# Japanese Verb Conjugation: いる (iru)
> Japanese has two ways to say 'there are'—one for living things, and one for non-living things. Here, we'll talk about the one for living things, iru.
**URL:** https://migaku.com/blog/japanese/japanese-verb-iru
**Last Updated:** 2024-10-31
**Tags:** fundamentals, verbs, conjugation, grammar
---
So you're learning Japanese, and you're ready to tackle one of the most essential verbs in the language: **いる (iru)**! It is used to talk about the presence or existence of animate things—living things, or things like gods that are thought to be alive.

Depending on the situation, you might see いる translated as:

- to be
- there are
- to exist

Now, let’s break down the conjugations and uses of this lovely little verb so you can start throwing it around like a pro! We'll get into:

<toc></toc>

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## **Cheatsheet: いる's conjugations**

On the off-chance that you already know how いる works and just want to check on a conjugation, here's all of the conjugations of いる in one clean table:

| Tense/Form              | Hiragana Conjugation | Romaji Conjugation | English Translation                               |
| ----------------------- | -------------------- | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------- |
| Plain Present Tense     | いる                 | iru                | to exist / to be (somewhere)                      |
| Plain Past Tense        | いた                 | ita                | existed / was (somewhere)                         |
| Plain Negative          | いない               | inai               | does not exist / is not (somewhere)               |
| Plain Past Negative     | いなかった           | inakatta           | did not exist / was not (somewhere)               |
| Polite Present          | います               | imasu              | to exist / to be (present)                        |
| Polite Past             | いました             | imashita           | existed / was (somewhere)                         |
| Polite Negative         | いません             | imasen             | does not exist / is not (somewhere)               |
| Polite Past Negative    | いませんでした       | imasen deshita     | did not exist / was not (somewhere)               |
| Te-form                 | いて                 | ite                | (see section on て-form)                          |
| Conditional (Ba-form)   | いれば               | ireba              | if (someone) is (somewhere) / if (someone) exists |
| Conditional (Tara-form) | いたら               | itara              | if (someone) is (somewhere) / if (someone) exists |
| Volitional              | いよう               | iyou               | let’s be / let’s stay                             |
| Potential               | いられる             | irareru            | can exist / can be                                |
| Imperative              | いろ                 | iro                | be! / stay!                                       |
| Negative Imperative     | いるな               | iruna              | don’t be! / don’t stay!                           |
| Causative               | いさせる             | isaseru            | make (someone) exist / be                         |

---

## **Basic Conjugations of いる**

いる is an **ichidan verb** (<typo lang="ja" syntax="一段動詞[いちだんどうし]"></typo>), known more colloquially as a "ru" verb. These verbs are convenient to work with because every ichidan verb follows the same conjugation pattern: you simply remove -る from the end of the verb and replace it with something else.

Below, we offer two sets of conjugations for each tense: plain and polite. Plain verbs are used when speaking casually, in some grammatical constructions, and are what you'll see in the dictionary. Polite verbs are used when talking with strangers or in situations where it isn't appropriate to speak casually.

> We've translated the various forms of いる as "to exist" or "to be (somewhere)". Don't get too hung up on this: いる can be translated in several different ways, depending on the sentence it is in. (This is something you'll need to get used to if you want to [learn Japanese](/learn-japanese). What you should notice is that every example sentence somehow refers to the presence or existence of something.

**Present Tense**

- **Plain form**: いる (iru) — "exists" or "is (somewhere)"
- **Polite form**: います (imasu)
- **Example sentence**: <typo lang="ja" syntax="私[わたし]はここに(いる・います)。"></typo><br>
  watashi wa koko ni iru・imasu.<br>
  I am here.

**Negative Present**

- **Plain form**: いない (inai) – "doesn't exist" or "isn't (somewhere)"
- **Polite form**: いません (imasen)
- **Example sentence**:
  <typo lang="ja" syntax="庭[にわ] に は 猫[ねこ] が い[,いる]ない{。}"></typo><br>
  niwa ni wa neko ga inai・imasen.<br>
  There isn't a cat in the garden.

