How to Say “I Have” in Japanese: あります, います and もっています

Someone asks whether you have a car, a pet or a free afternoon. English answers all three with “have,” but Japanese has no single verb for it. Most of the time, Japanese says that the thing exists for you: あります (arimasu) for things and います (imasu) for people and animals. When you mean something you are carrying or own, you can also use もっています (motte imasu).

The short answer

• A thing (a car, a bicycle, money): あります. くるまがあります。(Kuruma ga arimasu.) I have a car.
• A family member or a friend: います. あにがいます。(Ani ga imasu.) I have an older brother.
• A pet: います. いぬがいます。(Inu ga imasu.) I have a dog.
• Time, plans or an event: あります. じかんがあります。(Jikan ga arimasu.) I have time.
• A fever or an allergy: あります. ねつがあります。(Netsu ga arimasu.) I have a fever.
• Something on you right now: もっています (with を). ペンをもっています。(Pen o motte imasu.) I have a pen with me.

Not sure why a tree takes あります but a fish in a tank takes います? The guide to arimasu vs imasu explains the rule, the tricky cases and every form of both verbs.

The basic pattern: X が あります / います

Put what you have before が, then add the verb. You do not need わたし (watashi, I): Japanese leaves it out when it is clear who is speaking.

1. くるまがありますKuruma ga arimasu.I have a car.
2. じてんしゃがありますJitensha ga arimasu.I have a bicycle.
3. ねこがいますNeko ga imasu.I have a cat.

The same sentences can mean “there is a car” or “there is a cat” in another context. English chooses “have” when the conversation is about what belongs to you or is part of your life.

Making it clear whose it is: わたしには

To make clear who has something, especially when comparing people, put the person first with には (ni wa). わたしには means “as for me” or “I have.” You will hear it most with family:

1. わたしにはあにがふたりいますWatashi ni wa ani ga futari imasu.I have two older brothers.
2. わたしにはきょうだいがいませんWatashi ni wa kyoudai ga imasen.I don’t have any brothers or sisters.
3. ゆきさんにはいもうとがいますYuki-san ni wa imouto ga imasu.Yuki has a younger sister.

In casual speech, many people simply say わたしは, or leave the person out altogether. には is the careful form, and it is the one to use when you talk about someone else.

Family and friends: います

People always take います, so family members and friends do too:

1. きょうだいがいますかKyoudai ga imasu ka.Do you have any brothers or sisters?
2. はい、いもうとがひとりいますHai, imouto ga hitori imasu.Yes, I have one younger sister.
3. こどもがふたりいますKodomo ga futari imasu.I have two children.
4. こいびとがいますかKoibito ga imasu ka.Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?

To give a number of people, put it straight before います: ひとり (hitori), one person; ふたり (futari), two people; さんにん (sannin), three people.

Pets: います or かっています

1. ペットがいますかPetto ga imasu ka.Do you have a pet?
2. いぬがにひきいますInu ga nihiki imasu.I have two dogs.
3. ねこをかっていますNeko o katte imasu.I have a cat. (I keep a cat.)

かっています (katte imasu) comes from かう (kau), “to keep an animal.” It is a different word from かう, “to buy”; the two are written with different kanji. For counting small animals, use ひき: いっぴき (ippiki), にひき (nihiki), さんびき (sanbiki).

Time, plans and events: あります

Time, plans, homework and events cannot move on their own, so they take あります:

1. いまじかんがありますかIma jikan ga arimasu ka.Do you have time now?
2. すみません、じかんがありませんSumimasen, jikan ga arimasen.Sorry, I don’t have time.
3. しゅうまつはよていがありますかShuumatsu wa yotei ga arimasu ka.Do you have plans this weekend?
4. あしたテストがありますAshita tesuto ga arimasu.I have a test tomorrow.
5. きょうはしごとがありますKyou wa shigoto ga arimasu.I have work today.
6. しゅくだいがたくさんありますShukudai ga takusan arimasu.I have a lot of homework.
7. しつもんがありますShitsumon ga arimasu.I have a question.

Feeling ill: a fever, a cold, a headache

Health is where English “have” changes the most in Japanese. Some symptoms use あります; others use a different verb or an adjective:

1. ねつがありますNetsu ga arimasu.I have a fever.
2. たまごアレルギーがありますTamago arerugii ga arimasu.I have an egg allergy.
3. かぜをひきましたKaze o hikimashita.I have a cold. (I’ve caught a cold.)
4. あたまがいたいですAtama ga itai desu.I have a headache. (My head hurts.)

For a cold, Japanese says you “caught” it: かぜをひきました, or かぜをひいています (kaze o hiite imasu) while you still have it. Do not say かぜがあります.

もっています: having something with you

もっています (motte imasu) comes from もつ (motsu), “to hold” or “to carry.” In kanji it is 持っています. It uses を instead of が, and it means that you have something on you or that you own it. It is the ～ています form you can learn more about in the ～ています lesson.

