存在
Meaning in Englishexistence, presence, being
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
existence means the state of something having real being in the world; it refers to realness in space and time, for both concrete objects and abstract concepts, indicating that they are present or ontologically real.
Main meanings
- Existence in reality or space-time: the fact that something is real or present.
- Philosophical or ontological status: whether something exists in a given sense or across contexts.
- Presence in a context: the being of something in a particular place or situation.
How to use it
Primarily used as a noun; it couples with the verb 存在する to form existential predicates and is common in formal writing, philosophy, and science. In casual speech, speakers often use ある or いる for existence, reserving 存在 for abstract or theoretical contexts and for discussing the ontological status of things.
Variants and close terms
- 実在 (じつざい, jitsuzai) — actual existence
- 不存在 (ふそんざい, fuzonzai) — nonexistence
- 存在感 (そんざいかん, sonzaikan) — sense of existence or presence
- 存在する (そんざいする, sonzai suru) — to exist (verb form)
Composition
- 存 (ソン, son) — to exist, to keep; on'yomi
- 在 (ザイ, zai) — to be, to exist; on'yomi
- Combined meaning: existence or being
Etymology
sonzai is a Sino-Japanese compound formed from 存 and 在, using on'yomi readings to create the pronunciation sonzai.
Origin
Introduced to Japanese from Classical Chinese and widely used in literature and philosophy from the Heian period onward; the term grew with modern science and humanities to denote existence in both concrete and abstract domains.
Word class
Noun (名詞)