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In any previous language I have studied (mostly European languages), the verb "to have" is always one of the top 5 most common verbs alongside others like to be, to go, to come, etc. In Japanese, this doesn't seem to be the case, judging from word frequency and suggested lists of "most important verbs." Apparently motsu is simply not as common in Japanese as to have is in English, or avoir in French, and so on.

This is very counterintuitive for me. How do people phrase simple common things such as "Do you have five dollars?"

temporary_user_name
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    Surely いる/ある are high up on your list? When it comes to Japanese you can pretty much forget all the intuition you've got from European languages. – user3856370 Apr 01 '18 at 08:17
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    Yeah... maybe you're just noticing the fact that the role played by that word in other languages is divided between several verbs in Japanese. It's not like the concept is less common. – Leebo Apr 01 '18 at 08:31
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    `How do people phrase simple common things such as "Do you have five dollars?"` -- 「５ドルある？」「５ドルない？」とか・・・ – Chocolate Apr 02 '18 at 01:59

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Do you have 5 dollars?
Yes, thanks for asking.

Not really what you meant to ask. I don't know how a Japanese person would actually respond if you asked:

5ドル持っていますか

But I'm sure it would be more polite to ask:

Will you lend me five dollars?
5ドル貸してもらえますか (Can I receive the benefit of you lending me 5 dollars)

Not really sure what your question is. But 'have' can have many different meanings, and there is no reason that all the meanings should map to the same word in Japanese. I assume that いる/ある are pretty high on your list of common verbs though.

user3856370
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