Mastering Japanese Verb Conjugation Quick
Learning Japanese grammar can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be. If you learn conjugation tables online or buy any Japanese textbook, you will have everything you need to know. With only a few exceptions, if you memorize a word in its root or dictionary form, you have all the information necessary to use the verb in any form.
INDEX
Japanese Verb Endings
All Japanese verbs end in a -u sound.
Unlike English, where the basic unit of pronunciation is an individual letter, Japanese pronunciation is based on syllables. A syllable in Japanese is either a vowel (あ, い, う, え, お) or a consonant followed by a vowel. This means that each hiragana character represents one syllable.
Japanese verbs always end in one of the following eight sounds:
- う (u)
- く (ku)
- ぐ (gu)
- す (su)
- つ (tsu)
- ぬ (nu)
- ぶ (bu)
- む (mu)
- る (ru)
The most common ending is る (ru) because two of the three main Japanese verb groups (discussed later) use this ending.
Verb Forms in the First Verb Group (五段動詞, ごだんどうし, godan doushi)
For now, let’s focus on godan verbs, which conjugate in a specific pattern. This group of verbs have the most variety of endings, and things to remember.
Dictionary Form
This is the base form of the verb, as found in dictionaries.
- 書く (kaku) – to write
- 泳ぐ (oyogu) – to swim
- 読む (yomu) – to read
You use this form at the end of a sentence, or when modifying a noun.
- 人が書く – A person writes
- 書く人 – The person who writes
Command Form (命令形, めいれいけい, meireikei)
To give a direct command, replace the final -u with -e.
- 書け (kake!) – Write!
- 泳げ (oyoge!) – Swim!
- 読め (yome!) – Read!
Conditional Form (仮定形, かていけい, kateikei)
Adding ば (ba) to the command form makes it conditional (“if…”).
- 書けば (kakeba) – If (someone) writes
- 泳げば (oyogeba) – If (someone) swims
- 読めば (yomeba) – If (someone) reads
Volitional Form (意向形, いこうけい, ikoukei)
To express “let’s do” something, change -u to -o and extend the sound.
- 書こう (kakou) – Let’s write
- 泳ごう (oyogou) – Let’s swim
- 読もう (yomou) – Let’s read
Negative Form (否定形, ひていけい, hiteikei)
To make a verb negative, replace -u with -a and add ない (nai).
- 書かない (kakanai) – To not write
- 泳がない (oyoganai) – To not swim
- 読まない (yomanai) – To not read
Summary Table
| Verb | Negative | Volitional | Dictionary | Command | Conditional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 書く (kaku) | 書かない (kakanai) | 書こう (kakou) | 書く (kaku) | 書け (kake!) | 書けば (kakeba) |
| 泳ぐ (oyogu) | 泳がない (oyoganai) | 泳ごう (oyogou) | 泳ぐ (oyogu) | 泳げ (oyoge!) | 泳げば (oyogeba) |
| 読む (yomu) | 読まない (yomanai) | 読もう (yomou) | 読む (yomu) | 読め (yome!) | 読めば (yomeba) |
Great! So next, in Japanese there are several other ends that are added to verbs to express a number of different meanings. The rest of them will turn the -u into an -i
- 書きます(kakimasu) – (polite form) to write
- 書きたい(kakitai) – I want to write
- 書きにくい(kakinikui) – it is hard to write
- 書き始める(kakihajimeru) – start to write
So, whether the added word is an adjective, verb, noun or whatever most of the time the connecting vowel will be -i.
Connecting Verbs: The て-Form (連用形, れんようけい, renyoukei)
So as you probably already know, languages change over time, and words are shortened, change sounds, combine or loose sounds. Just like in English how where can not becomes can’t and so on. Japanese is the same. One of the places in Japanese where this happened is with the te-form.
The te-form is used to connect verbs to other words, similar to “and” in English.
Example:
- 書いて (kaite) – Writing and…
- 読んで (yonde) – Reading and…
Originally, the te-form was created by changing the last -u to -i and adding te, but sound changes over time led to unique transformations.
