Breakdown of mise ha simatte imasu. tumari, hairemasen.
Questions & Answers about mise ha simatte imasu. tumari, hairemasen.
How do you read 店 here?
It is read みせ.
So the sentence begins:
- 店は = みせ は
A native English speaker may also know 店 from compound words where it can be read てん, but when it means shop/store by itself, みせ is the normal reading.
Why is は used after 店 instead of が?
は marks 店 as the topic of the sentence: as for the store, it is closed.
So:
- 店は閉まっています。 = As for the store, it is closed.
If you used が instead:
- 店が閉まっています。
that would sound more like identifying the thing that is closed, or presenting it as new information.
In many everyday situations, は sounds very natural because the store is already the thing being talked about.
What does 閉まっています mean exactly?
It comes from:
- dictionary form: 閉まる
- て-form: 閉まって
- plus います: 閉まっています
A very important point is that with many intransitive verbs like 閉まる, 〜ている often describes the resulting state, not an action in progress.
So 閉まっています usually means:
- is closed
not necessarily:
- is closing
In this sentence, the natural meaning is clearly the store is closed.
What is the difference between 閉まる and 閉める?
This is an important verb pair:
- 閉まる = to close / to be closed
- intransitive
- the thing closes by itself, or is in the closed state
- 閉める = to close something
- transitive
- someone closes it
Examples:
- 店が閉まる。 = The store closes.
- 店を閉める。 = Someone closes the store.
In your sentence, 閉まっています is used because the focus is on the store being closed, not on who closed it.
Why is つまり used here?
つまり means something like:
- in other words
- that is to say
- so
- which means
It introduces a restatement or conclusion.
So:
- 店は閉まっています。つまり、入れません。
- The store is closed. In other words, you can’t go in.
It connects the second sentence to the first by explaining the practical result.
Why is it 入れません and not 入りません?
This is a very common question.
- 入る = to enter
- 入りません = do not enter / will not enter
- 入れません = cannot enter
Here the sentence means cannot enter, so the verb is in the potential form.
For 入る, the potential form is:
- 入れる = can enter
- negative polite: 入れません = cannot enter
So:
- 入りません would mean do not enter or will not enter
- 入れません means cannot enter
That is why 入れません is correct here.
Isn’t 入れる also the verb meaning to put in? How do I tell the difference?
Yes. This is one of those tricky but common cases.
入れる can mean:
- the potential form of 入る = can enter
- a separate verb = to put in
So 入れません can theoretically mean either:
- cannot enter
- do not put in
But in this sentence, the context makes it clear:
- 店は閉まっています。つまり、入れません。
Since we are talking about a store being closed, 入れません clearly means cannot enter.
Context usually makes the intended meaning obvious.
Who is the subject of 入れません? Why doesn’t Japanese say you can’t enter?
Japanese often leaves out subjects when they are understood from context.
So 入れません here does not explicitly say:
- I can’t enter
- you can’t enter
- people can’t enter
- cannot enter
- it’s not possible to go in
From the situation, you understand that it refers to customers or people in general.
This kind of omission is extremely normal in Japanese.
Does 入れません mean not allowed to enter or unable to enter?
In this sentence, it mainly means unable to enter because the store is closed.
So the logic is:
- the store is closed
- therefore, entry is not possible
If you specifically wanted to say you are not allowed to enter, Japanese often uses other patterns, such as:
- 入ってはいけません。 = You must not enter.
- 入場禁止です。 = प्रवेश prohibited / No entry.
So 入れません here is more about practical impossibility than a direct rule or prohibition.
Why are the verbs in polite form?
Both verbs are in the polite ます style:
- 閉まっています
- 入れません
This makes the sentence sound polite and neutral. That is very common for:
- public notices
- announcements
- explanations
- speaking politely in general
A casual version might be:
- 店は閉まっている。つまり、入れない。
But the polite version is usually more natural for general use.
Are the spaces normal in Japanese?
No. In normal written Japanese, you would usually write this without spaces:
- 店は閉まっています。つまり、入れません。
Spaces are often added in learning materials to make it easier to see the words and particles.
So the spaced version is helpful for study, but not standard everyday writing.
Could this sentence also be written with から instead of つまり?
Yes, and that would slightly change the feel.
For example:
- 店は閉まっていますから、入れません。
This means:
- Because the store is closed, you can’t enter.
That version shows a direct cause-and-effect relationship.
By contrast:
- 店は閉まっています。つまり、入れません。
sounds more like:
- The store is closed. In other words, you can’t enter.
So から gives a more straightforward reason, while つまり sounds more like a restatement or conclusion.
Can 店が閉まっています also be correct?
Yes, it can.
Both are possible, but the nuance is different:
店は閉まっています。
- As for the store, it is closed
- topic-based, very natural in ordinary explanation
店が閉まっています。
- The store is the one that is closed
- can sound more like new information, emphasis, or identification
In your sentence, は is a very natural choice because the store is already the topic being discussed.
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