存在|そんざいsonzai[0]heiban (flat)
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- noun, suru verb, intransitive verbexistence; being; presence
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 存在する(そんざいする) |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 存在します(そんざいします) |
| Negative (nai) | 存在しない(そんざいしない) |
| polite (masen) | 存在しません(そんざいしません) |
| classical zu / nu | 存在せず・存在せぬ(そんざいせず・そんざいせぬ) |
| Past (ta) | 存在した(そんざいした) |
| polite (mashita) | 存在しました(そんざいしました) |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 存在しなかった(そんざいしなかった) |
| polite (masen deshita) | 存在しませんでした(そんざいしませんでした) |
| Te form | 存在して(そんざいして) |
| Potential | 存在できる(そんざいできる) |
| Passive | 存在される(そんざいされる) |
| Causative | 存在させる(そんざいさせる) |
| Causative passive | 存在させられる(そんざいさせられる) |
| Conditional (ba) | 存在すれば(そんざいすれば) |
| tara | 存在したら(そんざいしたら) |
| Volitional | 存在しよう(そんざいしよう) |
| polite (mashou) | 存在しましょう(そんざいしましょう) |
| Imperative | 存在しろ(そんざいしろ) |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
- SynonymあるNeutralEveryday verb for the existence of things or matters, and for having; 「存在」 is a noun, mostly used as 「存在する」 in written prose.
- SynonymいるNeutralFor people and animals being in a place; the most common everyday choice. 「存在する」 does not distinguish animate from inanimate and leans written.
- SynonymございますFormalThe polite equivalent of 「ある」, used in courteous settings such as the service industry, as in 「こちらにございます」.
- Synonym存するそんするWrittenA literary-flavored verb meaning to exist or to lie in, as in 「問題はそこに存する」; in daily speech use 「ある」.
- Synonym御座すおわすFormalArchaic honorific for an exalted person being present, coming or going; seen in classics and period dramas, not used in modern daily speech.
- Synonym在すましますFormalThe same word as the entry above; 「在す」 is only another way of writing it. An archaic honorific that does not appear in modern colloquial speech.
- Related御座有るござあるFormalAn archaic honorific of 「ある」 that also expressed coming and going; no longer used today, found only in classical texts.
- Antonym不在ふざいNeutralMeans a person not being somewhere, such as not being at home; extended to a lack, as in 「議論の不在」. It is the opposite of 「存在」 only in the sense of presence at a place.
- Antonym無むWrittenThe state of nothing existing at all; a philosophical concept standing opposite to 「存在」 in terms of existence versus non-existence.
Default: 「存在」 for existence in written or formal prose, often as 「存在する」. In daily speech use 「ある」 for things and 「いる」 for people and animals; 「ございます」 states presence politely. 「存する」 is literary; 「御座す」 and 「御座有る」 are archaic. Antonyms: 「不在」, 「無」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only


