From WikiLang
|
Japanese |
||||
| Japonic | Japanese |  Japan ,  Palau |
Kanji Hiragana Katakana |
|
This page discusses the Te Form which is introduced on the Verbs page. The form itself is rather versatile and is used in a lot of cases, normally with auxiliary verbs. The next few sections will explain some of the common usages.
Contents |
Negative Te Form
I think it is important to first also introduce the Negative Te Form. The Negative Te Form is simply the Japanese Present Negative form + で de. So for example, 待つ matsu > 待たない matanai > 待たないで matanaide.
Please ...
The way one says "Please do something" in Japanese is quite simple. You use te form + 下さい kudasai.
Examples:
- もうゆっくり言って下さい mou yukkuri itte kudasai. Please speak slower!
ちゃんと聞いて下さい chanto kiite kudasai. Listen up carefully please!
妹を齧ないで下さい！ imouto wo kajinaide kudasai. Please don't bite your sister!
A stronger way of saying this is replacing 下さい kudasai with なさい nasai, without it being a direct imperative.
Examples:
- もうゆっくり言ってなさい mou yukkuri itte nasai. Speak slower!
ちゃんと聞いてなさい chanto kiite nasai. Listen up carefully!
妹を齧ないでなさい！ imouto wo kajinaide nasai. Don't bite your sister!
After ...ing
The Te Form can also be used to express "after ...ing". To do this, you use Te Form + kara (after/from) followed by the next action.
Examples:
- 家に帰ってから、夕食を作る ie ni kaette kara, yuushoku wo tsukuru. I make dinner once I'm home (Literally: I make dinner after I return home).
海に行ってから、買いに町へ行った。umi ni itte kara, kaini machi-he itta. After going to the beach, I went to town
Present Continuous
The Te Form in Japanese is used to express present continuous when used with the auxiliary verb いる/います iru/imasu (conjugates as Ichidan). This in English is "...ing".
Examples:
- 今、アルバイトを探しています。ima, arubaito wo sagashite-imasu. I am looking for a job at the moment.
図書館で勉強していました。toshokan-de benkyou shite-imashita. I was studying in the library.
Try to ...
The construct for "try to" in Japanese also uses the Te Form. To make a statement using the "try to" construct you use the Te Form of the verb + みる/みます miru/mimasu (conjugates as a Ichidan).
Examples:
- 寿司を食べてみたいよ！ sushi wo tabete-mitai yo! I want to try (eating) sushi!
Asking Permission
In Japanese the construct for asking things like "may I ..." or answering with "You're not allowed to ..." or "You are allowed to ..." is used with the Te Form.
- 〜てもいい / -te mo ii asks for or states permission to be allowed to do something. Using this as a question implies to the listener that you think they're going to say okay. If you think there is a chance they won't it is better to use the following form.
- ~ていい / -te ii this is a much more colloquial form and basically just omits the mo from the previous form.
Examples:
- ここに座ってもいい？ koko-ni suwatte-mo ii? May I/Can I sit here?
食べてもいいですよ。tabete-mo ii desu yo. You can/are allowed to have/take/eat one (if you want)!
Must Not
To say that one must not do something in Japanese, there are a number of different ways this can be achieved.
- 〜てはだめ / -te wa dame states someones down right forbiddance from doing something. As a question you are asking "Is it possible if I could ..." which implies you think you won't be allowed. It also is used for less serious permission asking.
- 〜てはいけない / -te wa ikenai is the same as the above form, but has a bit more of a serious connotation attached to it.
- ~てはならない / -te wa naranai is the same as the above forms, but has a bit of a lighter tone.
Examples:
取ってはだめですか？ totte-wa dame desu ka. Would I be allowed to take/have it/one?
入ってはだめだよ！ haitte-wa dame da yo! You're not allowed in here! (Literally: You are not allowed to enter)
エッチなのをしてはいけないと思います。 ecchi-na no wo shite-wa ikenai to omoimasu. I think doing naughty (dirty) things should not be allowed! (Literally:I think doing naught things is/should not be allowed).
These endings can be shortened in casual speech, but only in casual speech.
- If the ending ends in ては this can be shortened to ちゃ
- If the ending ends in では this can be shortened to じゃ
Must
While some of these forms don't use the te form, they work similarly to the other te forms so I included them here anyway.
- The first form is the same as the must not forms listed above except that you use the negative te form instead.
- The second form uses the negative form of the verb followed by と then the same three endings as above are attached.
- The third form uses the negative conditional ば form followed by the same three endings as above.
A neat thing about these forms is that they can be easily abbreviated in casual speech. Just don't forget that this is merely in casual speech and you would not want to use these forms in a more serious conversation. Also, these forms don't require the use of the だめ/いけない/ならない endings.
- なくては becomes なくちゃ
- なければ becomes なきゃ
Want Something Done
Like with the request for an object, you can use the hoshii form with the te form of a verb to express that you would like something done. This is a bit more rude than the normal request, but you may encounter it sometimes. Especially when dealing with a superior giving orders or something of that nature.
Examples:
- 日産株式会社に送ってほしい。nissankabushikikaisha ni okuttehoshii. I want you to escort me to Nissan.
Favors
When talking about a favor done in Japanese one attaches a form of the verb to give or to receive to the te form depending on the doer and receiver of the action.
Ageru
When the speaker is the one doing the favor for somebody else, then the form ageru is used and takes the conjugation that the verb would normally take that was put into the te form.
Examples:
- これを買ってあげるよ。kore wo katteageru yo. I will do you the favor of buying this for you.
Kureru
When the speaker is the one receiving the favor from somebody else, then the form kureru is used and also takes the conjugation that the verb would normally take that was put into the te form.
Examples:
- その物を買ってくれるの。sono mono wo kattekureru no. Will you do me the favor of buying that thing for me?
Yaru
Yaru can be used in place of ageru only when referring to animals and the like, such as when saying something like you're doing the dog a favor by feeding it or something.
Morau
Morau is also used to indicate that you received a favor from somebody else.
Using Kureru and Moraeru for requests
Kureru and Moraeru can also be used for requests. It is formed the same way except that you ask it as a question rather than making it a statement. Like the kudasai form, if you want to make a negative request, you use the naide form rather than the negative te form.
| Japanese pages
|
|---|
| Introduction · Adjectives （形容詞） · Auxiliaries （助辞） · Emphatics （語尾） · Euphony （音便） · Kana （仮名） · Kanji （漢字）: Comparisons (漢字の比べ） · Loanwords （伝来語） · Numbers （数詞） · Te Form （テ形） · Time (時間） · Particles （助詞） · Verbs （動詞）: Example （動詞の例） · Lexicon |
