whereabouts
HOME ＞ Language ＞ Basic Japanese ＞ WhereaboutsPart 1 There is an Italian restaurant in my neighborhood.
" i-masu " and " ari-masu " are used to indicate that someone or something existes at a particular place.
| statemens | Japanese | pronunciation |
| There is an Italian restaurant in my neighborhood. | 近所にイタリアンレストランがあります。 | kinjyo ni itarian-resutoran ga arimasu |
| You will find the president of a company in that room. | あの部屋に社長がいます。 | ano heya ni shachoo ga imasu |
| There is a telephone in this room. | この部屋に電話があります。 | konoheyan denwa ga arimasu |
| There ia a dog in this park. | この公園に犬がいます。 | kono kooen ni inu ga imasu |
Note ; All these examples above need " ... ni " indicating the place.
Note; Since all Japanese nouns are uncountable, you cannot guess if there is only one or a few or many. In other words, Japanese people don't care much about how many.
| ・・・に・・・がいます |
| < the name of a place > ni < person or animal > ga i-masu |
| ・・・に・・・があります |
| < the name of a place > ni < object > ga ari-masu |
_Part 2 There is someone behind the curtain.
The equivalent of the English proposition indicating places is also found in Japanese. The difference; They are placed behind, not before the noun, that is, postposition.
| words | Japanese | pronunciation |
| There is someone behind the curtain. | カーテンのうしろに人がいます。 | kaaten no-ushiro-ni hito ga imasu |
| There is a cat in front of the car. | 車の前にネコがいます。 | kuruma no-mae-ni neko ga imasu |
| There is a bank near the station. | 駅の近くに銀行があります。 | eki no-chikaku-ni ginkoo ga arimasu |
| There is a bottleof cola in the refregerator. | 冷蔵庫の中にコーラがあります。 | reizooko no-naka-ni koora ga arimasu |
| There is a truck under the bridge. | 橋の下にトラックがあります。 | hashi no-shita-ni torakku ga arimasu |
| Threre is a dictionary on the desk. | 机の上に辞書があります。 | tsukue no-ue-ni jisho ga arimasu |
Note ; There are many other words indicating the spacial positions.
| propositions | Japanese | pronunciation |
| behind | ・・・のうしろに・・・ | no-ushiro-ni |
| in front of | ・・・の前に・・・ | no-mae-ni |
| in / into | ・・・の中に・・・ | no-naka-ni |
| near | ・・・の近くに・・・ | no-chikaku-ni |
| on / onto | ・・・の上に・・・ | no-ue-ni |
| under | ・・・の下に・・・ | no-shita-ni |
Note; The words indicating positions are franked by " no " and " ni ".
| ・・・の・・・に・・・ |
| < object or person > no-< words indicating positions >-ni < sentence > |
Part 3 What do you see on the desk ?
If you want answers with " i-masu " or " ari-masu ", then begin the question with " nani ga ". And when you canot specify what it is, you call it " nanika " or something. And when you cannot find anything ", you call it " nanimo ".
| conversations | Japanese | pronunciation |
| What do you see on the desk ?
There is a pencil on the desk. |
机の上に何がありますか。
（机の上に）鉛筆があります。 |
tsukue no ue ni nani ga arimasuka
enpitsu ga arimasu |
| There is something on the desk.
There is a notebook on the desk. |
机の上に何かあります。 （机の上に）ノートがあります。 |
tsukure no ue ni nanika arimasu |
| Is there anything on the chair ?
There is nothing on the chair. |
椅子の上に何かありますか。
（椅子の上に）何もありません。 |
isu no ue ni nanika arimasuka
nanimo arimasen |
Note :" nani ga ", " nanika " and " nanimo " are all a kind of pronoun. They are roughly equivalent of what, something and anything respectively.
| ・・・に何がありますか |
| < the name of a palce > ni nani ga ari-masuka |
| ・・・に何かあります |
| < the name of a palce > ni nani ka ari-masu |
| ・・・に何かありますか |
| < the name of a palce > ni nani ka ari-masuka |
| ・・・に何もありません |
| < the name of a palce > ni nanimo ari-masen |
Part 4 There is an egg in the box.
Since all the Japanese nouns are uncountable, they need some words to help express the number of the objects. There are many kinds of such words.
| statements | Japanese | pronunciation |
| There is an egg in the box. | 箱の中に卵が一個あります。 | hako no naka ni tamago ga hito-tsu ari-masu |
| There are three sheets of paper behind the book. | 本のうしろに紙が三枚あります。 | hon no ushiro ni kami ga san-mai ari-masu |
| Thiere is only on chopstick in the drawer. | 引き出しには箸が一本しかありません。 | hikidashi ni-wa hashi ga i-ppon shika ari-masen |
| There are six students in the room. | 部屋の中に学生が６人います。 | heya no naka ni gakusei ga roku-nin i-masu |
Note :Compare the position of the word indicating the number.
箱の中に卵があります。 → → →箱の中に卵が一個あります。
Insert 「一個」 between 「卵が」 and 「あります。」
See below how to count people or objects from one to ten.
| 一人 hitori 二人 hutari 三人 san-nin 四人 yo-nin 五人 go-nin 六人 roku-nin 七人 nana-nin / shichi-nin 八人 hachi-nin 九人 kyuu-nin / kunin 十人 jyuu-nin |
***
| 一個 i-kko 二個 ni-ko 三個 san-ko 四個 yon-ko 五個 go-ko 六個 ro-kko 七個 nana-ko 八個 hachi-ko 九個 kyuu-ko 十個 jyu-kko |
***
| 一本 i-ppon 二本 ni-hon 三本 san-bon 四本 yon-hon 五本 go-hon 六本 ro-ppon 七本 nana-hon 八本 ha-ppon 九本 kyuu-hon 十本 jyu-ppon |
***
| 一枚 ichi-mai 二枚 ni-mai 三枚 san-mai 四枚 yon-mai 五枚 go-mai 六枚 ryoku-mai 七枚 nana-mai 八枚 hachi-mai 九枚 kyuu-mai 十枚jyuu-mai |
Other examples ; to count birds " wa " 一羽 to count beasts as large as dogs or horses " too " 一頭 to count small animals as large as mice " hiki ( piki ) " 一匹 to count books " satsu "一冊 etc.
Part 5 The salt is in the cupboard.
When you want to tell someone where the object is, you say " ...ni ari-masu ", but where the person is, " ...ni i-masu ". Try to make questions useing " dokoni... ".
| conversations | Japanese | pronunciation |
| Where is the dictionary ?
The dictionary is here. |
辞書はどこにありますか。
辞書はここにあります。 |
jisho wa doko ni ari-masuka
jisho wa koko ni ari-masu |
| Where is the salt ?
The salt is in the cupboard. |
塩はどこにありますか。
塩は戸棚の中にあります。 |
shio wa doko ni ari-masuka
shio wa todana no-naka-ni ari-masu |
| Where is the money ?
The money is in my wallet. |
お金はどこにありますか。
わたしの財布の中にあります。 |
okane wa dokoni ari-masuka
watashi no saihu no-naka-ni ari-masu |
| Where is Toru ?
He is in the kitchen. |
徹さんはどこにいますか。
台所にいます。 |
tooru-san wa doko ni i-masuka
daidokoro ni i-masu |
Note;
| ・・・はどこにありますか／いますか |
| < noun > wa doko ni ari-masuka / i-masuka |
| ・・・は・・・にあります／います |
| < noun > wa < place > ni ari-masu / i-masu |
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