Japanese verb conjugation

Summary of verb conjugations

Verb conjugates are often grouped into consonant-stems (五段動詞, godandōshi) (type I) and vowel-stems (一段動詞, ichidandōshi, いる, iru and える eru forms) (type II). The plain form of a type I verb has an う u sound (u, tsu, ru, ku, gu, bu, mu, su), the ～ます -masu form has an い i sound (i, chi, ri, ki, gi, bi, mi, shi), and the negative form has an あ a sound (wa, ta, ra, ka, ga, ba, ma, sa). The potential form has an え e sound (e, te, re, ke, ge, be, me, se) and the volitional form has an おう ō sound (ō, tō, rō, kō, gō, bō, mō, sō).

Table key

The conjugation tables below will include the edict word class abbreviations to disambiguate classes with similar word endings. See Japanese consonant and vowel verbs for more information about verb groups and their conjugations.

Imperfective

In Japanese, the basic verb form is an imperfective aspect. It is broadly equivalent to the present and future tenses of English, and is sometimes called the "non-past tense". The imperfective form of a verb is the same as its dictionary form—it is used as the headword, or lemma—and no conjugation needs to be done. For example, using the verb する ("do"):

(私は)買い物する (watashi wa) kaimono suru: "(I) shop", or "(I) will shop". (Japanese pronouns are usually omitted when it is clear about whom the speaker is talking.)

(私は)明日勉強する (watashi wa) ashita benkyō suru: "Tomorrow, (I) will study".

In most cases, the base form of the imperfective aspect cannot be used to make a progressive statement, such as in the English sentence "I am shopping". Rather, it can only be used to express habit or other actions that are expected to continue into the future, such as in "I shop". To convey the former, the te form with iru must be used.

Patterns for adjectives in an imperfective setting are:

Perfective

The perfective aspect, on the other hand, has a specific suffix. The basic pattern is the -ta (or -da) ending, but various phonetic changes are made, depending on the verb's last syllable. These phonetic changes are known as 音便 onbin "euphony", and the resulting form as 音便形 onbinkei "euphonic form" – see Euphonic changes (音便 onbin). The perfective is broadly equivalent to English past tense, and is often called past tense in treatments of Japanese grammar, but it is not restricted to any single tense.

N.B.: A verb not ending in -iru or -eru in its Latin transcription is not an ichidan verb, and it follows that it is then either godan or irregular.

Usage

Non-exhaustive list of actions (like AやB is used for non-exhaustive lists of objects): 本を読んだり、テレビを見たりした hon o yondari, terebi o mitari shita (I read a book, watched TV, etc.)

Note that the perfective conjugation for verbs ending in -う more commonly follows the v5u-s pattern listed above for speakers of Western Japanese. The う in the perfective ending -うた may be pronounced either as an u or as an o depending on the preceding vowel, according to regular Japanese phonological rules. Consequently, in Kansai, one may hear forms such as つかう tsukau → つこうた tsukōta, or いう iu → いうた yuuta.

Usage of the perfective aspect follows the same pattern as the imperfective aspect. For example, 日本に行く nihon ni iku (I go to Japan) becomes 日本に行った nihon ni itta (I went to Japan).

Negative

The basic pattern is: u becomes anai (informal).

The ない nai ending conjugates in two ways.

1. As an i adjective. For example, the past tense of 食べない tabenai is 食べなかった tabenakatta and the te form is 食べなくて tabenakute.
2. There is a special te/naide form made by adding で de which yields ないで naide – this can be replaced with ず zu in formal usage.
3. Requesting someone to cease/desist: 食べないで下さい tabenaide kudasai "Please don't eat (this)"
4. Joining a subordinate clause: 食べないで、寝た。 tabenaide, neta "Without eating, I went to bed."

i form

The i form, or 連用形 ren'yōkei, is very regular, and in almost all cases it is formed by replacing the u with i. Phonetically, this changes す su to し shi, and つ tsu to ち chi.

