Synonym Boundary: "住みます", "住む", "すむ", "生きる", "暮らす"

When expressing "live" in Japanese, you must carefully distinguish between "住みます", "住む", "すむ", "生きる", "暮らす" based on context.

• 住みます (すみます (sumimasu) - Level: N5): Maps to "to live (somewhere)" and is used when Verb, polite form. Used to express living or residing in a place. The dictionary form is 住む.
• 住む (すむ (sumu) - Level: N5): Maps to "to live, to reside" and is used when Intransitive verb. Used to describe where someone lives, usually with the particle 「に」. Often used in the form 住んでいます.
• すむ (すむ (sumu) - Level: N5): Maps to "to live (in a place)" and is used when Always refers to the act of residing in a place. Used with the particle に or で to indicate the location. Conjugates as 住みます.
• 生きる (いきる (ikiru) - Level: N4): Maps to "to live, to exist" and is used when An intransitive verb meaning 'to live' or 'to exist'. It is used to describe the state of being alive for living beings.
• 暮らす (くらす (kurasu) - Level: N4): Maps to "to live; to get along; to spend one's life" and is used when Refers to how one spends their daily life, makes a living, or the general manner of living. Often used with adverbs describing the quality of life.

Mixing these up can easily lead to unnatural translations. Refer to the bilingual context cards below to master the boundaries!