Japanese Language Stack Exchange
Japanese Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [possession]

所有. Possessive constructions with ある 'be/exist', いる 'be/exist', する 'do', and the lexical verbs 持つ 'hold/have' and 所有する 'possess'. These are sometimes divided by linguists into alienable and inalienable possession. Possessive constructions can be distinguished from existential and locative constructions, which have overlapping grammar.

For more information, see The Syntax of Possession in Japanese (Takae Tsujioka 2002).

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Use of する to describe one's colour

From Japanesepod101: 象は灰色をしている。 The elephant is gray. The meaning of the sentence is not in doubt but I've been trying to figure how する is being used here. Checking a dictionary, definition 2エ might be applicable here. ある状態・性質であることを示す。(To show…
Viridian
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ある or 持つ, what's the difference?

My textbook says ある can be used for possession, but further on it says 持っている is used for possession. Are both correct? Are there any differences? When talking with a Japanese friend (in very limited and simple conversations), when I use ある, she…
Daniel
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「が」vs「の」 with possessives

I know that the normal possessive form is usually formed subject+「の」+object. Though, in one instance, I found が being used in 天は我が物. I know that 「が」 can be used to express possession, though is there a certain way it can be used.
Williem F.
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Confusing use of possessive の

This is embarrassingly basic. I've been using の happily for the last year and then I read this sentence and made the mistake of stopping to think about it: ポケットからきれいな包みのアメ玉を取り出した。 He took a pretty ?? out of his pocket. Now, I'm assuming that…
user3856370
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What is the basic underlying idea of ～がある?

As the time goes, I find so many grammars in Japanese end with ～がある. For example, ～ことがある ～必要がある ～傾向がある ～可能性がある I know the ～がある means "there is" and they are so powerful. However, what I don't quite understand is why Japanese says the…
Second Person Shooter
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How do you differentiate between "I have" and "There is"?

My confusion surfaced when I came across a song named 「君がいるから」which I could either interpret as "Because you are mine." or "Because you are here." Is there a different way to say "You are mine" in Japanese, so this sentence isn't ambiguous to…
Yana
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Is there any difference between ～～をする and ～が～

I came across this sentence (from the Core 1000 material of iknow) while learning vocabulary: 彼女は青い目をしています。 She has blue eyes. Doing some searching I found this answer explaining that ～をする can mean 'to have some characteristic'. Before that, I…
user27497
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興味を持っている vs 興味がある

Is there a difference between 興味を持っている and 興味がある? With physical objects I understand how the latter is more passive, but what about for abstract nouns like 興味? For example in the sentence 片岡さんは、外国語に興味を持っているから、フランス語でも中国語でも、すぐ覚えてしまう。 Is there any…
Ruvi Lecamwasam
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why は and not の?

in the following sentence why は particle is used? Could I also use の in this sentence? Thanks. 彼は歯が白い.
Zufu
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彼女には心配事がない。why there is に?

彼女には心配事がない。 What is this ni in this phrase?
kevin You
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The Quintessential Quintuplets: Is 'Koi no Summer Vacation' better translated as 'Love of Summer Vacation' instead of 'Summer Vacation of Love'?

From S02E03 of the anime adaptation of the manga The Quintessential Quintuplets: Is 'Koi no Summer Vacation' better translated as 'Love of Summer Vacation' instead of 'Summer Vacation of Love' or even 'Love's Summer Vacation' ? Afaik, 'の' in 'X の…
BCLC
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When can I get away with implying the の possessive?

I was reading the bible in Japanese a bit and came across this bit of Jonah 1: アミタイの子ヨナに、主から次のようなことばがありました。 Notice how the noun-phrase "Jonah son of Amittai" in the NIV became "アミタイの子ヨナ" in the Japanese JLB. From what I can tell it could also have…
Tirous
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Having trouble parsing out 「私は今までの私ではない」

I've been struggling with the possessive and the statement of existence in the following phrase: 私は今までの私ではない The easy part is "I am until now"...but then I get stuck on 「の私ではない」. By itself, I understand「ではない」to mean "am not," but then「の私」throws…
mig81
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Why isn't the verb "to have" common in Japanese and how do people phrase things without using it?

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…
temporary_user_name
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How do i use ある/いる?

Up to now I've come to understand the meaning of these verbs. I understand when you are saying something exists somewhere you use the particle に to indicate where it exists, or someone having something. In a recent question I asked about having…
I dunno what to call myself
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