Japanese:Verbs

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日本語 Japanese
Family	Sub-family	Language of	Script
Japonic	Japanese	Japan , Palau	Kanji Hiragana Katakana

Japanese verbs conjugate quite vigorously compared to other languages. Japanese verbs conjugate not only by tense and aspect, but have a whole range of additional forms and auxiliaries that can be added to the verbs. The verbs are nearly 100% regular with there only being a mere four total irregular verbs. The thing with Japanese verbs is that you can conjugate on top of most conjugations to form some really evil long verbs, which is half the fun.

Classification of Japanese Verbs

Japanese verbs are classified into multiple groups. For the use of conjugation, they are grouped into what are sometimes (and here will be) called godan (or five-step) and ichidan (or one-step).

Verbs are also classified by aspect. In Japanese, most verbs have both a transitive (referred to as vt in dictionaries normally) and an intransitive verb (referred to as vi in dictionaries).

Telling them Apart

There are some basic rules for telling the two apart. Observe below:

This needs to be checked

Godan (five-step)

Are verbs that:

In dictionary form:
- End in -ru (which aren't ichidan), -ku, -su, -mu, -bu, -u, -tsu, -gu, -nu
In -masu form:
- End in -imasu

Examples:

inoru/inorimasu (to pray), kiku/kikimasu (to listen), nokosu/nokoshimasu (to leave behind), nusumu/nusumimasu (to steal), asobu/asobimasu (to play), okonau/okonaimasu (be carried out), matsu/machimasu (to wait), oyogu/oyogimasu (to swim), shinu/shinimasu (to die)

Ichidan (one-step)

Are verbs that:

In dictionary form:
- End in -eru
- That are formated like <vowel><consonant>iru
- Have one kana before -ru
- Ends in -jiru
In -masu form:
- End in -emasu
- Have one syllable before -masu
- Are formated like <vowel><consonant>imasu

Examples:

neru/nemasu (to sleep), dekakeru/dekakemasu (to go out), taberu/tabemasu (to eat), abiru/abimasu (to shower), okiru/okimasu (to wake, kajiru/kajimasu (to bite))

Verb Stems

There is 5 basic stem forms which other verbs can be built off. For simplification, we give you the steps to build the verb conjugations from either the 基本形 / kihonkei / plain form or the masu form.

i Stem / 連用形 / Verb Stem

The i verb stem / 連用形 / continuative form (commonly referred to as simply "the verb stem") is used quite often with auxiliary verbs. To form the verb stem:

From Plain Form:
- Change the final -u to -i.
From -masu Form:
- Drop the final -masu.

Examples of Verb Stems
English	Plain Form	-Masu	Stem
Wait	matsu 待つ	machimasu　待ちます	machi　待ち
Play	asobu 遊ぶ	asobimasu　遊びます	asobi　遊び
Listen	kiku　聞く	kikimasu　聞きます	kiki　聞き
Swim	oyogu　泳ぐ	oyogimasu　泳ぎます	oyogi　泳ぎ
Leave	nokosu　残す	nokoshimasu　残します	nokoshi　残し
Eat	taberu　食べる	tabemasu　食べます	tabe　食べ

Masu Form

Masu form is the more formal version of verbs which one is recommended to use in everyday speech. All verbs in masu form, as you could guess, end in -masu (～ます). Masu verb forms are not found in the dictionary, but rather you would find dictionary or plain form.

These are formed by adding ～ます / -masu to the i Stem. Similarly, "the verb stems" is formed by dropping the -masu (～ます) from the masu form of the verb.

u Stem / 基本形 / Plain Form

The u verb stem / 基本形 / plain form / dictionary form / terminative form effectively the infinitive of the Japanese verbs. Most dictionaries will list verbs using these forms and these forms are also often used with auxiliaries.

Conjugations

This section aims to cover the basic conjugations of Japanese verbs. Both Dictionary forum and -masu forum will be given as well as examples to illustrate how it works.

