Japanese - Basic Location

Lesson 16 of 168

A cozy room scene showing a cat under a desk and a bench between trees — Japanese basic location phrases practice.

Goal: Where things and people are

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

Welcome! In this short lesson we'll practice simple, polite ways to say where people and things are. Have fun — you can picture a small scene (or a mischievous cat!).

Level A1: This lesson focuses on polite location phrases (e.g., “___は___の下にあります。” / “___は中です。”). You'll listen, repeat, and practice asking or answering whether something is inside, outside, behind, in front, between, or at a place. CEFR-aligned and made for quick speaking practice.

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Level A1: Understand and say 8 common location phrases (under, behind, in front, between, at, inside/outside).
  • Hear the phrases in a short conversation and repeat them aloud.
  • Answer simple questions about location and choose correct phrases in practice quizzes.
Illustration of a small courtyard and a room: people and objects are placed in front, behind, inside, and outside to match Japanese 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___の下にあります。

___ wa ___ no shita ni arimasu.

___ is under ___.

Meaning: ___ is under ___.

When to use: Use this to say one thing is under another. For objects say 「あります」; for animals/people use 「います」.

Tip: Confusing います and あります: animals/people → います, objects → あります.

ねこはつくえの下にいます。

Neko wa tsukue no shita ni imasu.

The cat is under the desk.
ボールはベッドの下にあります。

Bōru wa beddo no shita ni arimasu.

The ball is under the bed.

___は___の後ろにいます。

___ wa ___ no ushiro ni imasu.

___ is behind ___.

Meaning: ___ is behind ___.

When to use: Say this to describe something or someone behind another thing. Use 「います」 for people/animals and 「あります」 for things.

トムさんはドアの後ろにいます。

Tomu-san wa doa no ushiro ni imasu.

Tom is behind the door.
車はガレージの後ろにあります。

Kuruma wa garēji no ushiro ni arimasu.

The car is behind the garage.

___は___の前にいます。

___ wa ___ no mae ni imasu.

___ is in front of ___.

Meaning: ___ is in front of ___.

When to use: Use this to say someone or something is in front of another thing. People/animals → 「います」, objects → 「あります」.

Annaさんは店の前にいます。

Anna-san wa mise no mae ni imasu.

Anna is in front of the shop.
いすはテーブルの前にあります。

Isu wa tēburu no mae ni arimasu.

The chair is in front of the table.

___は___と___の間にあります。

___ wa ___ to ___ no aida ni arimasu.

___ is between ___ and ___.

Meaning: ___ is between ___ and ___.

When to use: Say this when something is located between two things. Connect the two items with 「と」 then add 「の間に」 and choose あります/います appropriately.

本はテレビとスピーカーの間にあります。

Hon wa terebi to supīkā no aida ni arimasu.

The book is between the TV and the speaker.
ベンチは木と木の間にあります。

Benchi wa ki to ki no aida ni arimasu.

The bench is between the trees.

___は___にいます。

___ wa ___ ni imasu.

___ is at ___.

Meaning: ___ is at ___.

When to use: Use this for saying someone or something is at a place. Attach 「に」 after the place, and use 「います」 for people/animals, 「あります」 for objects.

Tip: Don't forget the particle に after the place.

Davidさんは図書館にいます。

David-san wa toshokan ni imasu.

David is at the library.
花はテーブルにあります。

Hana wa tēburu ni arimasu.

The flowers are on/at the table.

___は中ですか、外ですか。

___ wa naka desu ka, soto desu ka.

Is ___ inside or outside?

Meaning: Is ___ inside or outside?

When to use: Ask whether someone or something is inside (中) or outside (外). Use polite form like 「中ですか、外ですか。」

犬は中ですか、外ですか。

Inu wa naka desu ka, soto desu ka.

Is the dog inside or outside?
パーティーは中ですか、外ですか。

Pātī wa naka desu ka, soto desu ka.

Is the party inside or outside?

___は中です。

___ wa naka desu.

___ is inside.

Meaning: ___ is inside.

When to use: Use this short answer to say something is inside. For more detail: people/animals → 「中にいます」, objects → 「中にあります」.

猫は中です

Neko wa naka desu.

The cat is inside.
食べ物は冷蔵庫の中です。

Tabemono wa reizōko no naka desu.

The food is inside the fridge.

___は外です。

___ wa soto desu.

___ is outside.

Meaning: ___ is outside.

When to use: Short way to say someone or something is outside. More specifically: people/animals → 「外にいます」, objects → 「外にあります」.

犬は外です

Inu wa soto desu.

The dog is outside.
自転車は外です。

Jitensha wa soto desu.

The bicycle is outside.

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

Anna asks where things are and David answers using location phrases.

Anna and David looking at a room and pointing — a conversational scene for asking where the cat and Tom are in Japanese.

Where is the cat?

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

ねこはどこですか。

Neko wa doko desu ka.

Where is the cat?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

ねこはつくえの下にいます。

Neko wa tsukue no shita ni imasu.

The cat is under the desk.

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

いすはどこですか。

Isu wa doko desu ka.

Where is the chair?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

いすはドアの前にあります。

Isu wa doa no mae ni arimasu.

The chair is in front of the door.

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

ベンチはどこですか。

Benchi wa doko desu ka.

Where is the bench?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

ベンチは木と木の間にあります。トムさんは中ですか、外ですか。

Benchi wa ki to ki no aida ni arimasu. Tomu-san wa naka desu ka, soto desu ka.

The bench is between the trees. Is Tom inside or outside?

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

トムさんは中です。

Tomu-san wa naka desu.

Tom is inside.

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

Which Japanese sentence means "The cat is under the desk."?

Which sentence asks 'Is it inside or outside?'

Which sentence means 'The bench is between the trees.'?

Which sentence means 'David is at the library.'?

Anna: Where is the cat? David: The cat is under the desk.

Anna: ねこはどこですか。 David: ねこは___の下にいます。

Anna: Is Tom inside or outside? David: Tom is inside.

Anna: トムさんは中ですか、外ですか。 David: トムさんは___です。

The book is between the TV and the speaker.

本はテレビとスピーカーの___にあります。

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___の下にあります。

___ wa ___ no shita ni arimasu.

___ is under ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___は___の後ろにいます。

___ wa ___ no ushiro ni imasu.

___ is behind ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___は___の前にいます。

___ wa ___ no mae ni imasu.

___ is in front of ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___は___と___の間にあります。

___ wa ___ to ___ no aida ni arimasu.

___ is between ___ and ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___は___にいます。

___ wa ___ ni imasu.

___ is at ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___は中ですか、外ですか。

___ wa naka desu ka, soto desu ka.

Is ___ inside or outside?

Say this phrase out loud:

___は中です。

___ wa naka desu.

___ is inside.

Say this phrase out loud:

___は外です。

___ wa soto desu.

___ is outside.