This is a list of Japaneseverb conjugations. Almost all of these are regular, but there are a few Japanese irregular verbs, and the conjugations of the few irregular verbs are also listed. Japanese verb conjugation is the same for all subjects, first person, second person and third person, singular and plural. The present plain form of all verbs ends in u. In modern Japanese, there are no verbs that end in fu, pu, or yu, no verbs ending in zu other than certain する forms, and is the only one ending in nu in the dictionary form. This article describes a set of conjugation rules widely used in order to teach Japanese as a foreign language. However, Japanese linguists have been proposing various grammatical theories for over a hundred years and there is still no consensus about the conjugations. Japanese people learn the more traditional "school grammar" in their schools, which explains the same grammatical phenomena in a different way with different terminology.
Summary of verb conjugations
Verb conjugates are often grouped into consonant-stems and vowel-stems. The plain form of a type I verb has an う u sound, the ～ます -masu form has an い i sound, and the negative form has an あ a sound. The potential form has an え e sound and the volitional form has an おう ō sound.
Table key
The conjugation tables below will include the EDICTword class abbreviations to disambiguate classes with similar word endings. See Japanese consonant and vowel verbs for more information about verb groups and their conjugations.
Abbreviation
Explanation
adj-i
adjective
adj-na
adjectival nouns or quasi-adjectives
adj-t
'taru' adjective
adv-to
adverb taking the 'to' particle
aux
auxiliary
aux-v
auxiliary verb
aux-adj
auxiliary adjective
v1
Ichidan verb
v5
Godan verb
v5aru
Godan verb - -aru special class
v5b
Godan verb with 'bu' ending
v5g
Godan verb with 'gu' ending
v5k
Godan verb with 'ku' ending
v5k-s
Godan verb - Iku/Yuku special class
v5m
Godan verb with 'mu' ending
v5n
Godan verb with 'nu' ending
v5r
Godan verb with 'ru' ending
v5r-i
Godan verb with 'ru' ending
v5s
Godan verb with 'su' ending
v5t
Godan verb with 'tsu' ending
v5u
Godan verb with 'u' ending
v5u-s
Godan verb with 'u' ending
vk
Kuru verb - special class
vs
noun or participle which takes the aux. verb suru
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 :
買い物する kaimono suru: " shop", or " will shop".
明日勉強する ashita benkyō suru: "Tomorrow, 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 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. The perfective is broadly equivalent to the English [|past tense], and is often called the 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 : 本を読んだり、テレビを見たりした hon o yondari, terebi o mitari shita
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 iuta. Usage of the perfective aspect follows the same pattern as the imperfective aspect. For example, 日本に行く nihon ni iku becomes 日本に行った nihon ni itta.
Negative
The basic pattern is: u becomes anai. The ない nai ending conjugates in two ways.
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.
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.
* 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".
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 express mutuality when a transative verb is followed by -合う, which means "to match": 打ち解け合う uchitokeau: "to open up to each other", 誓い合う chikaiau: "to promise each other".
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".
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".
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 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 gall to kill ___".
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 can prefix 物 mono to form 食べ物 tabemono. Similarly with 飲む nomu and 買う kau.
The i form of 賭ける kakeru is a word on its own: 賭け kake, which means "a bet".
離す hanasu can be suffixed to the i form of kiru to form 切り離す kirihanasu.
In most cases, の or こと are used to nominalize a verb, but the i form is also capable of that. There are verbs for which this more natural, predominantly composite verbs, such as those suffixed by the abovementioned -合う.
''te'' form
The te form of a Japanese verb 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
In general, the te form indicates that the verb is operating in conjunction with another verb, which may be left out for various reasons and to various effects.
In requests with くれる kureru and 下さい kudasai. These words may be left off in casual speech, which is usually the reason a sentence ends with a te form. This version of the te form also serves as a light command that is more socially proper than the true imperative.
* 本を読んでください Hon o yonde kudasai: "Please read the book."
The te form is used for a reproach or rebuke, to communicate anger or exasperation on the speaker's part.
A sentence that ends with the te form may be meant to draw attention, either serving the purpose of an exclamation mark or to indicate the speaker isn't done and may want the listener to have a moment to process, may want the listener to give permission to continue, or may want the listener to infer the rest. The latter case is equivalent to ending a sentence in English with "so..."
The te form combined with the dictionary form of "to give" means that there is a favour involved and can be best understood as "doing the favor of". If the te form + "to give" isn't used, the implication is that there's no gratitude.
*-てくれる -te kureru: Used when somebody does you a favour.
*-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 ".
*-て下さる -te kudasaru: Used when a superior does you a favour
*-てあげる -te ageru: Used when you do someone a favour.
*-てもらう -te morau: Used when somebody does you a favour that you have initiated. For instance, an order being delivered is a favour that directly came about due to an action of the speaker. This can be translated with "get them to do " or "make them do "
To combine clauses or adjectives, as if by the English conjunction "and". It might also serve an explanatory function, in which case it's more akin to "because" or "in order to". Note that, just as with English, the order of the clauses may be reversed to create emphasis, in which case the sentence will end on the te form instead of having it in the middle.
*薬局へ行って薬を買う yakkyoku e itte, kusuri o kau: " go to the pharmacy and buy medicine."
*薬を買う薬局へ行って kusuri o kau, yakkyoku e itte: "To buy medicine, go to the pharmacy."
*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."
**寝ている Nete iru: "They are sleeping" / "They keep sleeping" / "They are asleep"
**Colloquially, in this form, the "i" often disappears, 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.
*おる oru: Can express a continuing situation. It is the humble form of いる iru.
*おく oku: To indicate an action in advance of something else. お弁当を作っておいた obentō o tsukutte oita: "I have made a boxed lunch ". 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 shows that something was left in a certain state, generally one of completion. More implicit than te + oku, there's a meaning to te + aru that the action was done in preparation of something else. Combined with a transitive verb, the combination gets a passive meaning: ここに文字が書いてある koko ni moji ga kaite aru: "There are some characters written here". 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.
*みる miru: It means "to try doing". Understand it as "see if I can do".
*見せる miseru: It means "to definitely do". Understand it as "show that I do".
*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.
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".
*-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 "
*-てすみません -te sumimasen: "Sorry for making you go through the trouble of"
*-てよかった -te yokatta: "Thank goodness that"
Potential
The general pattern is: u becomes eru.
Usage
The potential is used to express that one has the ability to do something. Since this is a passive form, what would be a direct object in English is 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 buy 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 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 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 Japanese 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 " 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"
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.
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 beer drunk by a friend".
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: " make do homework".
Letting someone do something: 外で遊ばせる soto de asobaseru: " let 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: " am made to study by 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, would become 待たされる matasareru. Another example such as " was made to buy " 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.
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. 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?" ; 分かればいい wakareba ii - "As long as you understand" ; 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, 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
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. The conditional is also called the "provisional form" in some grammars, because the implied condition is "provided that X happens".
Conditional ''ra'' form
The conditional ra form is formed from the past tense 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 I go to Japan, then 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 and prohibitional forms are 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, or to pets, or in textbook exercises — highly risky for use by learners until cultural nuances have been well and truly mastered. The te form and the i form are preferable in most cases.
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 kudasaikase to iwareta.
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. As with the first usage, this can come off as brusque and rude if used inappropriately
Volitional, presumptive, or hortative
Usage
In general, the volitional form expresses intention, such as in these cases:
In volitional statements: 勉強しよう benkyō shiyō: "Let's study" or "I shall study".
To ask volitional questions: 行こうか ikō ka: "Shall 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: " am thinking of buying ".
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."