**Past Tense**

- **Plain form**: いた (ita) – "was (somewhere)" or "existed"
- **Polite form**: いました (imashita)
- **Example sentence**: <typo lang="ja" syntax="そこ に は{、}巨大[きょだい] な ドラゴン が (いた・いませんでした)"></typo><br>
  soko ni wa, kyodaina doragon ga ita<br>
  There was a giant dragon there.

**Negative Past**

- **Plain form**: いなかった (inakatta) – "was not (somewhere)" or "didn't exist"
- **Polite form**: いませんでした (imasen deshita)
- **Example sentence**: <typo lang="ja" syntax="振り返[ふりかえ]る と{、}そこ に は 誰[だれ] も (いなかった・いませんでした){。}"></typo><br>
  furikaeru to, soko ni wa dare mo inakatta<br>
  When I turned around, nobody was there.

---

## **て-Form & Progressive Actions**

The **て-form** is a special Japanese verb form used to show sequences of actions, to link events or states, and a few other things.

The most basic usage of the **て-form** is to express ongoing actions, states, or habits, similar to how we use "-ing" in English. To do this, conjugate a verb into the **て-form** and then tack いる onto it.

- <typo lang="ja" syntax="犬[いぬ] が 私[わたし] の おにぎり を <strong> 食[た,たべる]べて いる{。}"></strong></typo><br>
  inu ga watashi no onigiri wo **tabeteiru**<br>
  The dog is **eating** my rice ball.

- <typo lang="ja" syntax="私[わたし] は 本[ほん] を <strong>読[よ,よむ]んで いる</strong>{。}"></typo><br>
  watashi wa hon wo **yondeiru**<br>
  I am **reading** a book.

Another common usage of the **て-form** is to ask for permission to do something. To create this form, simply add tack もいい onto the end of a verb in the **て-form**.

- ちょっとだけ、ここに**いてもいい**ですか<br>
  chotto dake, koko ni **itemo ii**desu ka<br>
  Is it OK if I stay here, for just a little while?

---

### **Volitional Form (Let's stay\!)**

The volitional form is used to make suggestions or express your desire/intention to do something. It's often translated to "let's" or "shall" in English.

To put いる into the **volitional form**, you'll change it as follows:

- **いよう (iyou)** – "let's stay" or "let's exist"
- **いましょう (imashou)**

The **volitional form** is a common verb form, but given the nature of, well, _existing_, you likely won't use it often with いる.

Here's one relatively natural example for you:

- <typo lang="ja" syntax="雨[あめ] が 止[や]む まで{、}ここ に い[,いる]ましょう{。}"></typo><br>
  ame ga yamu made, koko ni **imashou**.<br>
  Let's stay here until it stops raining.

---

## **Conditional Forms (If (something) exists...)**

The **conditional form** is used when you want to say "if" or raise a certain condition. There are actually a few different ways to make conditional statements in Japanese: the ~ば and ~たら form of verbs. They're very similar in meaning, but have a slight difference in nuance.

Putting a verb into the ~ば form places emphasis on the condition:

- **いれば (ireba)** – "if (someone) exists" or "if (someone) is here"

  - <typo lang="ja" syntax="彼女[かのじょ] が<strong>いれ[,いる]ば</strong>負[ま]ける はず が ない{。}"></typo><br>
    kanojo ga **ireba**, makeru hazu ga nai.<br>
    So long as she's here, there's no way we can lose.

- **いなければ (inakereba)** – "if (someone) doesn't exist" or "if (someone) isn't here"
  - <typo lang="ja" syntax="先生[せんせい] が <strong>い[,いる]なければ</strong>{、}あなた と 出会[であ]う こと は でき[,できる]なかった{。}"></typo><br>
    sensei ga **inakereba**, anata to deau koto ha dekinakatta.<br>
    If it weren't for the teacher (lit: if the teacher didn't exist), I wouldn't have been able to meet you.

