いる
iru[iɾɯ̟]
iru is the Japanese verb used to say that a living being exists or is present.
iru is used to express the state of existence for animate objects, such as people and animals.
Which one should you use?
Use いる for living beings like people or animals, whereas you use ある for inanimate objects or plants.
How does it change in a sentence?
This means you can form the te-form by simply adding て to get いて. The negative form is いない, and the past tense is いた.
How do you pronounce it?
iru
Did you know?
- The word iru is also used in the phrase iru to mean 'to need', but it is written with a different kanji to distinguish it from the verb for existence.
- Although the Japanese word iru sounds exactly like the Tamil word iru and both mean 'to exist', they are false cognates with no actual linguistic relationship.
Examples in context
- 彼はオフィスにいます。He is in the office.
- ネコが庭にいるよ。There's a cat in the garden.
- おばあちゃんはテレビ番組を見ておる。Grandma is watching a TV show.
- 友達が家にいますか？Is your friend at home?
- 先生は教室にいましたか？Was the teacher in the classroom?
- 犬が外で遊んでいるね。The dog is playing outside, right?
- 今、家にいる？Ima, ie ni iru?Are you home right now?
Example conversation
Ren and Himari are talking on the phone.
- 蓮 Ren陽葵、今どこにいる？Himari, ima doko ni iru?Himari, where are you now?
- 陽葵 Himari公園にいるよ。Kouen ni iru yo.I am in the park.
- 蓮 Ren犬はいる？Inu wa iru?Is there a dog?
- 陽葵 Himariううん、いないよ。Uun, inai yo.No, there isn't.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry いる, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries いる, CC BY-SA 4.0.
