テーブル に おかね が あります。
teeburu ni okane ga arimasu.
There’s money on the table.
The big-picture difference? あります is for non-living things—like your cash, your car, your stash of candy. It’s for objects that just chill and don’t do nothin’ on their own. います is for living things—your crew, your homies, even a stray cat that hangs around your block. It’s for anything that breathes, moves, or has a heartbeat. Simple as that.
Ain’t no crazy rules here, just a straight-up guide to keep you on the right side of the law.
| English | Japanese |
| To exist (non-living) | あります |
| To not exist (non-living) | ありません |
| Did exist (non-living) | ありました |
| Did not exist (non-living) | ありませんでした |
| To exist (living) | います |
| To not exist (living) | いません |
| Did exist (living) | いました |
| Did not exist (living) | いませんでした |
Listen, this ain’t complex. You just gotta remember the base form, あります (arimasu). When you wanna make it negative, you switch it to ありません (arimasen). For past tense, you add ました (mashita) to the end, making it ありました (arimashita). And for the negative past, you just drop the でした (deshita) on the end of ありません (arimasen), so you get ありませんでした (arimasen deshita). Simple. Straightforward. No games.
Think of it like this: Arimasu is for the hustle, the loot, the tools of the trade. The money, the guns, the secret plans—that’s all “arimasu.” It’s the stuff that just sits there until you move it. Imasu is for the crew, the real ones, the snitches, and the competition. The boss, the enforcer, the dude on the corner—that’s all “imasu.” These are the players in the game, the ones who make their own moves. You wouldn’t say your partner “arimasu” in the car, ’cause he ain’t a package. He “imasu” ’cause he’s a living, breathing part of the action.
This section is for the new words that pop up on the streets. Make sure you learn ’em so you don’t sound like a chump.
したい (shitai)
English: Corpse; dead body.
Yo, this word is straight up what it says on the tin. It’s what you got when a body drops. You know, like in a mob movie when someone gets whacked and they gotta figure out what to do with the body. That’s the shitai. Hopefully, you ain’t never gotta use this word for real, but in the game, it’s a part of the hustle.
かくしばしょ (kakushibasho)
English: Hiding place; a place to hide something.
Every hustler knows you gotta have a good spot to stash your goods, your paper, or even somethin’ you don’t want the cops to find. That’s your kakushibasho. It could be a loose floorboard, a fake wall, or a secret compartment in your ride. It’s the spot where you keep your secrets safe from the haters and the heat.
カタギ (katagi)
English: A law-abiding citizen; an honest person.
In this life, there are two kinds of people: us, and them. The “them” are the katagi. They’re the straight-laced folks, the nine-to-fivers who play by the rules. They ain’t in the game, they ain’t got no beef, and they don’t know the struggle. We gotta be careful with the katagi ’cause they can get caught up in our business real easy.
きんこ (kinko)
English: Safe; vault.
When you’re making that paper, you need a place to stack it, right? A kinko is that heavy-duty metal box where you keep all your valuables locked down tight. It’s your personal bank, your treasure chest. You see these things in every heist movie, like when they gotta crack the safe to get the loot. That’s the kinko.
れいとうこ (reitouko)
English: Freezer.
This ain’t just for ice cream, homie. A reitouko is a freezer, but in the streets, it can have a whole different meaning. You know, like in “Pulp Fiction” when they gotta get rid of a certain body? Well, a freezer can be used for that. Or, it could just be where you keep your frozen dinners. Depends on what kind of life you live, I guess.
Check it, here are 10 examples that’ll have you talking like you’ve been in the game forever.
れいとうこ に したい が あります。
reitouko ni shitai ga arimasu.
There’s a corpse in the freezer.
ボス の おんな は クラブ に いません。
bosu no onna wa kurabu ni imasen.
The boss’s woman is not at the club.
マネーはバッグ の なか に ありません。
manee wa baggu no naka ni arimasen.
There’s no money in the bag.
だれも へや に いません。
daremo heya ni imasen.
There is nobody in the room.
かくしばしょ に げんきん が たくさん あります。 kakushibasho ni genkin ga takusan arimasu.
There’s a lot of cash in the secret hideout.
ボスはじむしょ に います。
Bosu wa jimusho ni imasu.
The boss is in the office.
カタギ は くるま の なか に いません。
katagi wa kuruma no naka ni imasen.
The civilian is not in the car.
この くるま には ぶき が たくさん あります。
kono kuruma niwa buki ga takusan arimasu.
There are a lot of weapons in this car.
マネー は きんこ の なか に あります。
manee wa kinko no naka ni arimasu.
There’s money in the safe.
あたらしい けいかく が あります。
atarashii keikaku ga arimasu.
I have a new plan.
Word is bond, my dude. Stay safe out there.
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