おはようございます" та "こんばんは

[Anji-san]

That's interesting. This completely changes my understanding.
Duolingo teaches without getting into the details of boring grammar, which is probably one of the reasons why it is so successful but at the same time, doesn't explain certain things like the above, when I start thinking about what I'm learning rather than just blindly following the chapters. They could have a section with articles about grammar, additional vocabulary for each chapter etc. for people to read, or not. But I guess we can't have everything, and doing an independent research is part of the learning process.
Thank you for the explanation.

Would you be able to provide versions alternative to Duolingo to the below?
I like cats
I have a cat
I want a cat

If I started a conversation with someone about the topics I've already learnt and was using the sentence structure from Duolingo, would that sound unnatural, or stiff?

 

[mdchachi]

That's interesting. This completely changes my understanding.
Duolingo teaches without getting into the details of boring grammar, which is probably one of the reasons why it is so successful but at the same time, doesn't explain certain things like the above, when I start thinking about what I'm learning rather than just blindly following the chapters. They could have a section with articles about grammar, additional vocabulary for each chapter etc. for people to read, or not. But I guess we can't have everything, and doing an independent research is part of the learning process.
Thank you for the explanation.

Would you be able to provide versions alternative to Duolingo to the below?
I like cats
I have a cat
I want a cat

If I started a conversation with someone about the topics I've already learnt and was using the sentence structure from Duolingo, would that sound unnatural, or stiff?

They're just trying to get you started. Many people give up once they get bogged down into the minutiae. So I think it's ok to take the Duolingo approach. But it wouldn't hurt to also look at a basic textbook too.

I like cats
neko ga suki desu (I like cats)
I have a cat
neko ga imasu (cat(s) exist = I have a cat(s))
neko wo katte imasu (I'm raising a cat(s))
(this uses the verb kau 飼う 【かう】 (v5u,vt) to keep (a pet or other animal); to have; to own; to raise; to rear; to feed;)
I want a cat
neko ga hoshii desu (I want a cat(s))
neko wo kaitai desu (I want to raise a cat)

 

[mdchachi]

I ran your question through DeepSeek for fun and the answer is impressive.

The "ga" you're noticing is a subject marker particle in Japanese, not part of the verbs themselves. It marks the subject of a sentence (what the sentence is about). Let's break this down:

---

### 1. The Role of が (ga)

• が (ga) identifies the subject of the sentence. Think of it as highlighting what is doing the action or what is being described.
• Example:

- Kyodai ga imasu ka? = "Do you have siblings?"
Here, kyodai (siblings) is marked by ga as the subject: "Regarding siblings, do they exist (for you)?"

---

### 2. Key Patterns with が (ga)
#### A. が + あります (ga arimasu) / が + います (ga imasu): "To have/There is"
- があります (ga arimasu) = For inanimate objects (e.g., clothes, furniture).
- Kuruma ga arimasu. = "I have a car."
- がいます (ga imasu) = For animate beings (e.g., siblings, pets).
- Kyodai ga imasu. = "I have siblings."

Why Duolingo uses both "ga arimasu" and "ga imasu":

• があります for things → Apāto ga arimasu. ("I have an apartment.")
• がいます for people/pets → Neko ga imasu. ("I have a cat.")

#### B. が + 好きです (ga suki desu): "To like"
- が好きです = Marks what you like.
- Nihongo ga suki desu. = "I like Japanese."

#### C. が + ほしいです (ga hoshii desu): "To want"
- がほしいです = Marks what you want.
- Kuruma ga hoshii desu. = "I want a car."

---

### 3. Why "ga" Confuses Learners
In English, we say "I have a car," but Japanese flips this to "Car exists (for me)." The particle ga highlights the thing you have (car/siblings) as the subject, not "you."

---

### 4. Key Takeaway

• が (ga) marks the subject of the sentence (what exists, what you like, what you want).
• The verb/adjective after が tells you the nature of the statement:

- あります/います → Existence ("have")
- 好きです → Liking
- ほしいです → Wanting

---

### Examples to Compare
| English | Japanese (Literal) | Structure |
|---------|--------------------|-----------|
| "I have a sister." | Imōto ga imasu. | Sister (が) exists. |
| "I like cats." | Neko ga suki desu. | Cats (が) are liked. |
| "I want coffee." | Kōhī ga hoshii desu. | Coffee (が) is wanted. |

This pattern is consistent across many Japanese expressions! Let me know if you'd like more examples.

 

[Anji-san]

I ran your question through DeepSeek for fun and the answer is impressive.

The "ga" you're noticing is a subject marker particle in Japanese, not part of the verbs themselves. It marks the subject of a sentence (what the sentence is about). Let's break this down:

---

### 1. The Role of が (ga)

• が (ga) identifies the subject of the sentence. Think of it as highlighting what is doing the action or what is being described.
• Example:

- Kyodai ga imasu ka? = "Do you have siblings?"
Here, kyodai (siblings) is marked by ga as the subject: "Regarding siblings, do they exist (for you)?"

