日本に行ったことがありません
nihon ni itta koto ga arimasen
The English phrase "I have never been to japan" is expressed in Japanese as 日本に行ったことがありません (nihon ni itta koto ga arimasen).
This phrase is used to state that a person lacks the life experience of visiting Japan. The specific grammatical structure used here is the standard way in Japanese to express that one has never performed a certain action or had a particular experience.
What does it mean word for word?
Together, they literally mean 'have not had the experience of going'.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express a lack of experience, Japanese uses the structure '~ta koto ga nai'. You can change the meaning from 'have never been' to 'have been' by replacing the negative arimasen with the affirmative arimasu. Additionally, adding Zenzen to the start of the sentence, as in Zenzen Nihon ni itta koto ga nai, allows you to say 'I have absolutely never been to Japan'.
How do you pronounce it?
nihon ni itta koto ga arimasen
Did you know?
- The word 全然 ('zenzen') originally only paired with negative verbs to mean 'not at all'. However, modern youth slang now uses it as an intensifier for positive adjectives, similar to how 'totally' is used in English.
- Japanese has two ways to say 'Japan': 日本 (Nihon) and 日本 (Nippon). While they look identical in writing, the latter is often used in official contexts like stamps and sporting events to sound more powerful.
- The word こと in this phrase turns the action of 'going' into a conceptual 'thing' or 'matter'. This allows the speaker to treat their life experience as a physical possession that they either have or do not have.
Examples in context
- 日本に行ったことがありません。Nihon ni itta koto ga arimasen.I have never been to Japan.
- 残念ですが、私は一度も日本に行ったことがありません。Zannen desu ga, watashi wa ichidomo Nihon ni itta koto ga arimasen.Unfortunately, I have never been to Japan even once.
- 今まで、一度も日本に行ったことがありません。Ima made, ichidomo Nihon ni itta koto ga arimasen.Until now, I have never been to Japan.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about travel plans at a cafe.
- 陽太 Yota美咲さんは、日本に行ったことがありますか？Misaki-san wa, Nihon ni itta koto ga arimasu ka?Misaki, have you ever been to Japan?
- 美咲 Misakiいいえ、私は一度も日本に行ったことがありません。Iie, watashi wa ichidomo Nihon ni itta koto ga arimasen.No, I have never been to Japan.
- 陽太 Yotaそうなんですね。いつか一緒に行きましょう！Sou nan desu ne. Itsuka issho ni ikimashou!I see. Let's go together sometime!
- 美咲 Misakiはい、ぜひ行きたいです！Hai, zehi ikitai desu!Yes, I would love to go!
