Hi, I am Shingo SATO, a native speaker with more than 10 years of experience teaching Japanese.
Learning how to say “I live” in the Japanese language can be an essential skill for those who are planning to reside in Japan or are simply interested in learning the language. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into how to say “I live” in Japanese, pronunciation tips for expressing “I live” in Japanese （you can listen to audio files）, and resources for learning in what situations “I live” in Japanese is used.
In conclusion, you can say “【place】に住んでいます。（【place】ni sunde imasu.）to say “I live” in Japanese.
Please read on for more detail.
Expressing “I Live” in Japanese
In Japanese, the phrase “I live” is typically expressed as follows.
【place】に住んでいます。
【place】ni sunde imasu.
I live in 【place】.
The particle “に（ni）”, which means “in”, is added after the place where you live. “住んで（sunde）” is the te form of “住みます”. Grammatically, “住んでいます（sunde imasu）” indicates that you began living at some point in the past and is still living there. But you can simply regard “住んでいます（sunde imasu）as a phrase to express where you live together with “【place】に（ni）”
For example, if you want to say “I live in Osaka” , you can say:
大阪に住んでいます。
Oosaka ni sunde imasu.
I live in Osaka.
If you want to tell the type of house you live in, you can still use “【place】に住んでいます（【place】 ni sunde imasu）” like this:
アパートに住んでいます。
Apaato ni sunde imasu.
I live in apaato.
To express the city and the type of house you live in, you can say:
大阪のアパートに住んでいます。
Oosaka no apaato ni sunde imasu.
I live in appato in Osaka.
If you want to say with whom you live, you san cay like this:
友だちと大阪のアパートに住んでいます。
Tomodachi to Oosaka no apaato ni sunde imasu.
I live in appato in Osaka with a friend.
About “アパート（apaato）”
By the way, “アパート（apaato）” in Japanese is not like “apartment” in English. “アパート（apaato）” in Japanese is not an upscale place, but rather a normal residence, usually two or three stories high. You can try doing an image search with the keyword “アパート（apaato）” to get a better idea.
About “わたしは（watashi wa）”
In the examples above, I didn’t include “わたしは（watashi wa）”.
If you want to make it clear that this is where you live, not someone else, you can say:
わたしは大阪に住んでいます。
Watashi wa Oosaka ni sunde imasu.
I live in Osaka.
If it is clear you are talking about yourself, for example, when you are introducing yourself, you don’t have to say “わたしは（watashi wa）”.
Pronunciation Tips for Expressing “I Live” in Japanese
When you pronounce “住んでいます（sunde imasu）”, remember to pronounce only the “す（su）” in “住んでいます（sunde imasu）” high and the rest low like this:
住んでいます（sunde imasu）
You can listen to the other examples to see that only the “す（su）” is pronounced high in all the examples.
大阪に住んでいます。（Oosaka ni sunde imasu.）
アパートに住んでいます。（Apaato ni sunde imasu.）
大阪のアパートに住んでいます。（Oosaka no apaato ni sunde imasu.）
友だちと大阪のアパートに住んでいます。（Tomodachi to Oosaka no apaato ni sunde imasu.）
Resources for Learning in What Situations “I Live” in Japanese is Used
If you’re looking for more resources to help you understand in what situations “I live” in Japanese is used, here are some great resources.
Audio Files and Videos
First, you can visit this page to find the following audio file.
- X_[04-08]_kaiwa.mp3
In this audio file, you can listen to a conversation where Milo-san is introducing himself, including where he and his family live.
YouTube video is also available.
Related Posts
You can also read the following posts for more detail on the sentence pattern “【place】に住んでいます（【place】 ni sunde imasu）”.
Conclusion
Learning a new language can be challenging, but it can also be rewarding and open up new opportunities. By mastering the art of saying “I live” in Japanese, you’ll be one step closer to fluency and better able to communicate with Japanese speakers. With time and effort, you’ll be able to express yourself confidently in Japanese and enjoy all that this fascinating language and culture have to offer.
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