ござる is the polished, 丁寧語 (courteous-speech) equivalent of ある ("to exist / there is") — but with a peculiarity no other verb on this shelf shares: its plain forms are effectively dead. In modern standard Japanese, ござる survives almost exclusively in its polite ます-series — ございます・ございました・ございません — plus the copular でございます and a handful of frozen greetings (ありがとうございます, おはようございます). This page is the paradigm reference: the full table, the mostly-empty plain column honestly marked, the -い- stem it shares with the ラ行 honorifics, and the separate ウ音便 that lets adjectives ride on ございます. The service-register usage is on the でございます／ございます page.
The class it belongs to
ござる is the fifth of the ラ行 special verbs (いらっしゃる, おっしゃる, なさる, くださる, ござる) — and like them, its ます-form takes the irregular -い- stem: ござ‑ + ます would predict ×ござります, but the り collapses to い, giving ございます. Etymologically ござる itself comes from 御座（ご‑ざ）＋ ある, so it began life as a politer "to exist." What sets it apart from its four siblings is that the rest of its paradigm has fallen out of ordinary use — you will meet the plain forms only in period dramas (時代劇) and fixed sayings.
The full paradigm
| Form (Japanese term) | ござる | Reading | Status in modern Japanese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dictionary (辞書形) | ござる | gozaru | archaic (時代劇 only) |
| Polite (ます形) | ございます | gozaimasu | alive — irregular -い- |
| Polite past | ございました | gozaimashita | alive |
| Polite negative | ございません | gozaimasen | alive |
| Polite te-form | ございまして | gozaimashite | alive (formal connective) |
| Copula | でございます | de gozaimasu | alive (service / formal) |
| Plain past (た形) | ござった | gozatta | archaic |
| Plain te-form | ござって | gozatte | archaic |
| Plain negative | ござらない | gozaranai | archaic |
| Conditional (仮定形・ば) | ござれば | gozareba | archaic |
| Imperative (命令形) | ござれ | gozare | archaic |
ございます — the polite existence verb for things
ございます is the elevated form of ある: it says a thing exists, is available, or is located somewhere. It is the sound of department stores, hotels, and station announcements.
お手洗いは階段の右手にございます。
o-tearai wa kaidan no migite ni gozaimasu
The restroom is to the right of the stairs. (ございます = polite ある)
いらっしゃいませ。ご予約はございますか。
irasshaimase. go-yoyaku wa gozaimasu ka
Welcome. Do you have a reservation? (asking whether a thing — the reservation — exists)
The negative is ございません (from ある → ない, elevated), and it powers the single most-used apology in Japanese customer service, 申し訳ございません — literally "there is no excuse."
恐れ入りますが、その商品はただ今品切れでございます。
osoreirimasu ga, sono shōhin wa tadaima shinagire de gozaimasu
I'm very sorry, but that item is currently out of stock. (でございます copula)
ご不明な点がございましたら、いつでもお問い合わせください。
go-fumei na ten ga gozaimashitara, itsudemo o-toiawase kudasai
If there is anything unclear, please inquire anytime. (past-conditional ございましたら)
でございます — the elevated copula
Attach で and ございます becomes the polished copula, a rung above です. It slots in after a noun or na-adjective exactly where です would go, but at service/formal altitude. The polite te-form ございまして links clauses in the most formal register.
こちらが会議室でございます。
kochira ga kaigishitsu de gozaimasu
This is the conference room. (でございます = elevated です)
受付は一階でございまして、会場は三階でございます。
uketsuke wa ikkai de gozaimashite, kaijō wa sankai de gozaimasu
Reception is on the first floor, and the venue is on the third. (でございまして connective)
The split you must not miss: ございます (things) vs いらっしゃいます (people)
Because ございます descends from ある, it is only for things. Japanese splits existence by animacy — ある for things, いる for people — and the polite/elevated forms split the same way. A person you respect does not "exist" with ございます; they take いらっしゃいます. The pairing is laid out on the teineigo existence pairs page.
| Exists… | Plain | Polite | Elevated |
|---|---|---|---|
| a thing | ある | あります | ございます |
| a person (respected) | いる | います | いらっしゃいます |
失礼ですが、田中先生でいらっしゃいますか。
shitsurei desu ga, Tanaka-sensei de irasshaimasu ka
Excuse me, are you Professor Tanaka? (a person → でいらっしゃいます, not でございます)
The ウ音便 tie-in: how adjectives join ございます
There is a second, separate sound change worth keeping distinct from the -い- stem above. To attach an i-adjective to ございます, you don't use the plain 〜く adverbial form — you run it through the ウ音便 (u-euphonic change): the く drops and the leftover vowel fuses with う. So 高く takaku → 高う takō → 高うございます ("it is expensive," deferential). This is a different mechanism from ござ‑ → ございます; the full four-vowel table is on the 〜うございます adjectives page.
