Grammar › Basics › あります・います
あります & います
Both mean "there is / there are" — the choice is simple: things take あります, living creatures take います.
The short version
Japanese splits "to exist" in two. あります (plain ある) is for inanimate things — objects, places, events, ideas. います (plain いる) is for animate things that move on their own — people and animals. The thing that exists is marked with が.
placeに thingがあります — there is a (non-living) thing
placeに creatureがいます — there is a (living) creature
あります — things, places, events
Use あります for anything that doesn't move under its own power: a shop, a festival, a meeting, a feeling.
夜は花火があります。
At night there are fireworks. (an event → あります)
入学式があります。
There's an entrance ceremony. (an event → あります)
います — people & animals
Use います for living, self-moving creatures. Family, friends, pets, wildlife — all take います.
3歳の娘がいます。
I have a 3-year-old daughter. (a person → います)
羊や牛がいます。
There are sheep and cows. (animals → います)
"To have" is the same word. 「娘がいます」 is literally "a daughter exists" — Japanese uses います/あります where English says "I have". Family and pets → います; possessions like money or time → あります.
Watch out
The line is "moves on its own," not "alive." Plants take あります (a tree doesn't walk), and so does a parked car or bus. But once someone is driving that bus, it can flip to います.
🗣 Casual speech drops to ある／いる. Among friends you'll hear 猫いる？("Is the cat here?") and お金ある？("Got money?"). Note the negative of ある is the irregular ない — never あらない.
Next: なる — to become → · は vs が → · All grammar
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