Usage

The i form has many uses, typically as a prefix. These include:

To form polite verbs when followed by the -ます -masu ending: 行く iku → 行きますikimasu, 使う tsukau → 使います tsukaimasu.

To express a wish when followed by the ending -たい -tai: 食べたい tabetai: "I want to eat it", 行きたい ikitai: "I want to go". (The -tai ending conjugates as an -い -i adjective.)

To express a strong negative intention when followed by -はしない -wa shinai: 行きはしないよあんな所 iki wa shinai yo, anna tokoro "no way I'm going someplace like that".

To form a command when followed by

-なさい -nasai: これを食べなさい kore o tabenasai: "eat this", あそこへ行きなさい asoko e ikinasai: "go over there".

-な -na: 真っすぐ帰りな massugu kaerina "go straight home": 仲良く遊びな nakayoku asobina "play nice". (Used with children, etc.)

To express that something is easy or hard when followed by -易い -yasui or -難い -nikui: したしみ易い shitashimiyasui: "easy to befriend": 分かり難い wakarinikui: "hard to understand".

To express excessiveness when followed by the verb -過ぎる -sugiru: 飲み過ぎる nomisugiru: "to drink too much". (sugiru can also be used with the stems of adjectives.)

To express doing something in conjunction with something else. When followed by the suffix -ながら -nagara, the verb becomes an adverb that means doing something while doing something else.

歩きながら本を読んだ arukinagara hon o yonda: "I read a book as I walked."

When followed by the verb -やがる -yagaru in harsher colloquial speech to express affronted contempt (a conjugation of opposite polarity to the honorifics) showing disrespect in the form of hatred combined with haughty/macho disdain for the doer/subject of the action/verb: 殺しやがる koroshiyagaru: "to have the <expletive> gall to kill ___" (e.g. without my permission). (The te form can be substituted for the i form.)

The i form also has some uses on its own, such as:

To express purpose, with に ni: 食べに行きました tabe ni ikimashita: "I went there to eat". This is called the infinitive of purpose.

In formal honorifics such as お使い下さい o tsukai kudasai: "Please use this".

In conjunctions in formal writing.

For some verbs, the i form also forms part of related words in ways that are not governed by any general rules. For example:

The i form of 食べる taberu (to eat) can prefix 物 mono to form 食べ物 tabemono (food). Similarly with 飲む nomu (to drink) and 買う kau (to buy).

The i form of 賭ける kakeru (to bet) is a word on its own: 賭け kake, which means "a bet".

離す hanasu (to separate) can be suffixed to the i form of kiru (to cut) to form 切り離す kirihanasu (to cut off).

te form

The te form of a Japanese verb (sometimes called the "participle") is used when the verb has some kind of connection to the following words. This originally came from the combination of the "i" form described above plus the particle "te". For all verbs, it is formed by changing the -a of the perfective aspect form to -e. Adjectives behave slightly differently.

Usage

As a simple command:

食べて Tabete: "Eat."

読んで Yonde: "Read."

In requests with くれる kureru and 下さい kudasai.

本を読んでください Hon o yonde kudasai: "Please read the book."

With the verbs :

いる iru: Forms a progressive or continuous tense. For example: 待っている matte iru: "I am waiting", 知っている shitte iru: "I know", 持っている motte iru: "I have", ここに住んでいる koko ni sunde iru: "I live here". Colloquially, in this form, the "i" often disappears (also in the past tense), so 待っている matte iru becomes 待ってる matteru and 知っている shitte iru becomes 知ってる shitteru.

おく oku: To indicate a preparatory action in advance. お弁当を作っておいた obentō o tsukutte oita: "I have made a boxed lunch (for later)". Colloquially, in this form, the "e" often disappears, so 作っておいた tsukutte oita becomes 作っといた tsukuttoita.