---

### 2. Key Patterns with が (ga)
#### A. が + あります (ga arimasu) / が + います (ga imasu): "To have/There is"
- があります (ga arimasu) = For inanimate objects (e.g., clothes, furniture).
- Kuruma ga arimasu. = "I have a car."
- がいます (ga imasu) = For animate beings (e.g., siblings, pets).
- Kyodai ga imasu. = "I have siblings."

Why Duolingo uses both "ga arimasu" and "ga imasu":

• があります for things → Apāto ga arimasu. ("I have an apartment.")
• がいます for people/pets → Neko ga imasu. ("I have a cat.")

#### B. が + 好きです (ga suki desu): "To like"
- が好きです = Marks what you like.
- Nihongo ga suki desu. = "I like Japanese."

#### C. が + ほしいです (ga hoshii desu): "To want"
- がほしいです = Marks what you want.
- Kuruma ga hoshii desu. = "I want a car."

---

### 3. Why "ga" Confuses Learners
In English, we say "I have a car," but Japanese flips this to "Car exists (for me)." The particle ga highlights the thing you have (car/siblings) as the subject, not "you."

---

### 4. Key Takeaway

• が (ga) marks the subject of the sentence (what exists, what you like, what you want).
• The verb/adjective after が tells you the nature of the statement:

- あります/います → Existence ("have")
- 好きです → Liking
- ほしいです → Wanting

---

### Examples to Compare
| English | Japanese (Literal) | Structure |
|---------|--------------------|-----------|
| "I have a sister." | Imōto ga imasu. | Sister (が) exists. |
| "I like cats." | Neko ga suki desu. | Cats (が) are liked. |
| "I want coffee." | Kōhī ga hoshii desu. | Coffee (が) is wanted. |

This pattern is consistent across many Japanese expressions! Let me know if you'd like more examples.

Nice, thank you.
So it looks like that Japanese don't have a word for "have", meaning ownership, or a connection (like siblings, which you don't really "own")
And that it's impersonal too. So "I have a sister" and "she has a sister" both could be "imōto ga imasu". Unless stated "she" specifically like; "kanojo wa imōto ga imasu". Am I correct?

I'm going to buy a textbook for beginners, I want to develop my Japanese outside Duolingo as well.

 

[mdchachi]

So it looks like that Japanese don't have a word for "have", meaning ownership, or a connection (like siblings, which you don't really "own")
And that it's impersonal too.

For have/ownership they use these existence verbs often but they also use 持つ (motsu) which can take on a variety of meanings including to hold, carry, possess and have. But it wouldn't be used for things like sisters. motsu has more of a connotation of ownership and physical presence. So how about this:
I have an umbrella but I don't have it now.
[私は]傘がありますが今持っていません。
[watashi ha] kasa ga arimasu ga ima motteimasen.

So "I have a sister" and "she has a sister" both could be "imōto ga imasu". Unless stated "she" specifically like; "kanojo wa imōto ga imasu". Am I correct?

Yes, exactly. By the way imōto means younger sister specifically, not just sister.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

Yes, @mdchachi is right. I was going to expand on the different ways to say sister in Japanese, but familial relations opens up a huge can of worms that I think would only muddy the waters. Stick to one concept at a time.

 

[Buntaro]

Anji-san,

If you are interested in buying a Japanese textbook, the most popular one seems to be the Genki series. In addition, there are videos on YouTube that follow along with each chapter (made by 'private citizens", not the people who wrote the books).

Yes, translating the word sister into Japanese is not easy. As a matter of fact, when my students would translate the word sister into Japanese, I would force them to say "onna no kyoudai" (female sibling).

I am going to throw an example of ga at you, to show you how difficult it is. We have the Japanese sentence

Watashi wa atama ga itai desu

where the word watashi is the topic of the sentence and atama is the subject of the sentence. A literal translation would be, As for me, (my) head hurts, which means, I have a headache.

By the way, I find Japanese grammar to be fascinating, not boring.

 

[mdchachi]

If you really want to get bogged down in ha and ga, you can take a look at this thread. Note, almost everything in Japanese is a rabbit hole. Even when you think you've mastered the "have" thing there is much more to consider. Such as politeness levels, who is talking to who, etc. So depending on your goals, you might want to give up on Japanese now and do something more productive with your life like play Fortnite.

 

[Anji-san]

For have/ownership they use these existence verbs often but they also use 持つ (motsu) which can take on a variety of meanings including to hold, carry, possess and have. But it wouldn't be used for things like sisters. motsu has more of a connotation of ownership and physical presence. So how about this:
I have an umbrella but I don't have it now.
[私は]傘がありますが今持っていません。
[watashi ha] kasa ga arimasu ga ima motteimasen.


Yes, exactly. By the way imōto means younger sister specifically, not just sister.

Thank you.
I'm aware of the different words for sister, I didn't specify the "younger" sister. Perhaps I should have.

 

[Buntaro]

Anji-san,

Think about the subtle difference between these two English questions.

Does Tokyo have McDonalds?

Are there McDonalds in Tokyo?

Can you see any difference in meaning between the two questions? Can you think of any situations where one question would be preferred over the other? Can you think of any situations where both questions would have the identical same meaning?