The meaning of 存在だ


Example from a dialog:

> なにか あったら 話すし、なんでも話せる 存在だし

Approximate translation:

> We'd talk whenever something happened, I could talk to you about anything

My dictionary says that 存在 means "existence; being; subsistence". The 存在だ in
my example is related to this meaning, but it must carry some nuance that I
don't understand. How would the meaning change if 存在だ was deleted from the
sentence? Is it kinda similar to なんでも話せることがあるし?




This 存在 is indeed "being" or "existence", but it substitutes not もの/こと but
人/人間 here. なんでも話せる存在だ is roughly the same as なんでも話せる人だ, or "[you] are someone
who I can talk about anything with".

This type of 存在 commonly appears as a replacement of 人 or 物 when talking about
the meaning/significance of that person/thing.

  * 彼にとって私はどういう存在なの？  
What do I mean to him? / What kind of person am I to him?  
(存在 = 人間)

  * 現代人にとってスマホは欠かせない存在だ。  
A smartphone is something indispensable for modern people.  
(存在 = もの)

なんでも話せることがある would mean something totally different ("There are many things I
can talk about with you").




This 存在 is indeed "being" or "existence", but it substitutes not もの/こと but
人/人間 here. なんでも話せる存在だ is roughly the same as なんでも話せる人だ, or "[you] are someone
who I can talk about anything with".

This type of 存在 commonly appears as a replacement of 人 or 物 when talking about
the meaning/significance of that person/thing.

  * 彼にとって私はどういう存在なの？  
What do I mean to him? / What kind of person am I to him?  
(存在 = 人間)

  * 現代人にとってスマホは欠かせない存在だ。  
A smartphone is something indispensable for modern people.  
(存在 = もの)

なんでも話せることがある would mean something totally different ("There are many things I
can talk about with you").

