Japanese Grammar Bank

EXPERIENCE IN JAPANESE

In Japanese, expressing experiences typically involves using the past tense or specific grammatical structures like たことがある to indicate something you’ve done before.

This form allows speakers to share personal experiences, both positive and negative, in a clear and concise way.

TALKING ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCES

The expression たことがある is a useful phrase that allows you to talk about your experiences in the past.

It’s similar to the English phrase “have done something“.

The conjugation is pretty simple. You just need to connect the ta-form with ことがある.

PATTERN

た form + ことがある

But what is the た form?

When you conjugate verbs into the た form, you can apply the same conjugation rule of the て form.

Just like the て form ends with て, the た form works the same as the て form, but ends with た. Let’s review just a few conjugation examples of た form.

Dictionary formた form
Ru-verbs見る
(miru)		見た
(mita)
食べる
(taberu)		食べた
(tabeta)
U-verbs買う
(kau)		買った
(katta)
話す
(hanasu)		話した
(hanashita)
Irregular verbsする
(suru)		した
(shita)
来る
(kuru)		来た
(kita)

Now let’s learn how to use たことがある in our daily conversation from example sentences.

The formal way of saying たことがある is たことがあります .

JapaneseRomajiEnglish
私はあの映画を見たことがあります。Watashi wa ano eiga wo mita koto ga arimasu.I have watched that movie before.
兄はアメリカに5回行ったことがあります。Ani wa amerika ni 5 kai itta koto ga arimasu.My older brother has been to the United States for 5 times.
私は聖書を読んだことがあります。Watashi wa seisho wo yonda koto ga arimasu.I have read the Bible before.
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スペイン語を勉強したことがあります。Supein go wo benkyou shita koto ga arimasu.I have studied Spanish before.
インドカレーを食べたことがありますか？Indo karee wo tabeta koto ga arimasuka?Have you ever eaten Indian curry before?
富士山に登ったことがあります。Fujisan ni nobotta koto ga arimasu.I have climbed Mt. Fuji before.

NEGATIVE FORM

To express that you have never done something, you can use the expression たことがない by replacing “ある” with “ない.”

The sentence structure remains the same as the affirmative form.

Examples:

JapaneseRomajiEnglish
中国に行ったことがありません。Chuugoku ni itta koto ga arimasen.I have never been to China before.
歌を歌ったことがありません。Uta wo utatta koto ga arimasen.I have never sung a song before.
泳いだことがありません。Oyoida koto ga arimasen.I have never swum before.
View More Examples:
飛行機に乗ったことがありません。Hikouki ni notta koto ga arimasen.I have never taken an airplane before.
大学で勉強したことがありません。Daigaku de benkyou shita koto ga arimasen.I have never studied at the university.
結婚したことがありません。Kekkon shita koto ga arimasen.I have never married someone before.

EXPERIENCES THAT AFFECT THE PRESENT

There’s one more way to express past experiences. This expression is slightly different from たことがある.

ことがある expresses whether you have experienced something.

ている expresses an experience that affects something at present.

PATTERN

Verb (て form) + いる

Let’s learn from examples:

JapaneseRomajiENGLISH
2か月前、手術しています。2 kagetsu mae, shujutu shite imasu.I had an operation 2 months ago.
私は昔、ベトナムに住んでいます。Watashi wa mukashi, betonamu ni sunde imasu.I lived in Vietnam in the past.
田中さんは大学で哲学を勉強しています。Tanaka san wa daigaku de tetsugaku wo benkyou shite imasu.Mr. Tanaka studied philosophy at university.
View More Examples:
私の同僚は3年前インドネシアの会社で働いています。Watashi no douryou wa 3 nen mae Indonesia no kaisha de hataraite imasu.My colleague worked at an Indonesian company 3 years ago.
私は1年前大学を卒業しています。Watashi wa 1 nen mae daigaku wo sotsugyou shite imasu.I graduated from the university 1 year ago.
昨日、テスト勉強をしています。Kinou, tesuto benkyou wo shite imasu.I prepared for the exam yesterday.

It is not always easy to differentiate two different expressions to express past experience.

But the simple rule to remember is that ている can be used for things in the near past and it should affect something at present.

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FAQs

How do I express something I have experienced before in Japanese?

To express that you have experienced something before, use the structure たことがある after the verb’s past tense form.

For example, 富士山に登ったことがあります。(I have climbed Mount Fuji before).

What’s the difference between たことがある and just using the past tense?

たことがある specifically highlights that you have experienced something at least once in your life, while the past tense simply describes a completed action.

For example, 食べた (ate) vs. 食べたことがある (have eaten before).

Can I use たことがある for negative experiences?

Yes, to express that you have never experienced something, use たことがない.

For example, 寿司を食べたことがありません。(I have never eaten sushi).

Can I use たことがある with all verbs?

Yes, you can use たことがある with any verb, as long as it’s conjugated into the past tense. For example, 映画を見たことがあります。(I have watched a movie before).

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