Expert: Dreams - 7/3/2009

Question
I was wondering how to say "Do you have...", "Do you have a..." and "Do you have a girlfriend?" in Japanese

Answer
Hello,

When it comes to "having" something in Japanese, it depends on whether the object is animate or inanimate. And of course, there are levels of polite speech as well, so it depends on who you're talking to. (If you're talking to friends, you can use the verb's first form. If talking to someone you don't know very well, it's best to use the polite form.)

The word ARU (to have) is used with inanimate objects; its polite form is ARIMASU. The word IRU (to have) is used with animate objects; its polite form is IMASU.

So to ask, "Do you have X?" the basic pattern would be: "X ga ARU/IRU ka?" I'll give you some examples. It should be noted that Japanese has no articles ("a", "an", "the", etc), and plurals are generally always the same as the singular noun.

Do you have a cat?
Neko ga iru/imasu ka?

Do you have a car?
Kuruma ga aru/arimasu ka?

Do you have CDs?
Shi di ga aru/arimasu ka?

The word girlfriend can either be 'kanojo' (also meaning she/her) or 'gaarufurendo'. So:

Do you have a girlfriend?
Kanojo ga iru/imasu ka?

Notice that 'ka' follows each sentence, and is known as the question particle. By removing it, you can turn the sentence into a statement. Also notice that there are no subjects - when directing a question toward someone, it is not necessary to say "you".

Hope that helps :)
Dreams