Japanese - Basic Location

Lesson 15 of 168

A friendly scene in Japanese town showing people pointing and asking where things are; the image highlights Japanese location phrases.

Goal: Ask and tell where people and things are

Free Japanese lessons with guided practice, audio, and speaking support.

Ready to find things and ask where people are? This short lesson helps you ask "Where is ___?" and answer simply. Practice listening, repeating, and speaking these handy location phrases aloud.

Level A1: In this lesson you'll learn basic location questions and answers like 「___はどこですか。」 (___ wa doko desu ka.) and simple replies such as 「ここです。」 (Koko desu.) or 「あそこです。」 (Asoko desu.). You'll practice asking if something is nearby, saying something is here or not here, and giving short directions using に and のとなりに. This lesson is CEFR-aligned and focused on everyday survival language.

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Ask where a person or thing is using 「___はどこですか。」 (___ wa doko desu ka.).
  • Say something is here, not here, or over there: 「ここです。」 (Koko desu.), 「ここにいません。」 (koko ni imasen).
  • Use simple place phrases with に, の上に, and のとなりに to say where things are.
Traveler asking a shop clerk in Japanese where the station is; hands point and speech bubbles show location phrases.

Ready? Let's go!

When you tap play on phrases, we track your progress through this lesson.

1. Reading + Listening Practice

Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.

___はどこですか。

___ wa doko desu ka.

Where is ___?

Meaning: Where is ___?

When to use: Use this polite question to ask where a person or thing is. Put the topic (person/place/object) before は.

トイレはどこですか。

Toire wa doko desu ka.

Where is the bathroom?
田中さんはどこですか。

Tanaka-san wa doko desu ka.

Where is Mr. Tanaka?

___はどこですか。

___ wa doko desu ka.

Where are ___?

Meaning: Where are ___?

When to use: Ask about the location of more than one person or thing. Japanese form stays the same; context shows plural.

子どもたちはどこですか。

Kodomotachi wa doko desu ka.

Where are the children?
鍵はどこですか。

Kagi wa doko desu ka.

Where are the keys? (same form for plural/singular)

___はここにいますか。

___ wa koko ni imasu ka.

Is ___ here?

Meaning: Is ___ here?

When to use: Ask if a person or animal is in the current place using いますか. For objects, use ありますか.

Tip: Using ありますか for people (people use いますか).

山本さんはここにいますか。

Yamamoto-san wa koko ni imasu ka.

Is Mr. Yamamoto here?
猫はここにいますか。

Neko wa koko ni imasu ka.

Is the cat here?

___はここにいます。

___ wa koko ni imasu.

___ is here.

Meaning: ___ is here.

When to use: Use this to say a person or animal is here (います). For objects, say ここにあります.

先生はここにいます。

Sensei wa koko ni imasu.

The teacher is here.
犬はここにいます。

Inu wa koko ni imasu.

The dog is here.

___はここにいません。

___ wa koko ni imasen.

___ is not here.

Meaning: ___ is not here.

When to use: Use this to say a person or animal is not present (いません). For objects say ここにありません.

山田さんはここにいません。

Yamada-san wa koko ni imasen.

Mr. Yamada is not here.
猫はここにいません。

Neko wa koko ni imasen.

The cat is not here.

ここです

Koko desu.

It's here.

Meaning: It's here.

When to use: Point to something nearby with this short phrase. For objects you can also say ここにあります.

それはここです。

Sore wa koko desu.

That is here.
出口はここです。

Deguchi wa koko desu.

The exit is here.

あそこです

Asoko desu.

It's over there.

Meaning: It's over there.

When to use: Use this to point to a place away from the speaker. If it's near the listener, use そこです instead.

バス停はあそこです。

Basutei wa asoko desu.

The bus stop is over there.
あの建物が図書館です。あそこです。

Ano tatemono ga toshokan desu. Asoko desu.

That building is the library. It's over there.

___にあります。

___ ni arimasu.

It's in ___.

Meaning: It's in ___.

When to use: Put a place after に to say where an object is. For people/animals use います instead of あります.

本はかばんにあります。

Hon wa kaban ni arimasu.

The book is in the bag.
店は駅の中にあります。

Mise wa eki no naka ni arimasu.

The shop is in the station.

___のとなりにあります。

___ no tonari ni arimasu.

It's next to ___.

Meaning: It's next to ___.

When to use: Use ___のとなりにあります for objects. For people/animals you can say ___のとなりにいます.

カフェは銀行のとなりにあります。

Kafe wa ginkō no tonari ni arimasu.

The café is next to the bank.
ポストは駅のとなりにあります。

Posuto wa eki no tonari ni arimasu.