Conversely, the ~たら form puts more emphasis on the result or consequence—what should or will or is desired to happen if the condition is true:

- **いれば (ireba)** – "if (someone) exists" or "if (someone) is here"
  - <typo lang="ja" syntax="誰[だれ] か 分[わ]かる 人[ひと] が <strong>い[,いる]たら</strong>{、}手[て] を 挙[あ,あげる]げて ください[,くださる]{。}"></typo><br>
    dare ka wakaru hito ga **itara**, te wo agete kudasai.<br>
    If anybody here understands, please raise your hand.

---

## **Potential Form (Can Exist)**

Want to say whether someone _can_ exist somewhere or not? That’s where the **potential form** comes in:

- **いられる (irareru)** – "can exist" or "can be"

You'll most commonly see this as the _negative_ potential form in the grammar structure ~ずにはいられない, which means "can't help".

- <typo lang="ja" syntax="それでも、 言[い,いう]わず に は <strong>い[,いる]られなかっ</strong>た{。}"></typo><br>
  sore demo, iwazu ni wa **irarenai**.<br>
  Even so, I couldn't help but say it.

---

## **Imperative Form (Commanding Existence)**

If you ever need to command someone to "stay" or "be here" (which is pretty rare, but possible):

- **いろ (iro)** – plain form of "stay\!"
- **いなさい (inasai)** – polite version of "stay\!" (softer command)

As with the volitional form, there aren't a ton of situations in which you would command someone to _be_ somewhere, so you might not get a lot of use out of this form. Here's one example for you:

- <typo lang="ja" syntax="事件[じけん] が 解決[かいけつ] する まで、ここ に <strong>い[,いる] なさい[,なさる]</strong>{。}"></typo><br>
  jiken ga kaiketsu suru made, koko ni **inasai**.<br>
  Please remain here until the matter is resolved.

---

## **Causative Form (Making/Letting Someone Stay/Exist)**

If you need to say that you made someone stay somewhere or let them stay, you’ll use the **causative form**. While "make" and "let" may seem very different to you, when you think about it, if you make or let someone do something, you are the reason they did it. To determine whether someone was happy to do something (you let them do it) or unhappy (you made them do it), you need to refer to context.

Here is the causative form of いる:

- **いさせる (isaseru)** – "make/let someone stay" (plain)
- **いさせます (isasemasu)** – polite form of "make/let someone stay"

And here's an example of it being used:

- <typo lang="ja" syntax="もう しばらく は 家[いえ] の 方[ほう] に<strong>い[,いる] させる</strong>ことに し[,する]た{。}"></typo><br>
  mou shibaraku wa ie no hou ni **isaseru** koto ni shita.<br>
  I've decided to make/let him stay at home a little longer.

You might understand this to be _letting_ someone stay at home if they're a recent graduate that needs a bit more time to get their feed under them, or _making_ them stay at home if they're unwell and wish to leave but you are insisting on them staying.

---

## **Causative-Passive Form (Being Made to Stay)**

The **causative-passive form** communicates that someone was made to do something against their will, like the causative form, but carries a stronger nuance of being harmed/disadvantaged because you were made to do something.

The causative-passive form of いる is as follows:

- **いさせられる (isaserareru)** – "to be made to stay"
- **いさせられます (isaseraremasu)** – polite form of "to be made to stay"

And if our person from the above causative example sentence was made to stay home against their will, they might comment on the situation:

- <typo lang="ja" syntax="私[わたし] は ここ に <strong>い[,いる] させ[,させる]られました</strong>"></typo><br>
  watashi wa koko ni **isaseraremashita**.<br>
  I was made to stay here _(against my will, and I feel wronged)_.

