How to Say ‘There is / I have’ in Japanese
があります
ga ari masu
[gah ah-ree mahss]
💬 Usage Tip: [あります] is the polite form of [ある], used for things and events. In phrases like [知らせがあります], it means there is an announcement.
🇯🇵 In Japan: Japanese often avoids saying [I] directly, so [あります] can sound like 'there is' or 'I have' depending on the situation.
Phrase Breakdown
が
ga
[gah]
subject marker
Marks the thing that exists or is the focus of the sentence.
知らせがありますのがは主語を示します。
In shirase ga arimasu, ga marks the subject.
あり
ari
[ah-ree]
exist; there is; have
From ある in polite form. Used for things, events, or non-living existence.
時間がありました。
There was time.
ます
masu
[mahss]
polite verb ending
Adds politeness to a verb, common in everyday formal speech.
ありますのますは丁寧な形です。
The masu in arimasu is the polite form.
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