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This question is to confirm that the two verbs (to buy and to have) are
homophones.

> わたしはねこをかっています。

Could the above sentence be translated to "I have a cat" as well as "I am
buying a cat"? Are there other ways to phrase the above sentence that are more
specific to "buying" vs "having"?
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2017-11-28T20:10:55.693
54816
2017-11-29T16:42:02.837
2017-11-29T16:42:02.837
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question
homonyms
Translation of "to buy a cat" vs "to own a cat"
Yes, they are homophones, and this is why kanji is important.

  * [買]{か}う → to buy
  * [飼]{か}う → to keep/raise

I guess it _could_ technically be used to say "I'm buying a cat", but no one
would ever think that if they heard you say it. If you really wanted to convey
the fact that the action you're currently doing is buying a cat, you'd be
better off using [購入]{こう・にゅう}している or 買いつつある.

>   * 今は猫を購入しているところです。  
>  OR
>   * 今は猫を買いつつあります。
>

Even then, the latter is kind of suspect and could be ambiguous.
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2017-11-28T20:55:43.747
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2017-11-28T20:55:43.747
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answer