The difference of あります & います

猫が。。。。？　ありますorいます？

Alright, so I’ve noticed a lot of mistakes when it comes to differentiating ある（あります） and いる（います）for Japanese learners.

They sound similar, and they both have pretty much the same meaning(to be/to exist).

It’s much more difficult to quickly differentiate them when speaking in Japanese since you only have so much time to think and voice your thoughts.

Let’s look at some examples and see the difference. Also, let’s try to figure out a quick way to utilize them in spoken Japanese.




Ken: ねえ、よかったら家に来ない？
　　　Hey, why don’t you come over (to my house)?
Rose:  うん、いいよ。お菓子でも持っていこうか？
         Yeah sure. Shall I bring some desserts?
Ken: いや、大丈夫だよ。家にあるから。
        No, there’s no need. I’ve got plenty at home.
Rose: かな子も呼んでいい？
　　Can I bring Kanako with me?
Ken:  あ、もういるよ。
　　Well, she’s already here.


When we talk about inanimate things (pencil, book, park, place, etc.)
ある（あります） is used.

So, in the example, desserts are inanimate and so Ken said ある.
Now, when it comes to animate beings (people, animals), いる is used.
Keep in mind that plants are not included in the animate beings even though they may be alive.

大きなりんごの木があります。

There is a large apple tree.

猫が二匹います。

There are two cats.


So, Ken used いる when referring to Kanako being at his house already.
　
There’s one tip I have when distinguishing their functions.


ある　　aru      inanimate　アルミ缶がある There’s an (aluminium) can

いる       iru       animate    　イルカがいる  There’s a dolphin

I know it’s pretty similar to the Japanese puns, but memorising this could really help.

By the way, they call a group of dolphins ' a pod of dolphins ' and when you have more than a thousand, ' a super pod pf dolphins '. Now that's cool.