Simple Past

Japanese simple past form is formed like this:

For dictionary form verbs:
- GODAN: drop the final syllable/kana and:
  - If it ends in -u, -ru or -tsu, add +tta
  - If it ends in -bu, -mu or -nu, add +nda
  - If it ends in -ku, add +ita
  - If it ends in -gu, add +ida
  - If it ends in -su, add +shita
- ICHIDAN: drop the final -ru and:
  - add +ta

For -masu form verbs:
- For both GODAN and ICHIDAN: drop -masu and:
  - add +mashita

Examples of Simple Past
English Past	Plain Infinitve	Plain Past	-Masu	-Mashita
Waited	matsu 待つ	matta　待った	machimasu　待ちます	machimashita　待ちました
Played	asobu　遊ぶ	asonda　遊んだ	asobimasu　遊びます	asobimashita　遊びました
Listened	kiku　聞く	kiita　聞いた	kikimasu　聞きます	kikimashita　聞きました
Swam	oyogu　泳ぐ	oyoida　泳いだ	oyogimasu　泳ぎます	oyogimashita　泳ぎました
Left	nokosu　残す	nokoshita　残した	nokoshimasu　残します	nokoshimashita　残しました
Ate	taberu　食べる	tabeta　食べた	tabemasu　食べます	tabemashita　食べました

Present Negative

Japanese is an odd language in that is has a negative form of the verb rather than a separate particle or auxiliary verb like some languages. Japanese present negative form is formed like this:

For dictionary form verbs:
- GODAN: change the final -*u kana to -*a (for example, ku > ka, su > sa etc) then, add +nai
- ICHIDAN: drop the final -ru and:
  - add +nai

For -masu form verbs:
- For both GODAN and ICHIDAN: drop -masu and:
  - add +masen

(NOTE: The English sounds like it is Imperative, but it is not!)

Examples of Present Negative
English Past	Plain Infinitve	Present Negative	-Masu	-Masen
Don't Wait	matsu 待つ	matanai　待たない	machimasu　待ちます	machimasen　待ちません
Don't Play	asobu　遊ぶ	asobanai　遊ばない	asobimasu　遊びます	asobimasen　遊びません
Don't Listen	kiku　聞く	kikanai　聞かない	kikimasu　聞きます	kikimasen　聞きません
Don't Swim	oyogu　泳ぐ	oyoganai　泳がない	oyogimasu　泳ぎます	oyogimasen　泳ぎません
Not Left	nokosu　残す	nokosanai　残さない	nokoshimasu　残します	nokoshimasen　残しません
Don't Eat	taberu　食べる	tabenai　食べない	tabemasu　食べます	tabemasen　食べません

Past Negative

Japanese forms all sorts of odd combinations with its conjunctions, and the past negative is one of them. The rules are as follow:

For dictionary form verbs:
- GODAN: change the final -*u kana to -*a (for example, ku > ka, su > sa etc) then, add +nakatta
- ICHIDAN: drop the final -ru and:
  - add +nakatta

For -masu form verbs:
- For both GODAN and ICHIDAN: drop -masu and:
  - add +masendeshita

Examples of Past Negative
English Past	Plain Infinitve	Past Negative	-Masu	-Masendeshita
Didn't Wait	matsu 待つ	matanakatta　待たなかった	machimasu　待ちます	machimasendeshita　待ちませんでした
Didn't Play	asobu　遊ぶ	asobanakatta　遊ばなかった	asobimasu　遊びます	asobimasendeshita　遊びませんでした
Didn't Listen	kiku　聞く	kikanakatta　聞かなかった	kikimasu　聞きます	kikimasendeshita　聞きませんでした
Didn't Swim	oyogu　泳ぐ	oyoganakatta　泳がなかった	oyogimasu　泳ぎます	oyogimasendeshita　泳ぎませんでした
Didn't Leave	nokosu　残す	nokosanakatta　残さなかった	nokoshimasu　残します	nokoshimasendeshita　残しませんでした
Didn't Eat	taberu　食べる	tabenakatta　食べなかった	tabemasu　食べます	tabemasendeshita　食べませんでした

The Past Negative form actually works like the transition from I-Adjectives to their Past Form, dropping -i and then adding katta.

