Use 住む to talk about a home or place of residence.

The idea

住む is a godan verb. Mark the place of residence with に; 住んでいます normally describes the ongoing state of living there. 住みます can express a future arrangement.

Patterns to compare
Dictionary formPolite non-pastPolite negativePolite pastて form
住む住みます住みません住みました住んで

Examples

  • 私わたしは東京とうきょうに住すんでいます。I live in Tokyo.
  • 姉あねは駅えきの近ちかくに住すんでいます。My older sister lives near the station.
  • 家族かぞくと小ちいさい町まちに住すんでいます。I live with my family in a small town.
  • 前まえは大阪おおさかに住すんでいました。I used to live in Osaka.
  • 来年らいねんから京都きょうとに住すみます。I will live in Kyoto starting next year.
  • 今いまは一人ひとりで住すんでいません。I do not live alone now.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Do not use で to mark the place with 住む: で typically marks where an action takes place. The て form is 住んで, not 住みて.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the polite non-past form. ＿。（住すむ→ます）

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    住みます

    住みます is the polite non-past form: む changes to み before ます.

  2. Write the て form. ＿。（住すむ→て）

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    住んで

    住んで is the て form: a godan verb ending in む changes to んで.

  3. Choose the particle for the place of residence. 東京とうきょう＿住すんでいます。（に／で）

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    に

    に marks Tokyo as the place of residence; で is not used here.

Use it today

Describe where you live, then say where you used to live using 住んでいました.