がある (gaaru) Meaning Japanese Grammar - There Is
Sandro Maglione
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Sandro Maglione
2 min reading time
The expression がある means there is or there are and is used for inanimate objects (as opposed to いる which is used for living beings).
がある is the combination of:
- Particle が (subject)
- Verb ある (
to exist)
がある is a very common expression in the Japanese language, so it is important to be able to recognize and understand it in various contexts.
In this post we learn more about the meaning of がある, how it is formed, and when がある is used through real example sentences.
How がある is formed
As we saw in the introduction, がある is the combination of the particle が and the verb ある. がある follows nouns to indicate there is, there are, or exists:
The が in がある is often omitted in colloquial speech
You can also find the Kanji form of ある: 有る.
How and when to use がある
がある is used in any situation where we want to indicate that an inanimate object exists or "there is".
0:00.00
-1:0-1.00
もういい時間がないやれ！
That's enough, there's no time, do it!
In this example, the negative form がない is used to indicate that there is no time (時間 time).
Polite form of ある
The polite form of ある is あります.
Note how the hiragana ~る of ある is changed to ~り in the polite form. We can therefore deduce that ある is a Godan verb (verb in う)
部屋にテレビがあります。
There is a television in the room.
Difference between がある and はある
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Support us to unlockExamples of がある
それも個体差があるだろうけど
There are also individual differences though
確信していることがあるんだ。
There are convictions.
