Breakdown of kono eiga wa ninki ga arimasu.
はwa
topic particle
映画eiga
movie
がga
subject particle
このkono
this
あるaru
to have
人気ninki
popularity
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Questions & Answers about kono eiga wa ninki ga arimasu.
Why is 映画 followed by は rather than が here?
The particle は marks the topic of the sentence—what you’re talking about—whereas が marks the subject of a verb or existence. In この映画は人気があります, この映画 is the topic (we’re talking about this movie), and 人気 is what “exists” (the subject of ある) thanks to the が that follows it.
What role does the が play in 人気がある?
In the pattern X が ある, が marks X as the thing that “exists” or is “had.” It’s the same structure as お金がある (“there is money”/“I have money”). Here, 人気 is X, so 人気がある literally means “popularity exists.”
Why is ある used instead of いる?
Japanese uses ある for inanimate things or abstract concepts (like 人気, “popularity”). いる is only for animate beings (people and animals). Since popularity isn’t alive, we use ある.
Why do we say 人気がある instead of just 人気です?
You could say 人気です, but Japanese speakers usually prefer the “～がある” construction for qualities or feelings (人気, 興味 – interest, 自信 – confidence, etc.). It emphasizes that the quality “exists” or is “possessed,” making it sound more natural.
What’s the literal word-for-word translation of この映画は人気があります?
Literally:
- この映画は = “As for this movie,”
- 人気が = “popularity (as the thing that exists),”
- あります = “there is/exists.”
Put together: “As for this movie, popularity exists.” In natural English: “This movie is popular.”
How do you ask “Is this movie popular?” in Japanese?
Turn あります into the question form ありますか:
この映画は人気がありますか？
How would you say “This movie was popular” in Japanese?
Change あります (present) to its past tense ありました:
この映画は人気がありました。
Where would you place an adverb like “very” in この映画は人気がある?
Place it before 人気:
この映画はとても人気がある。
You can also say すごく人気がある for “really very popular.”