What does “iru” mean in Japanese?
Japanese native speakers use “iru” mainly in the three different ways: as a verb to express the presence of a thing; as a verb to express the necessity of a thing; as an auxiliary verb to express the continuity of an action. In this blog post, I will explain these three roles in detail. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand how to use “iru” properly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Iru to express presence
Let me start with “iru” as a verb expressing the presence of a thing.
- iru – 居る (いる) : a verb meaning ‘to present’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, it can also mean ‘to stay’ or just ‘to be’.
Japanese native speakers use this type of “iru” to express the presence of a living thing. So, depending on the situation and context, it can mean ‘to stay’ or just ‘to be’. When we want to express the presence of a person, for example, this verb would be the best choice.
Compared to the similar verb, “aru”, “iru” focuses more on living things. Normally, therefore, it is not suitable to express the existence of an inanimate thing. For this purpose, “aru” is much more natural.
Then, let me explain how to use this “iru” through the example sentence below.
Example #1: how to use “iru” to express the presence of a person
kare wa mada gakkou ni iru – 彼はまだ学校に居る (かれはまだがっこうにいる)
He is still at school.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, it is put after “kare” to make the subject word in the sentence.
- mada – まだ : an adverb meaning ‘still’ in Japanese.
- gakkou – 学校 (がっこう) : a noun meaning ‘school’ in Japanese.
- ni – に : a case particle used to indicate a particular place which someone or something is in. In the example, it is put after “gakkou” to indicate the particular place which “kare” is still at.
This is a typical usage of “iru”. In this example, it expresses the presence of “kare”. When we want to express the presence of a person, we can use this “iru”.
Iru to express necessity
Next, let me explain “iru” as a verb expressing the necessity of a thing.
- iru – 要る (いる) : a verb meaning ‘to need’ or ‘to want’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, it can also work like an adjective meaning ‘necessary’.
This type of “iru” has a different kanji expression from the last one. So, we can easily differentiate them in writing. In speaking, however, it would be a bit difficult. We need to be careful how they are used.
Then, let me explain how to use this “iru” through the example sentence below.
Example #2: how to use “iru” to express the necessity of a thing
watashi wa okane ga iru – 私はお金が要る (わたしはおかねがいる)
I need money.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- okane – お金 (おかね) : a noun meaning ‘money’ in Japanese.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is put after “okane” to make the object word in the sentence.
This is a typical usage of this type of “iru”. In the example, it expresses the necessity of money.
Japanese native speakers quite often omit the subject word in a sentence when it can be understood from the context. To say “I need money” in Japanese, therefore, just “okane ga iru” is understandable and acceptable. In this case, however, “okane” works like the subject and the meaning of “iru” can be interpreted as ‘necessary’ instead.
Iru to express continuity
Lastly, let me explain “iru” as an auxiliary verb expressing the continuity of an action.
- iru – いる : an auxiliary verb used to express the continuity of the action described by the preceding verb.
This type of “iru” is written only in hiragana. So, it’s easy to differentiate this from the other two in writing. In addition, it would be easy also in speaking. This “iru” works as an auxiliary verb, so always follows a verb.
Then, let me explain how to use this “iru” through the example sentence below.
Example #3: how to use “iru” to express the continuity of an action
kanojo wa kaigan he arui te iru – 彼女は海岸へ歩いている (かのじょはかいがんへあるいている)
She is walking to the seashore.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- kaigan – 海岸 (かいがん) : a noun meaning ‘seashore’ in Japanese. Learn more about “umi” and its related expressions.
- he – へ : a case particle used to indicate a particular place which someone or something is heading to. In the example, it is used after “kaigan” to indicate the particular place which “kanojo” is heading to.
- arui – 歩い (あるい) : one conjugation of the verb, “aruku”, which means ‘to walk’ in Japanese. It has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- te – て : a conjunctive particle put after a verb or adjective to make its te form. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with “iru”.
This is a typical usage of this type of “iru”. In the example, this works as an auxiliary verb after the te-formed verb, “arui te”, to express the continuity of its action, ‘to walk’. As its grammatical definition suggests, it always helps its preceding verb. When we want to make present progressive expressions in Japanese, this “iru” is very useful.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the three types of “iru”. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- iru – 居る (いる) : a verb meaning ‘to present’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, it can also mean ‘to stay’ or just ‘to be’. It can express the presence of a living thing.
- iru – 要る (いる) : a verb meaning ‘to need’ or ‘to want’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, it can also work like an adjective meaning ‘necessary’ or ‘needed’.
- iru – いる : an auxiliary verb used to express the continuity of the action described by the preceding verb. This is written only in hiragana, so it’s easy to differentiate this from the other two in writing. In addition, it would be easy also in speaking. This “iru” works as an auxiliary verb, so always follows a verb.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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