JLPT N5 Lesson 5: Existence and Location

Learn to express where things and people exist using あります and います, with the に and で particles for location.

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Overview

Two of the most fundamental verbs in Japanese are あります and います, both translating roughly as "there is" or "to exist." The key distinction is straightforward but absolutely essential: あります is used for inanimate objects, plants, and abstract things, while います is used for animate beings — people, animals, and anything capable of moving on its own. Getting this distinction right is one of the most important skills at the N5 level and will immediately improve your natural-sounding Japanese.

In this lesson you will also master the に particle for location (where something exists) versus the で particle for location of action (where something happens). You will learn to describe the position of objects using relative position words like 右 (right), 左 (left), 前 (front), 後ろ (behind), 上 (above), 下 (below), and 中 (inside). By the end of this lesson you will be able to give directions, describe a room, tell someone where people and objects are, and understand location-based sentences in reading comprehension tasks.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson you can:

  • Use あります and います correctly to express the existence of inanimate and animate entities.
  • Use the に particle to mark the location where something exists.
  • Use the で particle to mark the location where an action takes place.
  • Describe the relative position of objects using Xの右/左/前/後ろ/上/下/中.

New Vocabulary

Japanese Reading Romaji English POS
あります あります arimasu there is / exists (inanimate) verb (u-verb)
います います imasu there is / exists (animate) verb (ru-verb)
家 いえ/うち ie/uchi house / home noun
部屋 へや heya room noun
机 つくえ tsukue desk noun
椅子 いす isu chair noun
窓 まど mado window noun
ドア ドア doa door noun
本棚 ほんだな hondana bookshelf noun
公園 こうえん kouen park noun
学校 がっこう gakkou school noun
駅 えき eki train station noun
病院 びょういん byouin hospital noun
銀行 ぎんこう ginkou bank noun
スーパー スーパー suupaa supermarket noun
犬 いぬ inu dog noun
猫 ねこ neko cat noun
魚 さかな sakana fish noun
鳥 とり tori bird noun
子供 こども kodomo child noun
隣 となり tonari next to / neighbor noun
間 あいだ aida between noun

Grammar Points

Grammar Point 1: あります vs います — Inanimate vs Animate Existence

Structure (あります): [Location] に + [Inanimate thing] が + あります
Structure (います): [Location] に + [Animate being] が + います
Asking: [Thing/Person] は + [Location] に + あります/いますか

The rule is simple but important: あります is for things that cannot move on their own — objects, plants, buildings, money, time, events. います is for living creatures that can move — people, animals, insects. This distinction comes from the Japanese concept of self-directed movement: a dog can decide to move; a chair cannot.

The particle が after the subject is the "existence が" — it marks what is being asserted to exist. The particle に marks the location. The order is flexible, but the most natural sentence structure puts location first: テーブルの上に本があります (On the table there is a book). When asking "where is X?", X becomes the topic with は: 本はどこにありますか (Where is the book?).

In casual speech, the distinction is sometimes blurred — some speakers say ある for very low-animacy entities, and robots or vehicles sometimes take either verb depending on context. At N5, always apply the strict rule: living creature = います, everything else = あります.

Japanese Reading Romaji English
机の上に本があります。 つくえのうえにほんがあります。 Tsukue no ue ni hon ga arimasu. There is a book on the desk.
公園に犬がいます。 こうえんにいぬがいます。 Kouen ni inu ga imasu. There is a dog in the park.
冷蔵庫の中に何がありますか。 れいぞうこのなかになにがありますか。 Reizouko no naka ni nani ga arimasu ka. What is inside the refrigerator?
教室に学生が三人います。 きょうしつにがくせいがさんにんいます。 Kyoushitsu ni gakusei ga sannin imasu. There are three students in the classroom.
銀行はどこにありますか。 ぎんこうはどこにありますか。 Ginkou wa doko ni arimasu ka. Where is the bank?
田中さんはここにいますか。 たなかさんはここにいますか。 Tanaka-san wa koko ni imasu ka. Is Tanaka-san here?

Common Mistake: ❌ 犬があります / 椅子がいます
✓ 犬がいます (animate) / 椅子があります (inanimate) — the animate/inanimate distinction is non-negotiable in standard Japanese

Grammar Point 2: に (location of existence) vs で (location of action)

Structure (に): [Location] に + [thing/person] が + あります/います
Structure (で): [Location] で + [verb of action]

The particle に marks a static location — where something or someone simply exists or is positioned. The particle で marks where an action or event takes place. The test: if you can replace the verb with "there is/are," use に. If the verb describes an activity (eating, studying, working, playing), use で.

Compare: 図書館に本があります (There are books in the library — static existence, に) versus 図書館で勉強します (I study at the library — action happening there, で). A person can appear in both: 田中さんは図書館にいます (Tanaka-san is [exists] at the library) versus 田中さんは図書館で本を読みます (Tanaka-san reads books at the library — action).

A useful memory trick: に = pinning something to a location; で = the stage where the action happens. Both are extremely frequent in spoken and written Japanese, so mastering this distinction early pays enormous dividends.

Japanese Reading Romaji English
公園に猫がいます。 こうえんにねこがいます。 Kouen ni neko ga imasu. There is a cat in the park. (existence)
公園で遊びます。 こうえんであそびます。 Kouen de asobimasu. (I) play in the park. (action)
駅の前にコンビニがあります。 えきのまえにコンビニがあります。 Eki no mae ni konbini ga arimasu. There is a convenience store in front of the station.
学校で日本語を勉強します。 がっこうでにほんごをべんきょうします。 Gakkou de nihongo wo benkyou shimasu. I study Japanese at school.
このレストランで食事しましょう。 このレストランでしょくじしましょう。 Kono resutoran de shokuji shimashou. Let's have a meal at this restaurant.
部屋に誰もいません。 へやにだれもいません。 Heya ni dare mo imasen. There is no one in the room.

