Forum Rocket Japanese Japanese Grammar Lesson 4.4: He´s very popular (desu or ga arimasu)

Lesson 4.4: He´s very popular (desu or ga arimasu)

TheresaH8

TheresaH8

Quick question: In lesson 4.4 (sporting conversation) the sentence "He´s very popular" translates as "
かれ は とても にんき が あります" Shouldn´t it be with DESU at the end? (かれ は とても にんき です) Sayaka uses both versions in the audio course but I'm slightly confused and tend to use "desu" instead of "ga arimasu".  
lzwiers91

lzwiers91

From my understanding, ninki is the noun for popularity. There are other for the adjective popular.
(http://www.romajidesu.com/dictionary/meaning-of-popular.html)

Since the guy isn't popularity itself, if the noun ninki is used, you say he has popularity with ga arimasu and it just roughly translates as him being popular even if it's not the literal translation. If an adjective for popular was used instead, you could use desu. Tutors, please correct me if I'm wrong!
TheresaH8

TheresaH8

That makes totally sense! Thank you!

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