Asking Directions (5)
Expressions for LocationHere are the location nouns and locative noun phrases. Pay attention to word order for locative noun phrases. Unlike English, the location nouns come after the [Noun] and the particle "no."
| mae 前 | front | eki no mae 駅の前 | in front of the station |
| ushiro 後ろ | behind | ki no ushiro 木の後ろ | behind the tree |
| ue 上 | on, top | tsukue no ue 机の上 | on the desk |
| shita 下 | under | isu no shita いすの下 | under the chair |
| naka 中 | in, inside | heya no naka 部屋の中 | in the room |
| soto 外 | outside | ie no soto 家の外 | outside of the house |
| tonari 隣 | next door | ginkou no tonari 銀行の隣 | next to the bank |
| yoko 横 | beside | honya no yoko 本屋の横 | beside the book store |
| soba そば | near | gakkou no soba 学校のそば | near the school |
| chikaku 近く | near | kouen no chikaku 公園の近く | near the park |
| aida 間 | between | biru no aida ビルの間 | between the buildings |
| mukou 向こう | beyond | kawa no mukou 川の向こう | beyond the river |
As we learned in the previous lesson, "arimasu" is used for inanimate things, and "imasu" for animate things.
| Isu no shita ni neko ga imasu. いすの下に猫がいます。 | There is a cat under the chair. |
| Gakkou no chikaku ni kouen ga arimasu. 学校の近くに公園があります。 | There is a park near the school. |
| Toshokan wa biru no tonari ni arimasu. 図書館はビルの隣にあります。 | The library is next to the building. |
| Chichi wa honya no mae ni imasu. 父は本屋の前にいます。 | My father is in front of the bookstore. |
"~ ni arimasu" or "~ ni imasu" can be replaced with "~ desu."
| Toshokan wa biru no tonari ni arimasu. 図書館はビルの隣にあります。 | The library is next to the building. |
| Toshokan wa biru no tonari desu. 図書館はビルの隣です。 | |
| Chichi wa honya no mae ni imasu. 父は本屋の前にいます。 | My father is in front of the bookstore. |
| Chichi wa honya no mae desu. 父は本屋の前です。 |