~Te Form

This is a form in Japanese which is unique to the language. It has many many many uses which are explained on the Te Form page. The Te Form is formed identical to Simple Past, only instead of ta/da, it ends with te/de. There is also a Negative Te Form.

For dictionary form verbs:
- GODAN: drop the final syllable/kana and:
  - If it ends in -u, -ru or -tsu, add +tte
  - If it ends in -bu, -mu or -nu, add +nde
  - If it ends in -ku, add +ite
  - If it ends in -gu, add +ide
  - If it ends in -su, add +shite
- ICHIDAN: drop the final -ru and:
  - add +te

For -masu form verbs:
- This form only occurs as a very polite ending for which you:
  - Drop -masu and add +mashite

The -masu verbs will not be listed in the examples below.

Examples of Te Form
English Past	Plain Infinitve	Te Form
Wait	matsu 待つ	matte　待って
Play	asobu　遊ぶ	asonde　遊んで
Listen	kiku　聞く	kiite　聞いて
Swim	oyogu　泳ぐ	oyoide　泳いで
Leave	nokosu　残す	nokoshite　残して
Eat	taberu　食べる	tabete　食べて

Potential

The potential form in Japanese expresses the ability to do something. Please note this can also be done by using 〜ことができる / -koto ga dekiru (see Japanese auxiliaries for more information)

For dictionary form verbs:
- GODAN: change the final -*u kana to -*e (for example, ku > ke, su > se etc) then, add +ru
- ICHIDAN: drop the final -ru and:
  - add +reru

For -masu form verbs:
- Form the potential form as in dictionary form, then:
  - Remove the final -ru
  - Add -masu

Examples of Potential
English Potential	Plain Infinitve	Present Potential	-Imasu	-Emasu
Can Wait	matsu 待つ	materu　待てる	machimasu　待ちます	matemasu　待てます
Can Play	asobu　遊ぶ	asoberu　遊べる	asobimasu　遊びます	asobemasu　遊べます
Can Listen	kiku　聞く	kikoeru　聞こえる *	kikimasu　聞きます	kikoemasu　聞こえます *
Can Swim	oyogu　泳ぐ	oyogeru 泳げる	oyogimasu　泳ぎます	oyogemasu　泳げます
Can Leave	nokosu　残す	nokoseru　残せる	nokoshimasu　残します	nokosemasu　残せます
Can Eat	taberu　食べる	tabereru　食べれる	tabemasu　食べます	taberemasu　食べれます

Notes:

The new potential verb form can conjugate just like any other verb as an ICHIDAN verb. (For example: past tense, negative or causative).
This form is NOT used for asking permission. See here: Asking Permission.
聞く / kiku has a set potential verb already which is 聞こえる / kikoeru. 聞ける / kikeru is possible, but the first is preferred. 見る / miru (to watch) also has a similar verb which is 見える / mieru.

Volitional Form

The volitional form of a verb is very simple. This has an effect similar to the expression "let's..." or "shall we...". It can be created in plain form by taking the verb ending from godan verbs, dropping the u and adding ~ou onto the end of it. For ichidan verbs, you drop the ru ending and add ~you onto the end of it. The masu ending simply becomes mashou.

For dictionary form verbs:
- GODAN: drop the final syllable/kana and:
  - If it ends in -u, -ru or -tsu, add +ou, rou, tou respectively
  - If it ends in -bu, -mu or -nu, add +bou, mou, nou respectively
  - If it ends in -ku, add +kou
  - If it ends in -gu, add +gou
  - If it ends in -su, add +sou
- ICHIDAN: drop the final -ru and:
  - add +you

For -masu form verbs:
- This form only occurs as a very polite ending for which you:
  - Drop -masu and add +mashou