How to say "existence" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 存在そんざいnoun, suru verb, intransitive verbThe general word for existence: whether something exists, or the presence of a person or thing. It covers abstract existence, as in the existence of God, and someone or something as a being.
- 生命せいめいnounPrimarily means life: being alive, life itself. Its 'existence' sense is existence as a living thing, so it fits when existence means life, not the existence of objects or ideas.
- 生存せいぞんnoun, suru verb, intransitive verbExistence in the sense of staying alive: survival, continuing to live. It applies to living beings, not to the existence of things or abstract concepts.
- 有ゆうnounA philosophical term for being, the counterpart of 無 (nothingness). For ordinary uses of 'existence' it is seldom the word you want; reach for 存在 instead.
- 実存じつぞんsuru verb, no-adjective, intransitive verbThe word for existence in the philosophical sense of existentialism: the concrete, individual existence of a human being. Use it when discussing existentialist thought, not for everyday references to something's existence.
Choose 存在 for existence or presence in general; 生命 and 生存 when existence means life or survival; 実存 for the existentialist philosophical sense; 有 only as the abstract philosophical counterpart of nothingness.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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