ある aru: This forms a kind of passive when used with a transitive verb. ここに文字が書いてある koko ni moji ga kaite aru: "There are some characters written here". It shows that something was left in a certain state. Contrast to 書いている "kaite iru", "I am writing", which applies to the person doing the writing rather than what is written.

しまう shimau: This implies something is completed or done, usually unintentionally or accidentally or unexpectedly and sometimes expressing that the action is contrary to right or correct action: 片付けてしまった katazukete shimatta: "I have finished tidying". It can also suggest a regrettable situation: 私の鍵が消えてしまった watashi no kagi ga kiete shimatta: "My keys have disappeared". The form -てしまう -te shimau is shortened to the very commonly used and casual -ちまう -chimau or -ちゃう -chau with the same consonant doubling as the te form. For example, "I forgot my mobile phone!": "keitai wasurechatta!" "携帯忘れちゃった！" The -de shimau form is shortened to -じゃう -jau or -じまう -jimau in colloquial speech.

おる oru: Can express a continuing situation. It is the humble form of いる iru.

みる miru: It means "to try doing".

いく iku: Can express continuous action or a change of state in the future.

くる kuru: Can express continuous action or a change of state in the past.

To combine clauses or adjectives, as if by the English conjunction "and". For example:

薬局へ行って薬を買う yakkyoku e itte, kusuri o kau: "(I am going to) go to the pharmacy and buy medicine."

あの人は親切で頭が良くて分かり易い ano hito wa shinsetsu de, atama ga yokute, wakariyasui: "That person is kind, smart, and easy to understand."

安くていいね yasukute ii ne: "It's good that it's cheap." (lit. "Being cheap, it is good.")

With particles in formations such as

-てはいけない -te wa ikenai: "You must not ...". For example, 食べてはいけない tabete wa ikenai: "You must not eat this". (Other words of prohibition, such as だめ dame, can be substituted for ikenai.)

-てもいい -te mo ii: "You may do/It's ok if you do". For example, 食べてもいい tabete mo ii: "You may eat it".

-てもかまわない -te mo kamawanai: "You may do/I don't mind if you do"

-て欲しい -te hoshii: "I want you to do (for me)"

-てすみません -te sumimasen: "Sorry for making you go through the trouble of"

-てくれてありがとう　-te kurete arigatou: "Thank you for". For example, ”見てくれてありがとう” mite kurete arigatou: "Thank you for watching".

-てくれる -te kureru: Used when somebody does you a favor.

-てあげる -te ageru: Used when you do someone a favor.

Potential

The general pattern is: u becomes eru.

Usage

The potential is used to express that one has the ability to do something. Direct objects are marked with the particle が ga instead of を o. For example, 日本語が読める nihongo ga yomeru: "I can read Japanese".

It is also used to request some action from someone, in the exact sense of the English "Can you ... ?" For example, 「コーヒー買える？」 kōhī kaeru?: "Can (you) buy (some) coffee?" However, sometimes in English "Will you...?" and "Can you ... ?" is used interchangeably to make requests. Though it is possible in Japanese, 「コーヒー買う？」 kōhī kau?, it is very casual and might also mean simply "Are you buying/Will you buy coffee?" in a very dry factual sense.

Unlike in English, the potential is not often used to express permission (as in the sentence "Can I eat this apple?") as it is almost always understood to mean "Do I have the ability to eat this apple?": 「このりんごが食べられる？」 kono ringo ga taberareru?. And since the -reru form is more often used in speech than the more standard passive potential form -rareru, and subjects are often implied in Japanese, it may implicitly be asking (in this case) if the apple is edible. So, to seek permission, a more polite form is used, such as the -てもいい -te mo ii or more casual -ていい "-te ii"" usage of the -て -te form, resulting in something literally more like "Is eating this apple OK?" 「このりんごを食べてもいいですか？」 Kono ringo o tabete mo ii desu ka? or 「このりんごを食べていい？」 Kono ringo o tabete ii?.

