Exist, Be Located

Interesting Fact

Japanese has two basic verbs for “to exist”: ある (aru) for things and いる (iru) for people and animals. But here's the interesting part: 在る (aru) is the kanji form of ある and emphasizes the idea of something being present or located somewhere. That's why you'll see 在 in words such as 存在 (sonzai), “existence,” and 現在 (genzai), “present/current.” The character carries the fascinating idea of something being there in a particular place or state. 📍