How to Ask If a Store Has a Specific Item

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Japanese by JapanesePod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask if a store has something in Japanese.

For example, "Is there any salt?" is

しおはありますか。(Shio wa arimasu ka.)

Haruto Sasakiis at a small grocery store and wants to buy some salt.

He gets the clerk's attention and asks if the store has some salt.

Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

しお (shio)

"salt"

しお

こちら (kochira)

"here"

こちら

Listen to the conversation. Focus on Haruto's question.

Ready?

すみません、しおはありますか。(Sumimasen, shio wa arimasu ka.)

はい、こちらです。(Hai, kochira desu.)

Once more with the English translation.

すみません、しおはありますか。(Sumimasen, shio wa arimasu ka.)

"Excuse me, is there any salt?"

はい、こちらです。(Hai, kochira desu.)

"Yes, it's here."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Haruto asks,

"Excuse me, is there any salt?"

すみません、しおはありますか。(Sumimasen, shio wa arimasu ka.)

First is すみません (sumimasen), meaning "excuse me," in this context. す-み-ま-せ-ん. すみません.

Next is しお (shio), "salt." し-お. しお.

After this is は (wa), the topic-marking particle. は. は.

It marks "salt" as the topic of the sentence. Think of it like "as for" in the expression "as for salt."

Next is あります (arimasu), meaning "there is," あります. あります。

あります (arimasu) is a polite form the verb ある (aru), meaning "to exist." ある.

Last is か (ka), the question-marking particle. か. か。

This particle turns the sentence into a question.

All together, it's すみません、しおはありますか。(Sumimasen, shio arimasu ka.) This literally means, "Excuse me, As for salt, there is?" but it translates as "Excuse me, is there any salt?" or "Do you have any salt?"

すみません、しおはありますか。(Sumimasen, shio arimasu ka.)

This question pattern is useful in a lot of situations — not just when you want to know if a shop carries a certain item.

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how the shop clerk says, "Yes, it’s here."

はい、こちらです。(Hai, kochira desu.)

First is はい (hai), "yes." はい. はい。

This answers Haruto's question.

Next is, こちらです (kochira desu) meaning, "It's here." こちらです。

Note, the shopkeeper says this while gesturing in the direction of the salt.

First is こちら (kochira), a polite word meaning "here." こちら. こちら。

And last is です (desu). In this case, it's like the "is" in "it is." です。

Together, it's こちらです (kochira desu). This literally means, "Here [it] is" but it translates as "It's here." こちらです.

This is a shortened form of それはこちらです。(Sore wa kochira desu.) "As for that, here [it] is."

The phrase それは (sore wa), "as for that," is inferred through context, as the speaker is responding to a question about the salt, and therefore it is omitted.

こちらです (kochira desu).

All together, it's はい、こちらです (hai, kochira desu), "Yes, it's here." はい、こちらです.

はい、こちらです。(Hai, kochira desu.)

The pattern is

ITEM はありますか。(wa arimasu ka.)

ITEM “is there any?"

ITEM はありますか。 (wa arimasu ka.)

To use this pattern, simply replace the {ITEM} placeholder with the thing you're looking for.

Imagine you're looking for milk.

ぎゅうにゅう (gyūnyū). ぎゅ-う-にゅ-う. ぎゅうにゅう。

Say, "Is there any milk?"

Ready?

ぎゅうにゅうはありますか。(Gyūnyū wa arimasu ka.)

"Is there any milk?"

ぎゅうにゅうはありますか。(Gyūnyū wa arimasu ka.)

In most cases, Japanese doesn't make a distinction between singular and plural nouns. You'll use the same pattern when you're looking for salt, or an apple, or a dozen apples.

For example, りんごはありますか。(Ringo wa arimasu ka.) can translate as “Are there any apples?” Or “Is there an apple?” depending on the number of apples.

The English translation may alternate between singular and plural, but the Japanese pattern remains the same.

Again, the key pattern is

ITEM はありますか。(wa arimasu ka.)

ITEM “is there any?"

ITEM はありますか。(wa arimasu ka.)

Let’s look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

しおはありますか。(Shio wa arimasu ka.)

"Is there any salt?"

しおはありますか。(Shio wa arimasu ka.)

ぎゅうにゅうはありますか。(Gyūnyū wa arimasu ka.)

"Is there any milk?"

ぎゅうにゅうはありますか。(Gyūnyū wa arimasu ka.)

りんごはありますか。(Ringo wa arimasu ka.)

"Are there any apples?"