The mailbox is next to the station.

今どこにいますか。

Ima doko ni imasu ka.

Where are you?

Meaning: Where are you?

When to use: Ask someone's current location politely. In casual situations you can say 「今どこ？」

今どこにいますか。私は駅にいます。

Ima doko ni imasu ka. Watashi wa eki ni imasu.

Where are you now? I'm at the station.
友達に電話して「今どこにいますか」と聞きます。

Tomodachi ni denwa shite 'Ima doko ni imasu ka' to kikimasu.

I call my friend and ask, 'Where are you now?'

___はこの近くにありますか？

___ wa kono chikaku ni arimasu ka?

Is ___ near here?

Meaning: Is ___ near here?

When to use: Ask whether a place or thing is close by. For people/animals use いますか instead of ありますか.

郵便局はこの近くにありますか？

Yūbinkyoku wa kono chikaku ni arimasu ka?

Is the post office near here?
スーパーはこの近くにありますか？

Sūpā wa kono chikaku ni arimasu ka?

Is there a supermarket near here?

___はこの近くにあります。

___ wa kono chikaku ni arimasu.

___ is near here.

Meaning: ___ is near here.

When to use: Say that a place or thing is nearby. For people/animals say この近くにいます。

レストランはこの近くにあります。

Resutoran wa kono chikaku ni arimasu.

The restaurant is near here.
公園はこの近くにあります。

Kōen wa kono chikaku ni arimasu.

The park is near here.

___は___の上にあります。

___ wa ___ no ue ni arimasu.

___ is on ___.

Meaning: ___ is on ___.

When to use: Use this to say something is on top of another thing. Put the object, then の上に plus the location.

Tip: Mixing あります (objects) and います (people/animals); use います for animals/people.

ペンは机の上にあります。

Pen wa tsukue no ue ni arimasu.

The pen is on the desk.
猫は箱の上にいます。

Neko wa hako no ue ni imasu.

The cat is on top of the box.

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

Asking for the bathroom and current location

Two people in front of a map; one asks 'どこですか' and the other points and answers 'ここです' and 'あそこです'.

What does Anna ask for at the start?

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

すみません、トイレはどこですか。

Sumimasen, toire wa doko desu ka.

Excuse me, where is the bathroom?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

あそこです

Asoko desu.

It's over there.

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

今どこにいますか。

Ima doko ni imasu ka.

Where are you now?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

駅のとなりにいます。

Eki no tonari ni imasu.

I'm next to the station.

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

図書館はこの近くにありますか？

Toshokan wa kono chikaku ni arimasu ka?

Is the library near here?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

はい、図書館はここにあります。

Hai, toshokan wa koko ni arimasu.

Yes, the library is here.

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

How do you politely ask 'Where is the toilet?'

Which sentence says 'It's next to the bank'?

How do you ask a person 'Are they here?' politely?

Which phrase points to a place far from the speaker: 'It's over there.'?

The natural short reply is あそこです。 (It's over there.)

A: すみません、駅はこの近くにありますか？ B: ___

When someone asks where you are, reply with ここにいます。 (I'm here.)

あなた: 今どこにいますか。 友達: ___

The teacher asks to look on the desk; the correct reply is 机の上にあります。 (It's on the desk.)

先生: 机の上を見てください。鍵は___

Match the core phrases

Match the extra phrases

4. Speaking Practice

Say phrases yourself (mic/recording).

Recording stays on your device only. Check speech uses your browser's speech tools when available.

Say this phrase out loud:

___はどこですか。

___ wa doko desu ka.

Where are ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

___はどこですか。

___ wa doko desu ka.

Where are ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

___はここにいますか。

___ wa koko ni imasu ka.

Is ___ here?

Say this phrase out loud:

___はここにいます。

___ wa koko ni imasu.

___ is here.

Say this phrase out loud:

___はここにいません。

___ wa koko ni imasen.

___ is not here.

Say this phrase out loud:

ここです

Koko desu.

It's here.

Say this phrase out loud:

あそこです

Asoko desu.

It's over there.

Say this phrase out loud:

___にあります。

___ ni arimasu.

It's in ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___のとなりにあります。

___ no tonari ni arimasu.

It's next to ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

今どこにいますか。

Ima doko ni imasu ka.

Where are you?

Say this phrase out loud:

___はこの近くにありますか？

___ wa kono chikaku ni arimasu ka?

Is ___ near here?

Say this phrase out loud:

___はこの近くにあります。

___ wa kono chikaku ni arimasu.

___ is near here.

Say this phrase out loud:

___は___の上にあります。

___ wa ___ no ue ni arimasu.

___ is on ___.