The potential -ru ending conjugates as a vowel stem verb.

Consonants and vowels conjugate differently, see consonant and vowel conjugation.

There is no potential equivalent for です; other constructions for expressing may-be situations are used:

Using かもしれない expression. For verbs: 「明日降るかもしれない」 ashita furu kamo shirenai "It may rain tomorrow.", i-adj: 「旅行は高いかもしれない」 ryokou wa takai kamo shirenai "The journey is perhaps expensive.", na-adj: 「大切かもしれない」 taisetsu kamo shirenai "(This thing is) probably important."

Using adverbs. 「恐らく降る」 osoraku furu "It probably will rain", 「たぶん降る」 tabun furu "Perhaps it will rain"

(A rather strange and archaic-literary-sounding possibility is by transforming です to である and then constructing the potential, であり得る.)

Passive

The general pattern for the passive voice is: -u becomes -areru.

The -る -ru ending of the passives becomes the new verb ending. This conjugates as a vowel stem verb. Thus past, -て -te, or polite forms can all be added to the verb.

The copula, だ da, does not form a passive.

For the -ます masu form, the -ます -masu is added to the passive of the plain verb.

Usage

The passive is used:

as a passive: このテレビは東芝によって作られた kono terebi wa Toshiba ni yotte tsukurareta: "This TV was made by Toshiba."

as a suffering passive, indicating that a regrettable thing was done to someone: 私は友達にビールを飲まれた watashi wa tomodachi ni biiru o nomareta: "I had (my) beer drunk by a friend" (and I am not happy about it).

as a form of respectful language: どちらへ行かれますか dochira e ikaremasu ka: "Where are you going?"

Causative

The causative forms are characterized by the final u becoming aseru for consonant stem verbs, and ru becoming saseru for vowel stem verbs.

The -ru ending of the causative form becomes the new verb ending. This conjugates as a vowel stem verb.

Negatives are not normally made into causatives. Instead, a negative ending is added to the causative of the verb. Thus, for example, Tabesasenai: "Do not let eat".

Adjectives are made causative by using the adverb form plus saseru.

A shortened causative form exists where the final -u becoming -asu for consonant stem verbs, and -ru becoming -sasu for vowel stem verbs.

Usage

The causative is used for:

Making someone do something: 宿題をさせる shukudai o saseru: "(I) make (him) do homework".

Letting someone do something: 外で遊ばせる soto de asobaseru: "(I) let (him) play outside".

With explicit actors: 先生が子供に勉強をさせた sensei ga kodomo ni benkyō o saseta: "The teacher made the children study."

The honorific forms させて貰う sasete morau or させて頂く sasete itadaku using the verbs 貰う morau or its humble equivalent 頂く itadaku.

Causative passive

The causative passive form is obtained by first conjugating in the causative form and then conjugating the result in the passive form.

Usage

As its rule suggests, the causative passive is used to express causation passively: 両親に勉強させられる ryōshin ni benkyō saserareru: "(I) am made to study by (my) parents".

Because words such as 待たせられる mataserareru are considered to be difficult to pronounce, frequently in colloquial speech, the middle part of the causative passive would contract. That is, 待たせられる mataserareru (I was made to wait), would become 待たされる matasareru. Another example such as "(I) was made to buy (something)" would formally be 買わせられた kawaserareta from the verb 買う kau, but colloquially, it is frequently contracted to 買わされた kawasareta. This abbreviation is not used for vowel-stem verbs, nor for the irregular する suru and くる kuru.

Provisional Conditional eba form

The eba provisional conditional form is characterized by the final -u becoming -eba for all verbs (with the semi-exception of -tsu verbs becoming -teba).

na adjectives and nouns are usually used with the なら nara conditional, instead of with であれば de areba.

The なければ nakereba form used for the negative form can be colloquially contracted to なきゃ nakya or なくちゃ nakucha (this has roots in なくては). Thus 行かなければ ikanakereba can become 行かなきゃ ikanakya.