りんごはありますか。(Ringo wa arimasu ka.)

こしょうはありますか。(Koshō wa arimasu ka.)

"Is there any pepper?"

こしょうはありますか。(Koshō wa arimasu ka.)

さとうは　どこですか。(Satō wa doko desu ka.)

"Where is the sugar?"

さとうは　どこですか。(Satō wa doko desu ka.)

Did you notice how the last speaker used a different pattern?

さとうは　どこですか。(Satō wa doko desu ka.)

"Where is the sugar?"

First is さとう (satō), “sugar.” さとう. さとう.

After this is は (wa), the topic-marking particle. は。

It marks さとう (satō), “sugar,” as the topic of the sentence. Think of it like "as for" in the expression "as for sugar."

Next is どこ (doko), “where.” どこ. どこ.

After this is です (desu). Here, it’s like the “is” in “where is.” です.

Last is the particle, か (ka), the question-marking particle. か.

This particle turns the sentence into a question.

All together, it’s さとうは　どこですか。(Satō wa doko desu ka.) This literally means “as for sugar, where [it] is,” but it translates as, “Where is the sugar?” さとうはどこですか。

You should be aware of this pattern, but you won’t need it for this lesson.

Let's review the new words.

ぎゅうにゅう(gyūnyū)

"milk"

ぎゅうにゅう

りんご (ringo)

"apple."

り-ん-ご

りんご

こしょう (koshō)

"pepper."

こ-しょ-う

こしょう。

さとう (satō)

"sugar"

さとう

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after me, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say

“Excuse me.”

すみません (sumimasen)

And how to say the question-marking particle?

か (ka)

Do you remember the polite way to say "there is?"

あります (arimasu)

And how to say “salt?”

しお (shio)

Do you remember how Haruto Sasaki says,

"Excuse me, is there any salt?"

すみません、しおはありますか。(Sumimasen, shio arimasu ka.)

Do you remember how to say "yes?"

はい (hai)

And do you remember how the clerk says,

"Yes, it's here."

はい、こちらです。 (Hai, kochira desu.)

はい、こちらです。

Do you remember the word for "apple?"

りんご (ringo)

And the word for "sugar?"

さとう (satō)

Do you remember the word for "milk?"

ぎゅうにゅう (gyūnyū)

Let's practice.

Imagine you are Haruto Sasaki, and you’re at the grocery store. Get the shopkeeper’s attention, and ask if there are any apples, or りんご.

Ready?

すみません、りんごはありますか。(Sumimasen, ringo wa arimasu ka.)

はい、こちらです。(Hai, kochira desu.)

Listen again and repeat.

すみません、りんごはありますか。(Sumimasen, ringo wa arimasu ka.)

Now ask if there is any sugar, or さとう (satō).

Ready?

さとうはありますか。(Satō wa doko desu ka.)

はい、こちらです。(Hai, kochira desu.)

Listen again and repeat.

さとうはありますか。(Satō wa doko desu ka.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you’re Ben Lee. Ask if there is any milk, or ぎゅうにゅう (gyūnyū).

Ready?

ぎゅうにゅうはありますか。(Gyūnyū wa arimasu ka.)

はい、こちらです。(Hai, kochira desu.)

Listen again and repeat.

ぎゅうにゅうはありますか。(Gyūnyū wa arimasu ka.)

In this lesson, you learned how to ask if a store has something. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of shopping at a grocery store. Let’s review.

Do you remember how to say "please?"

ください (kudasai)

And how to say "that?"

それ (sore)

Do you remember how to say, "That, please?"

それをください。 (Sore o kudasai.)

それをください。(Sore o kudasai.)

Imagine you're Jack Jones, and you're at a grocery store, and you'd like to buy water.

Do you remember how to say "water" in Japanese?

みず (mizu)

Ask the clerk for water.

みずをください。(Mizu o kudasai.)

はい、どうぞ。(Hai, dōzo.)

Listen again and repeat.

みずをください。(Mizu o kudasai.)

You remembered that you also wanted to buy milk

Do you remember how to say "milk" in Japanese?

ぎゅうにゅう (gyūnyū)

Now ask the clerk if the store has milk.

Ready?

すみません、ぎゅうにゅうありますか。(Sumimasen, gyūnyū wa arimasu ka.)

はい、こちらです。 (Hai, kochira desu.)

Listen again and repeat.

すみません、ぎゅうにゅうありますか。(Sumimasen, gyūnyū wa arimasu ka.)

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to ask if a store has something, an essential skill for shopping at a grocery store.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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