Common Mistake: ❌ 図書館に勉強します
✓ 図書館で勉強します — studying is an action, so で is required; に here would mean only that you exist at the library

Dialogues

Dialogue 1: Describing a Room

Japanese Romaji English
A あなたの部屋には何がありますか。 Anata no heya ni wa nani ga arimasu ka. What is in your room?
B 机と椅子と本棚があります。 Tsukue to isu to hondana ga arimasu. There is a desk, chair, and bookshelf.
A テレビもありますか。 Terebi mo arimasu ka. Is there a TV as well?
B はい、あります。窓の左にあります。 Hai, arimasu. Mado no hidari ni arimasu. Yes, there is. It is to the left of the window.
A ペットはいますか。 Petto wa imasu ka. Do you have any pets?
B はい、猫が一匹います。いつも机の下にいます。 Hai, neko ga ippiki imasu. Itsumo tsukue no shita ni imasu. Yes, I have one cat. It is always under the desk.
A かわいいですね。名前は何ですか。 Kawaii desu ne. Namae wa nan desu ka. How cute. What is its name?
B モモです。今、窓のそばにいます。 Momo desu. Ima, mado no soba ni imasu. It is Momo. Right now it is by the window.

Dialogue 2: Asking for Directions

Japanese Romaji English
A すみません、この近くに銀行はありますか。 Sumimasen, kono chikaku ni ginkou wa arimasu ka. Excuse me, is there a bank near here?
B はい、あります。駅の右側にあります。 Hai, arimasu. Eki no migigawa ni arimasu. Yes, there is. It is on the right side of the station.
A 駅はどこですか。 Eki wa doko desu ka. Where is the station?
B あそこの信号の前にあります。 Asoko no shingou no mae ni arimasu. It is in front of that traffic light over there.
A 郵便局もありますか。 Yuubinkyoku mo arimasu ka. Is there a post office too?
B 郵便局は銀行と駅の間にあります。 Yuubinkyoku wa ginkou to eki no aida ni arimasu. The post office is between the bank and the station.
A ありがとうございます。駅の中に喫茶店はありますか。 Arigatou gozaimasu. Eki no naka ni kissaten wa arimasu ka. Thank you. Is there a café inside the station?
B はい、改札口の左にあります。 Hai, kaisatsuguchi no hidari ni arimasu. Yes, it is on the left of the ticket gate.
A 助かりました。ありがとうございます。 Tasukarimashita. Arigatou gozaimasu. You saved me. Thank you very much.
B いいえ、どうぞ。 Iie, douzo. Not at all, please go ahead.

Grammar Drills

Fill in the blank with あります, います, に, or で.

  1. 机の上___本があります。 (answer: に)
  2. 公園___子供が遊んでいます。 (answer: で)
  3. 冷蔵庫の中にジュースが___。 (answer: あります)
  4. 部屋___田中さんが___か。 (answer: に / います)
  5. 図書館___勉強します。 (answer: で)
  6. 駅の前___コンビニが___。 (answer: に / あります)
  7. 猫はどこ___いますか。 (answer: に)
  8. 魚___水族館にいます。 (answer: が)
  9. 学校___友達が三人___。 (answer: に / います)
  10. この近く___病院は___か。 (answer: に / あります)

Translation Practice

English → Japanese

  1. "There is a cat under the chair." → 椅子の下に猫がいます。
  2. "Where is the hospital?" → 病院はどこにありますか。
  3. "I eat lunch at school." → 学校で昼ご飯を食べます。
  4. "There are three people in the room." → 部屋に三人います。
  5. "Is there a convenience store near here?" → この近くにコンビニはありますか。

Japanese → English

  1. 本棚の横に窓があります。→ "There is a window next to the bookshelf."
  2. 公園で友達と会います。→ "I meet my friend at the park."
  3. 机の上に何もありません。→ "There is nothing on the desk."
  4. 田中さんはどこにいますか。→ "Where is Tanaka-san?"
  5. 駅と病院の間に銀行があります。→ "There is a bank between the station and the hospital."

Cultural Note

Japanese apartments and homes are typically described using a room-counting system called LDK (Living, Dining, Kitchen) combined with the number of separate rooms: for example, a 1K is a studio with just a kitchen, a 2LDK has two rooms plus a living-dining-kitchen. When you first visit someone's home in Japan, it is customary to say お邪魔します (Ojama shimasu) — literally "I am intruding" — as you step inside. This phrase acknowledges that you are entering someone's private space and is considered essential politeness. When leaving, you say お邪魔しました (Ojama shimashita, past tense).

The concept of uchi (内, inside/home group) versus soto (外, outside/out-group) is fundamental to Japanese social interaction. Your uchi is your in-group: family, close colleagues, teammates. Soto is everyone outside that circle. This extends to language: you use humble forms when talking about your own (uchi) family to outsiders, and respectful forms when talking about others' (soto) families. The words 内 and 外 — "inside" and "outside" — that you learned in this lesson as physical location words are thus also deeply social concepts in Japanese culture.

Self-Check

  1. What is the key rule for choosing between あります and います?
  2. What particle marks the location where something exists? What particle marks where an action happens?
  3. How do you say "There is a cat between the desk and the window" in Japanese?
  4. Fill in: 図書館___本を読みます / 図書館___本があります. Why are the particles different?
  5. How would you ask "Is Sato-san in the office?" in Japanese?