Usage

The -eba provisional conditional form is used:

In conditionals where the emphasis rests more on the condition than the result. For example: 何をすればいいか nani o sureba ii ka - "What should I do?" (lit. "It would be good if I did what?") ; 分かればいい wakareba ii - "As long as you understand" (lit. "If you understand, it is good.") ; 時間があれば買い物をしよう jikan ga areba, kaimono wo shiyō - "If there's time, let's go shopping."

Expressing obligations: The expression なければならない nakereba naranai (or in a more formal manner なければなりません nakereba narimasen), where なる naru is the verb “to become”, means literally “if you don’t…, it’s no good” or in other words “you must” or “you have to”. The negative “don’t have to …” is expressed with なくてもいい - nakute mo ii. For example: 自己紹介は日本語でなければなりません Jiko shoukai wa Nihongo de nakereba narimasen ("Your self-introduction must be in Japanese.")

The nakereba negative conditional form means "if not X" or also "unless X". It is obtained by replacing the final -i of the plain negative form with -kereba. (tabenakereba: "if I don't eat" or "unless I eat")

The conditional is also called the "provisional form" in some grammars, because the implied condition is "provided that X happens" (mireba shiru: "provided that you see, you'll know" = "if you see, you'll know").

Conditional ra form

The conditional ra form (also called the past conditional) is formed from the past tense (TA form) by simply adding ra. ba can be further added to that, which makes it more formal.

Usage

The conditional ra form can be used in the same way as the provisional eba form. However, it implies more certainty about the condition, and therefore places more emphasis on the result than the condition. It can be used to mean more like "if and when", and is typically preferred over the eba form when this meaning is more accurate. For example:

日本に行ったら、カメラを買いたい。nihon ni ittara, kamera wo kaitai: "If (when) I go to Japan, then (when that has happened) I want to buy a camera."

The conditional ra form can also be used when the main clause is in the past tense. In such situations, it means "when", and carries the additional implication that the result was unexpected. For example:

喫茶店に行ったら、鈴木さんに出会った。kissaten ni ittara, Suzuki-san ni deatta: "When I went to the cafe, I came across Suzuki."

Imperative

Most of the imperative forms are characterized by the final u becoming e.

The v5aru rule for polite verbs ending in -ru applies to the consonant-stem honorific verbs irassharu, ossharu, kudasaru, gozaru, and nasaru, whose imperative forms are the same as their irregular i forms.

Usage

The imperative form is used

in orders, such as in the military, or to inferiors, or to very intimate friends or family depending on the nature of the relationship (e.g., among very close male friends), or in textbook exercises — highly risky for use by learners until cultural nuances have been well and truly mastered

in set phrases such as nani shiro: "no matter what".

in reported speech, where a polite request may be reported using a plain imperative: kashite kudasai (direct) kase to iwareta (he told me to lend it to him).

on traffic signs or mandatory action labels such as tomare: "STOP".

in motivational speech, especially when it is perceived as directed at a collective, rather than individual, listener (e.g., 「頑張れ！」 ganbare!, "Do your best!"). As with the first usage, this can come off as brusque and rude if used inappropriately

Volitional (Presumptive, Hortative)

Usage

In general, the volitional form expresses intention, such as in these cases:

In volitional ("let's" or "I shall") statements: 勉強しよう benkyō shiyō: "Let's study" or "I shall study".

To ask volitional ("shall we") questions: 行こうか ikō ka: "Shall (we) go?"

To express a conjecture with deshō: 明日晴れるでしょう ashita hareru deshō: "Tomorrow will probably be sunny."

To express what one is thinking of doing, via 思う omou: 買おうと思う kaō to omou: "(I) am thinking of buying (it)".

In the form しようとする shiyō to suru: be about to or be trying to. 犬が吠えようとしている Inu ga hoeyō to shite iru: "The dog is about to bark."