Describe a Room in Japanese with Arimasu, Imasu, and Position Words

To describe a room in Japanese, first introduce what is there, then locate a particular thing or person. Use あります for ordinary objects and います for people and animals. Add a reference point when “in the room” is not precise enough.

This exercise uses an imagined room. You do not need a picture: keep the list below visible, then describe it with the list hidden.

Imagine this room

Useful words: 部屋（へや）room; 机（つくえ）desk; 本（ほん）book; かばん bag; 猫（ねこ）cat; いす chair; 隣（となり）next to.

Introduce what is there

部屋に机があります。— There is a desk in the room.

机の上に本があります。— There is a book on the desk.

いすの隣に猫がいます。— There is a cat next to the chair.

The basic pattern is place に noun が あります／います. The particle が introduces what is found at the place. A cat uses います even when it is sleeping and not moving.

Locate the thing already being discussed

かばんは机の下にあります。— The bag is under the desk.

猫はいすの隣にいます。— The cat is next to the chair.

Here the thing or animal is the topic, marked by は. These sentences answer “Where is the bag?” and “Where is the cat?” rather than simply listing the contents of the room. The existence and location lesson explains the two question patterns in detail.

Use a reference point correctly

の connects the reference noun and the position word. に follows the completed location phrase. Do not place に between 机 and 上 in this construction. See the position-word lesson for more examples.

Add an action in the same room

部屋で本を読みます。— I read a book in the room.

This sentence uses で because the room is where reading takes place. Compare it with 部屋に本があります, which locates a book. The same physical room can take a different particle because the sentence describes a different relationship.

Practice without the model

1. Introduce the desk in the room.

2. Ask where the bag is.

3. Answer using “under the desk.”

4. Locate the cat next to the chair.

5. Say you study in the room.

Possible answers: 1. 部屋に机があります。 2. かばんはどこにありますか。 3. 机の下にあります。 4. 猫はいすの隣にいます。 5. 部屋で勉強します。 The topic can be omitted in answer 3 because the question already identifies the bag.

Now change two positions and repeat. This checks whether you can use the structure with new information. The Japan Foundation’s object-existence reference and topic-location reference provide additional pattern explanations. For connected reading, try the room passage in our beginner reading set.