Japanese I-13

Vocabulary


English
good evening
by all means
where at?

money
dollar
in dollars

one long-thin thing
15

to have/hold/own
masu (formal)
dict (casual)
-te (imperative)

to be/exist/stay
masu (formal)
dict (casual)
-te (imperative)

to be/exist
masu (formal)
dict (casual)
-te (imperative)

I have/got


romaji
kon-ban-wa
douzo
doko de?

o-kane
doru
doru de

ippon
juu-go

 
mochi-masu
motsu
motte

 
i-masu
iru
ite

 
ari-masu
aru
atte

motte i-masu


kana
こんばんは
どうぞ
どこで？

おかね
ドル
ドルで

いっぽん
じゅうご

 
もちます
もつ
もって

 
います
いる
いて

 
あります
ある
あって

もって　います


kanji
今晩は
 
何処で？

お金
 
 

一本
十五

 
 
 
 


  • In the same way that “kon-nichi-wa” means “(how about) this day?”, “kon-ban-wa” means “(how about) this evening?”
  • ‘i-masu’ is the verb ‘to be/exist’ for animate objects, like people and animals; ‘ari-masu’ is used for inanimate objects

Sample sentences

How much money do you have?
I have money. (non-specific amount ➝ use ‘wo’)
I have 3,000 Yen. (specific amount ➝ omit ‘wo’)


formal
o-kane wo ikura motte imasu ka?
o-kane wo motte i-masu.
san-zen en motte i-masu.

おかねを　いくら　もって　いますか
おかねを　もって　います。
さんぜんえん　もって　います。

お金をいくらもっていますか。
お金をもっています。
三千円もっています。

casual
o-kane wo ikura motte iru?
o-kane wo motte iru.
san-zen en motte iru.

おかねを　いくら　もって　いる？
おかねを　もって　いる。
さんぜんえん　もって　いる。

お金をいくらもっている？
お金をもっている。
三千円もっている。


2,000 yens and 1,000 yens: 3,000 yens.


formal
ni-sen en soshite sen en: san-zen en desu

にせんえん　そして　せんえん、さんぜんえん　です

二千円そして千円、三千円です

casual
ni-sen en soshite sen en: san-zen en da

にせんえん　そして　せんえん、さんぜんえん　だ

二千円そして千円、三千円だ


Comments

The following comments explain some of the grammar in more detail.

verbs

i-masu/ari-masu

‘i-masu’ (います) and ‘ari-masu’ (あります) have kanjis, but both are usually written in hiragana. ‘i-masu’ is the verb ‘to be/exist/stay’ for things that are alive and move on their own like people and animals:


i-masu – non-past
formal
casual


positive
i-masu
iru


negative
i-masen
i-nai


while ‘ari-masu’ is used for things that are not alive or do not move on their own:


ari-masu – non-past
formal
casual


positive
ari-masu
aru


negative
ari-masen
nai


When to use ‘ari-masu’ (or ‘aru’) or ‘i-masu’ (or ‘iru’) is more subtle than just evaluating if something is alive and moves on its own; we are really focusing on how close the object is to being human: is it sentient? does it have a name? are we emotionally attached to it? Here are some obvious and not-so-obvious cases:


i-masu
person, animal
spirit, ghost
vampire, zombie, mummy
alien
humanoid robot, e.g., T-100, C3PO, R2D2
moving vehicle, e.g., car, bus, train, plane
my yacht, ship, plane, etc.
my lovey, e.g., plush animal
cartoon character


because…
is alive and moves on his/her own
is not alive, but was human and is sentient
used to be human, is sentient, and moves
is sentient, and moves
not alive, but is sentient and moves
has the ‘intention’ of going somewhere
has a name and emotional attachment
has a name and emotional attachment
has a name, is sentient and moves



ari-masu
plant – tree, mushroom, algae, etc.
Venus flytrap
live squid in sashimi
dead body of person or animal
mummy in coffin
industrial robot, e.g., manipulators, roombas
element, e.g., wind, water, snow
intangible, e.g., idea, feeling, etc.
tangible things, e.g., pen, desk, rock
parked vehicle


because…
doesn’t move on its own
moves on its own, but is not sentient
alive and moves on its own, but its food
not alive, not sentient, doesn’t move
was human, but not sentient nor moves
moves on its own but not human-looking
moves but it is not alive nor sentient
not alive, doesn’t move
not alive, doesn’t move on its own
not alive, doesn’t move on its own


Tiny ‘alive’ beings that move on their own but are very far from humans, like cells, bacteria, and viruses, might be either iru or aru, depending on whether we want to emphasize their mobility or not.

Let’s see some examples:


English
there is a man
there is a dog
there is a (live) fish

there is a tree
there is beer
there is a park


literal
a man exists
a dog exists
a (live) fish exists

a tree exists
a beer exists
a park exists


romaji
hito ga i-masu
inu ga i-masu
sakana ga i-masu

ki ga ari-masu
biiru ga ari-masu
kouen ga ari-masu


Direct objects of ‘i-masu’ and ‘ari-masu’ often use the particle ‘ga’ instead of ‘wa’, because their subject is being introduced for the first time in the conversation; still, ‘wa’ is used if we want to contrast the subject against something else.


English
I buy a (live) fish
I buy a (dead) fish

There is a (live) fish.
There is a (dead) fish.

There is a (live) fish (among the dead ones).
There is a (dead) fish (among the alive ones).


romaji
sakana wo kai-masu
sakana wo kai-masu

sakana ga i-masu
sakana ga ari-masu

sakana wa i-masu
sakana wa ari-masu


We mark the location of objects with the particle ‘ni’ that, as we saw in lesson 9, plays the role of ‘in’, ‘on’ and ‘at’:


English
at the hotel there is a man
on the table there is a cat
in the park there is a dog

at the hotel there is restaurant
on the table there is a box
in the park there is a tree


romaji
hoteru ni hito ga i-masu
taberu no ue ni neko ga i-masu
kou-en ni inu ga i-masu

hoteru ni resutoran ga ari-masu
taberu no ue ni hako ga ari-masu
kou-en ni ki ga ari-masu


Here is an interesting ‘exception’ to this rule:


literal
in Nara there was an earthquake
in Nara there is a meeting


romaji
nara de jishin ga ari-mashita
Nara de kaigi ga arimasu


In the example, it is as if ‘jishin ga ari-masu’ had become the verb ‘to earthquake’, so since now it is an action verb, it uses ‘de’ instead of ‘ni’. The same happens with ‘kaigi ga arimasu’; it becomes ‘to carry out a meeting’, so we mark the location with ‘de’.

Finally, ‘i-masu’ and ‘ari-masu’ can indicate possession; the following forms are equivalent:


English
I have a dog
I have a dog

I have money
I have money


literal
a dog exists
I possess a dog

money exists
I possess money


romaji
inu ga i-masu
inu wo motte i-masu

o-kane ga ari-masu
o-kane wo motte i-masu