411 REFERENCE · Wikibooks
Japanese/Lessons/Where is it?
Reference material by Wikibooks contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
This lesson introduces the sentence structure and vocabulary to describe where things are.
Before you start, make sure you've read the module on pro-forms for an explanation of these prepositions, and learnt how to use the particles "は", "の", and "に" as well as the difference between "います" and "あります".
Asking "where"
To ask about the location of someone or something you ask:
〜はどこにいますか
〜はどこにありますか
Where is ～?
depending on whether the subject is animate or inanimate.
Vocabulary
begin
front
前
まえ
back
後ろ
うしろ
above, on
上
うえ
below
下
した
inside
中
なか
end
Sentence pattern
〜 は 〜 の 前後ろ上下中 に いますあります ここそこあそこ
Note: ～の上に often means "on the ～".
ねこはテーブルの上にいます。 — The cat is on the table.
山田さんはビルの中にいます。 — Mr. Yamada is inside the building.
ボールは箱の中にあります。 — The ball is inside the box.
deep