いる

iru

to be (people and animals)

Alsoto have

What does いる mean?

いる is a Japanese verb meaning “to be (people and animals)” in English. It can also be translated as “to have” depending on context. It is written as いる in hiragana, and iru in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N5 vocabulary.

NoteUsed for people and animals. For things and plants, use ある.

Example sentences

うちに犬が二ひきいます。

I have two dogs.

姉は今、家にいません。

My older sister isn't at home right now.

Conjugation of いる

AffirmativeNegative
Plainいるいない
Plain pastいたいなかった
Politeいますいません
Polite pastいましたいませんでした

Other forms

Te-formいて
Potentialいられる
Passiveいられる
Volitionalいよう
Causativeいさせる
Conditionalいれば

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More JLPT N5 words