Basic movement, home, and neighborhood | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 今、そちらに行きます。

   I am coming now.

   今

   now

   そちら

   there; your side

   に

   to; toward

   行きます

   go; am coming

   More detail

   今 means “now,” locating the movement at the present time. It is a time expression and does not itself indicate whether the movement is going or coming. そちら refers here to the addressee’s side or location: “there” / “your side.” The form is also used for a direction or place viewed somewhat indirectly or politely. Its specific place is supplied by the situation, not by the word alone. に marks the destination of movement. The reusable pattern is [destination] に 行く, “go to [destination].” For example, 学校に行きます。 means “I go/am going to school.” 行きます is the polite non-past form of 行く, “to go.” The non-past form can describe a present or near-future action, so the English translation depends on the movement’s direction and context. With そちら as the destination—the addressee’s side—English naturally uses “coming”: “I am coming.” This is not a different Japanese verb; it is an appropriate perspective-based translation of 行く here. A less context-specific translation would be “I’m going there now.” Together, 今 + そちらに + 行きます means “I am coming to your side now,” naturally translated as “I am coming now.” The sentence is polite because of the -ます form. The pattern can be reused by replacing the destination: [time] [destination] に 行きます.

2. 家に帰ります。

   I am going home.

   家

   home; house

   帰ります

   return; go back

   More detail

   家 means “home” or “house.” In this sentence, the fixed translation supports the “home” reading. The same noun can refer to a physical house in another context. Example: 家は大きいです。 — “The house is large.” 帰ります is the polite form of 帰る, meaning “to return” or “to go back.” With a destination such as 家, it expresses returning home. The ending ます is the polite non-past form; depending on context, it can refer to a present or future action. Example: 七時に帰ります。 — “I will return at seven.” The pattern 家に帰ります combines the destination marker に with 帰ります: 家に marks home as the destination, and 帰ります means “return.” Japanese commonly leaves the subject unstated when it is understood; here, the fixed translation identifies the speaker as the person going home. Thus 家に帰ります。 means “I am going home.”

3. 家にいます。

   I am at home.

   家

   home; house

   います

   be present; be there

   More detail

   家 means “home” here. It can also mean “house,” so the intended sense is determined by the fixed translation and the location pattern. The reading is いえ in this use. います is the polite nonpast form of いる, used for the presence or location of a living being. Japanese does not mark the speaker in this verb form; “I” comes from the fixed meaning and context. The plain form is いる, and the polite form is います. For example, 猫がいます。 means “There is a cat.” The particle に after 家 marks the place where the person is located: 家に means “at home.” This is different from the movement pattern in the preceding example, 家に帰ります, where に marks the destination of going home. Together, 家にいます。 means “I am at home.” The location 家に is followed by polite います, stating the speaker’s presence there.

4. 今、外にいます。

   I am outside now.

   今

   now

   外

   outside

   います

   am present

   More detail

   今 means “now” here. It is a time expression and commonly comes at the beginning of a sentence, as in 今、行きます。—“I’m going now.” 外 means “outside” here. It is a noun meaning the exterior or outdoors. With に, 外に means “outside” as a place: 外に出ます。—“I go outside.” います is the polite nonpast form of いる. The form いる is used for the presence or location of an animate being; います can mean “is present,” “is located,” or “am” when the subject is understood from context. The polite past is いました, and the negative nonpast is いません. In this sentence, the English translation identifies the understood subject as “I.” The pattern 外にいます means “be outside”: 外に + います. Japanese often leaves the subject unstated when it is clear, and the comma after 今 separates the time expression from the rest of the sentence. Together, 今、外にいます。means “I am outside now.”

5. 戻ります。

   I will be back.

   戻ります

   will return; will be back

   More detail

   戻ります means “I will return” or, as fixed here, “I will be back.” Its base form is 戻る (“to return; to go back”). The observed form uses the -ます ending, a polite style for a nonpast verb form. In this context, the nonpast form refers to a future return, matching “will be back.” Japanese does not require the subject to be stated; the omitted subject is understood as “I” from the fixed translation. Useful pattern: verb stem + ます gives a polite nonpast form. For this verb, 戻る becomes 戻り before ます: 戻り + ます → 戻ります. The same polite form can describe a current habitual action in another context, so the future meaning here comes from the utterance’s context and intended translation, not from ます alone. The whole utterance is simply 戻ります: “I will be back.” The preceding context says that the speaker is outside now, while the following context says that the speaker lives near here; neither changes the basic return meaning. The polite -ます style makes the statement suitable for ordinary courteous conversation.

6. この近くに住んでいます。

   I live near here.

   この

   this

   近く

   nearby area

   に

   at/in

   住んでいます

   live

   More detail

   この points to something understood from the situation and comes before a noun or noun-like expression. Here it combines with 近く to mean “this nearby area” or “around here”; the fixed translation supports the place-based reading “here.” For example, この店 means “this shop.” 近く means “nearby area” here. It can also function as a noun meaning “the vicinity” or “nearby,” so この近く is a reusable pattern for “near here/around here.” The form 近く is distinct from the adjective 近い (“near”): 近い directly describes something, while 近く can refer to a vicinity. に marks the location associated with the state or activity expressed by the verb. In this sentence, it marks the place where the speaker lives. It is not part of the meaning of 近く alone; 近くに together means “in/at the nearby area.” 住んでいます comes from 住む, “to live” or “to reside.” The -ている form in 住んでいます presents living there as an ongoing state: “live” or “am living.” The polite ending ます makes the statement polite. For example, 東京に住んでいます。 means “I live in Tokyo.” The subject is omitted in Japanese, and the fixed translation identifies it here as “I.” Together, この近くに establishes “near here” as the location, and 住んでいます says that the speaker lives there. The complete meaning is “I live near here.”