今日は一段とお寒うございますね。
kyō wa ichidan to o-samū gozaimasu ne
It's especially cold today, isn't it. (寒く → 寒う, ウ音便 — formal / older register)
This ウ音便 is exactly what is fossilized inside the greetings you already say. ありがとうございます is 有り難く arigataku → ありがとう; おはようございます is お早く → おはよう; おめでとうございます is めでたく → おめでとう. Each is an adjective softened by the ウ音便 and bolted to ございます — and these three stay fully alive and register-neutral even though the productive adjective pattern is now (formal / literary).
本日はお越しいただき、まことにありがとうございます。
honjitsu wa o-koshi itadaki, makoto ni arigatō gozaimasu
Thank you sincerely for coming today. (ありがとうございます — a frozen ウ音便 adjective + ございます)
ご結婚、おめでとうございます。
go-kekkon, omedetō gozaimasu
Congratulations on your marriage.
Register: recognition vs production
Split your handling of this verb in two. Produce ございます, でございます, ございません, and the frozen greetings — they are correct, expected service and formal Japanese. Recognize the plain ござる column (ござる, ござった, ござれ): it is (archaic), the Japanese of period dramas and set literary phrases, and producing it in a real conversation sounds like cosplay. And keep でございます out of casual talk with friends, where it lands as theatrical.
拙者、江戸から参ったのでござる。
sessha, edo kara maitta no de gozaru
I have come from Edo. (plain でござる — pure period-drama samurai speech, archaic)
Common mistakes
Mistake 1 — using the plain ×ござる in modern speech. Only the polite ます-series is alive.
❌ トイレはあちらにござる。
Archaic — plain ござる is period-drama Japanese. In modern speech the existence verb is ございます: あちらにございます.
✅ お手洗いはあちらにございます。
o-tearai wa achira ni gozaimasu
The restroom is over there.
Mistake 2 — using ございます for a person's existence. ございます is for things (ある); a respected person takes いらっしゃいます.
❌ 社長は今、社長室にございます。
Wrong — people don't 'exist' with ございます. A respected person takes いらっしゃいます.
✅ 社長は今、社長室にいらっしゃいます。
shachō wa ima, shachōshitsu ni irasshaimasu
The president is in his office right now.
Mistake 3 — stacking です onto the already-polite negative. ございません is complete on its own.
❌ 在庫がございませんです。
Double-marked — ございません is already the full polite negative; don't add です.
✅ 在庫がございません。
zaiko ga gozaimasen
It's out of stock.
Mistake 4 — joining an adjective to ございます without the ウ音便. The く must not survive; skipping the sound change gives a non-word.
❌ この着物は少々高いございます。
Wrong join — an i-adjective can't sit directly on ございます. Use the modern flat 高いです, or the ウ音便 form 高うございます.
✅ この着物は少々お高うございます。
kono kimono wa shōshō o-takō gozaimasu
This kimono is a little on the expensive side. (deferential)
Key takeaways
- ございます is the polite existence verb for things (elevated ある); でございます is the elevated copula (elevated です).
- ござる is a ラ行 special verb: its ます-form takes the irregular -い- stem (ござ‑ → ございます, never ×ござります), shared with the four honorific verbs.
- The plain column is archaic — ござる, ござった, ござれ survive only in period dramas and set phrases; produce only the polite ます-series.
- ございます is for things, いらっしゃいます is for people — the animacy split of ある／いる, carried into the elevated register.
- A separate ウ音便 joins adjectives to ございます (高う, ありがとう, おはよう, おめでとう) — recognize it everywhere, produce the productive form only in formal/traditional register.
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- The -aru Honorifics: Special 〜います StemsN3 — Five honorific verbs end in -る — いらっしゃる・おっしゃる・くださる・なさる・ござる — and share one quirk: before ます (and in the imperative) the り-row stem softens to -い-, giving いらっしゃいます, not ×いらっしゃります.
- ございます・いらっしゃいます: 丁寧語 ExistenceN3 — The elevated existence and copula reference: ある→ございます (things), だ→でございます, and いる split by direction into honorific いらっしゃいます (a respected person) versus humble おります (yourself and your in-group).
- ある vs いる: The Existence PairN4 — Japanese splits 'there is / to exist' into two verbs by animacy — ある（五段, for things）and いる（一段, for living beings） — so you choose by what the subject *is*, not by the English 'there is'.