書いています
Kaite imasu
The English phrase "I am writing" is expressed in Japanese as 書いています (Kaite imasu).
書いています is used to describe the action of writing that is happening right now.
Which one should you use?
書いています describes an ongoing action (I am writing), whereas 書きます refers to a habitual action or a future action (I write or I will write).
How does it change in a sentence?
In casual spoken Japanese, the i in kaite imasu is often dropped, resulting in kaite masu.
How do you pronounce it?
Kaite imasu
Did you know?
- The verb kaku is a homophone for the word meaning 'to scratch', meaning kaite imasu could be interpreted as 'I am scratching' depending on the context.
- The structure of 書いています uses the auxiliary verb いる, which literally means 'to exist'. This creates a grammatical picture of the action of writing 'existing' alongside the person.
- While kaite imasu uses the kanji 書, this character is derived from a pictograph of a hand holding a brush.
Examples in context
- フランス革命についての論文を書いています。I am writing a study of the French Revolution.This sentence is useful for showing how to describe writing a paper or study.Tatoeba #196991 by tommy_san, translation #34171 by AlanF_US
- 文章を書いています。I am writing a sentence.This sentence is useful for describing the action of writing a sentence.Tatoeba #13184941 by atitarev, translation #3634680 by thegui
- 私は母に代わってあなたに手紙を書いています。I am writing to you on behalf of my mother.This sentence is useful for expressing that you are writing a letter on behalf of someone else.Tatoeba #152861 by mookeee, translation #261686 by CM
Example conversation
Yui is at her desk when Yota enters the room.
- 陽太 Yota結衣、今何をしているの？Yui, ima nani o shite iru no?Yui, what are you doing now?
- 結衣 Yui日記を書いています。Nikki o kaite imasu.I am writing in my diary.
- 陽太 Yotaへえ、いいですね。Hee, ii desu ne.Oh, that's nice.
- 結衣 Yui明日までに終わらせたいです。Ashita made ni owarasetai desu.I want to finish it by tomorrow.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