1. ペンをもっていますかPen o motte imasu ka.Do you have a pen (on you)?
2. はい、もっていますHai, motte imasu.Yes, I do.
3. かさをもっていませんKasa o motte imasen.I don’t have an umbrella with me.
4. くるまをもっていますKuruma o motte imasu.I own a car.

あります or もっています?

Both ペンがありますか (pen ga arimasu ka) and ペンをもっていますか (pen o motte imasu ka) can mean “Do you have a pen?” The first asks whether a pen is available; the second asks whether you have one on you. If someone asks ～がありますか and you answer はい、あります (hai, arimasu), you are saying “Yes, I have one.” In that moment it means much the same as もっています.

Do not use もっています for family, pets, time or plans. Say いもうとがいます, not いもうとをもっています, and じかんがあります, not じかんをもっています.

Saying you don’t have something

Change the ending to ありません, いません or もっていません:

1. くるまがありませんKuruma ga arimasen.I don’t have a car.
2. ペットがいませんPetto ga imasen.I don’t have a pet.
3. おかねがありませんOkane ga arimasen.I don’t have any money.

In a short reply, keep the verb from the question: いいえ、ありません (iie, arimasen), いいえ、いません (iie, imasen) or いいえ、もっていません (iie, motte imasen).

Talking about the past

1. むかし、いぬがいましたMukashi, inu ga imashita.I used to have a dog.
2. きのうテストがありましたKinou tesuto ga arimashita.I had a test yesterday.
3. きのうはじかんがありませんでしたKinou wa jikan ga arimasen deshita.I didn’t have time yesterday.

The full table of polite and plain forms is in the arimasu vs imasu guide.

Practise saying “I have”

Say it aloud

Say each line aloud, then replace the noun with one of your own.

1. じかんがありますJikan ga arimasu.I have time.
2. いぬがいますInu ga imasu.I have a dog.
3. かさをもっていませんKasa o motte imasen.I don’t have an umbrella with me.

A short role-play

Two friends are talking about pets. Notice how each answer keeps います because every animal in the conversation is alive:

1. ペットがいますかPetto ga imasu ka.Do you have a pet?
2. はい、ねこがいますHai, neko ga imasu.Yes, I have a cat.
3. いぬもいますかInu mo imasu ka.Do you have a dog too?
4. いいえ、いぬはいませんIie, inu wa imasen.No, I don’t have a dog.

Quick quiz

1. How do you say “I have a younger sister”?
2. How do you ask “Do you have time?”
3. How do you say “I have a fever”?
4. How do you ask “Do you have an umbrella with you?”
5. Which one is wrong: いぬがいます, いぬをかっています or いぬがあります?
6. How do you say “I have plans this weekend”?

Answers

1. いもうとがいます (imouto ga imasu).
2. じかんがありますか (jikan ga arimasu ka).
3. ねつがあります (netsu ga arimasu).
4. かさをもっていますか (kasa o motte imasu ka).
5. いぬがあります. A dog is an animal, so it takes います.
6. しゅうまつはよていがあります (shuumatsu wa yotei ga arimasu).

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “I have” in Japanese?

There is no single word. Use あります (arimasu) for things, time and plans, います (imasu) for people and animals, and もっています (motte imasu) for things you are carrying or own.

How do you say “I have a dog” in Japanese?

いぬがいます (inu ga imasu). You can also say いぬをかっています (inu o katte imasu), “I keep a dog.” Do not use あります for an animal.

Does はい、あります mean the same as もっています?

Often, yes. If someone asks ペンがありますか (pen ga arimasu ka), “Do you have a pen?”, then はい、あります means “Yes, I have one,” just like はい、もっています. The difference is that もっています is only for objects you hold, carry or own, while あります also works for time, plans and events.

What does わたしには mean?

It means “as for me” or “for me,” and it marks who has something: わたしにはあにがいます (watashi ni wa ani ga imasu), “I have an older brother.” It is optional when it is obvious you are talking about yourself.

How do you say “I have a question” in Japanese?

しつもんがあります (shitsumon ga arimasu). A question is not alive, so it takes あります.

How do you say “I don’t have” in Japanese?

Use ありません (arimasen) for things, いません (imasen) for people and animals, and もっていません (motte imasen) for something you are not carrying: じかんがありません, “I don’t have time.”

Keep this in mind

To say you have something, say that it exists: あります for things, time, plans and a fever, います for family, friends and pets. Use もっています with を for something you are carrying or own. Add か to ask, and change the ending to ありません or いません to say you do not have it.

Continue learning

To understand the rule behind あります and います, including plants, fish, taxis and robots, read arimasu vs imasu: what they mean. Build more family, pet and everyday-object words with the YapaneseAI vocabulary library, and continue through the beginner learning hub.