A があります.
For beginners, remember these two patterns first: 場所に物があります and 場所に人・動物がいます.
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