アレルギーがあります
areregī ga arimasu
To say "I have an allergy" in Japanese, use アレルギーがあります (areregī ga arimasu), a polite statement you can use with restaurant staff, doctors or hosts.
Use アレルギーがあります to tell someone that you react badly to a food, medicine or other substance. It is especially useful when ordering food or checking in at a clinic. To name the allergen, put it in front of the word for allergy, as in 〇〇アレルギーがあります, where 〇〇 stands for the substance.
What does it mean word for word?
アレルギー is the loanword for allergy. があります is the particle ga plus arimasu, which literally means there exists or there is. Together the sentence says that an allergy exists, which is how Japanese expresses having one.
Which one should you use?
アレルギーがあります is the polite form. アレルギーがある means the same thing in plain, informal speech. 〇〇アレルギーがあります and 〇〇アレルギーがある are the polite and informal ways to name a specific allergy.
How does it change in a sentence?
The particle ga marks the allergy as the thing that exists. The verb arimasu is the polite form of the verb of existence for things, and dropping to アレルギーがある makes the sentence plain.
How do you pronounce it?
It is pronounced areregī ga arimasu. The long ī near the end of the loanword is held a little longer than a normal i.
Did you know?
- The word アレルギー is a 'gairaigo', or loanword, derived from German 'Allergie'. This is why the pronunciation follows a slightly different pattern than one might expect from English-based loanwords.
- In formal medical settings, a doctor might use the term アレルギー体質 ('allergic constitution') to describe a person who is generally prone to allergies regardless of the specific trigger.
- In high-stress situations like an emergency, you can shorten the phrase to just 〇〇アレルギー! (〇〇 arerugī!) to quickly signal the substance, though it is less polite than the full version.
Examples in context
- 私は食品アレルギーがあります。I have a food allergy.
- 俺は猫アレルギーがある。I have a cat allergy.
- エビのアレルギーがあります。ebi no arerugii ga arimasu.I have an allergy to shrimp.
- 卵のアレルギーがあります。tamago no arerugii ga arimasu.I have an egg allergy.
- 花粉のアレルギーがあります。kafun no arerugii ga arimasu.I have a pollen allergy.
Example conversation
Misaki and Kenta are deciding what to eat for dinner.
- 健太 Kenta美咲、エビのパスタを食べない？Misaki, ebi no pasuta o tabenai?Misaki, do you want to have shrimp pasta?
- 美咲 Misakiごめん、私はエビアレルギーがあります。Gomen, watashi wa ebi arerugī ga arimasu.Sorry, I have a shrimp allergy.
- 健太 Kenta本当？知らなかったよ。Hontō? Shiranakatta yo.Really? I didn't know that.
- 美咲 Misakiだから、別のものを注文しよう。Dakara, betsu no mono o chūmon shiyō.So, let's order something else.