How to Form the て-Form
| Ending | Change | Example |
|---|---|---|
| う, つ, る | → って | 買う → 買って (katte) – Buy and… |
| く | → いて | 書く → 書いて (kaite) – Write and… |
| ぐ | → いで | 泳ぐ → 泳いで (oyoide) – Swim and… |
| す | → して | 話す → 話して (hanashite) – Speak and… |
| ぬ, む, ぶ | → んで | 読む → 読んで (yonde) – Read and… |
So, in the te-form the last syllable on the verb becomes っ(the small tsu), い (i),ん (n), or stays as し (shi). One last thing, the て (te) itself becomes で(de) for verbs that end in, ぐ (gu), ぶ(bu), ぬ(nu), む(mu). You can see that all four of these endings are voiced.
The Other Two Verb Groups: Ichidan Verbs
Japanese verbs are divided into three groups. So far, we covered godan verbs (五段動詞), which are the most complex. The remaining two groups—ichidan verbs (一段動詞, いちだんどうし, ichidan doushi)—are much simpler.
These verbs end in -iru (いる) or -eru (える) and follow a straightforward conjugation pattern.
Examples of Ichidan Verbs
| Verb | Negative | Volitional | Dictionary | Command | Conditional | Te-Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 見る (miru) | 見ない (minai) | 見よう (miyou) | 見る (miru) | 見ろ (miro!) | 見れば (mireba) | 見て (mite) |
| 寝る (neru) | 寝ない (nenai) | 寝よう (neyou) | 寝る (neru) | 寝ろ (nero!) | 寝れば (nereba) | 寝て (nete) |
For ichidan verbs, you simply remove る and attach the appropriate ending.
Exceptions: Some godan verbs end in -iru or -eru, even though they belong to the first group. These must be memorized separately.
Here are some examples of godan verbs (五段動詞, godan dōshi) that end in -iru or -eru, even though they belong to the first group (五段活用, godan katsuyō). These verbs do not follow the simpler conjugation rules of ichidan verbs (一段動詞, ichidan dōshi) and must be memorized separately:
Common Godan Verbs Ending in -iru
- 走る (hashiru) – to run
- 喋る (shaberu) – to talk/chat
- 散る (chiru) – to scatter, fall (like leaves)
- 煎る (iru) – to roast
- 参る (mairu) – to go/come (humble form of 行く and 来る)
- 蹴る (keru) – to kick
- 焦る (aseru) – to be in a hurry
- 要る (iru) – to need
Common Godan Verbs Ending in -eru
- 帰る (kaeru) – to return, go home
- 入る (hairu) – to enter
- 限る (kagiru) – to limit
- 減る (heru) – to decrease
- 滑る (suberu) – to slip
- 握る (nigiru) – to grasp, grip
- 茂る (shigeru) – to grow thick (as in vegetation)
- 遮る (saegiru) – to block, obstruct
Since these verbs belong to the godan group, they do not follow the simple conjugation pattern of ichidan verbs (where you just drop the -る and add endings). Instead, they conjugate like other godan verbs by changing the final -る sound according to the standard godan conjugation rules.
For example:
- 帰る (kaeru) → 帰らない (kaeranai) – not return (instead of 帰ない❌ like an ichidan verb)
- 走る (hashiru) → 走れば (hashireba) – if (someone) runs
- 入る (hairu) → 入って (haitte) – entering (te-form)
To determine whether a verb ending in -iru or -eru is godan or ichidan, a general (but not foolproof) rule of thumb is:
- If the syllable before -ru is an a, u, or o sound, it is almost always a godan verb.
- If the syllable before -ru is an i or e sound, it is usually ichidan, except for irregular godan cases like the ones above.
Because of these exceptions, it is best to memorize them separately.
Japanese verb conjugation is systematic and logical once you break it down. Godan verbs have a more complex transformation system, while ichidan verbs are easier to conjugate. The te-form is essential for connecting ideas, and mastering these patterns will allow you to express a variety of actions in Japanese.
Resources
Japanese Conjugation (Wikipedia)