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## **Special Usage Notes**

Now that we've seen several examples of **いる** being used, let's point out a few additional important details:

#### **1\. Living Things Only\!**

In linguistics, there is a concept called [grammatical animacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animacy): some languages categorize words according to whether the thing referred to is seen as being alive or sentient. Japanese is one such language.

Use **いる** when referring to living things, like people or animals: etc.

- <typo lang="ja" syntax="犬[いぬ] がいる。"></typo><br>
  inu ga iru.<br>
  There is a dog.

Use **ある (aru)** when referring to inanimate objects, like tables or cups of milk tea.

- <typo lang="ja" syntax="本[ほん] がある。"></typo><br>
  hon ga aru.<br>
  There is a book.

#### **2\. Honorific & Humble Forms**

Japanese makes heavy use of [honorific language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorific_speech_in_Japanese) (called <typo lang="ja" syntax="敬語[けいご]"></typo>, _keigo_). How keigo works is beyond the scope of this blog post, but know that it involves using special forms of verbs. Some verbs even have special honorific/humble counterparts.

- **いらっしゃいます (irasshaimasu)** – the honorific form of **いる**, used to elevate the status of the listener _(you'll hear this when walking into stores or restaurants)_
- **おります (orimasu)** – the humble form of **いる**, used to lower your own status and express humility _(you'll mostly see this used in the workplace)_.

#### 3\. No Simple Translation

Oftentimes, there isn't a perfect 1:1 translation of a sentence (or even a word!) from one language to another. Quickly looking at our above sample sentences, **いる** has been translated as "be here" "is" "exists" "stay" and "remain".

The important thing is to understand that the underlying idea translates—something is somewhere—but the particular words to express that idea may change, depending on the situation.

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## **Common Patterns with いる**

We've covered many verb forms, but there are two particular ways you'll see **いる** used in everyday Japanese:

### **Location Expressions**

You can use **いる** to talk about where someone (or some animate thing) is. This structure follows a simple pattern:

(person/animate thing)は+(place)に+いる

- <typo lang="ja" syntax="先生[せんせい] は ここ に いる"></typo><br>
  sensei wa koko ni iru.<br>
  The teacher is here.

- <typo lang="ja" syntax="{John}は 学校[がっこう] に いる{。}"></typo><br>
  John wa gakkou ni iru<br>
  John is at school.

### **Existence Statements**

You also use **いる** when you would say "there is" or "there are" in English. Again, this structure follows a relatively fixed pattern:

(person/animate thing)は+(place)にいる

- <typo lang="ja" syntax="犬[いぬ] が いる{。}"></typo><br>
  inu ga iru.<br>
  There is a dog.

- <typo lang="ja" syntax="なんで 人[ひと] が そこ に いる[,いる]ん です か{。}"></typo><br>
  nande hito ga soko ni iru n desu ka<br>
  Why is there a person in there?

Notice that the structure is flexible. You don't need to list a specific place (as in the first example), and you can also add question words (as in the second example).

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## **Wrapping It All Up**

**いる** is truly one of the most versatile verbs you’ll encounter as you study Japanese. From talking about where people are to describing ongoing actions, it’s a verb that’s central to so many everyday conversations. Once you get the hang of its different forms and how it's used in different contexts, you'll have gotten a foundational part of Japanese under your belt.

If you’re looking for ways to make all these conjugations stick, we actually recommend _not_ trying to memorize the verb endings. Japanese is a very regular language, so as you consume more Japanese content and see いる used in more situations, you'll gradually remember the structures it's used in and how it's conjugated—no memorization required.

1. Check out [**Migaku’s browser extension**](/learn-japanese)
2. Consume real Japanese content. We'll support you with tools like one-click word lookups, showing furigana above kanji (as in this article!), and the ability to automatically make flashcards out of the thing you're watching or reading.
3. Notice いる when it's used
4. ???
5. Profit!

Happy studying!

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