Japanese-Verb Groups

Group 1: ~ U ending verbs The basic form of Group 1 verbs end with "~ u". This group is also called Consonant-stem verbs or Godan-doushi (Godan verbs).

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hanasu （（（（ - to speak kaku （書く） - to write kiku （聞く） - to listen matsu （待つ） - to wait nomu （飲む） - to drink

Group 2: ~ Iru and ~ Eru ending verbs The basic form of Group 2 verbs end with either "~iru" or "~ eru". This group is also called Vowel-stem-verbs or Ichidan-doushi (Ichidan verbs). ~ Iru ending verbs

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kiru （着る） - to wear miru （見る） - to see okiru （起きる） - to get up oriru （降りる） - to get off shinjiru （信じる） - to believe

~ Eru ending verbs

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akeru （開ける） - to open ageru （あげる） - to give deru （出る） - to go out neru （寝る） - to sleep taberu （食べる） - to eat

There are some exceptions. The following verbs belong to Group 1, though they end with "~ iru" or "~ eru".

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hairu （入る） - to enter hashiru （走る） - to run iru （いる） - to need kaeru （帰る） - to return kagiru （限る） - to limit kiru （切る） - to cut shaberu （しゃべる） - to chatter shiru （知る） - to know

Group 3: Irregular verbs

There are only two irregular verbs, kuru (to come) and suru (to do). The verb "suru" is probably the most often used verb in Japanese. It is used as "to do," "to make," or "to cost". It is also combined with many nouns (of Chinese or Western origin) to make them into verbs. Here are some examples.

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benkyousuru （勉強する） - to study ryokousuru （旅行する） - to travel yushutsusuru （輸出する） - to export dansusuru （ダンスする） - to dance shanpuusuru （シャンプーする） - to shampoo

Dictionary Form The dictionary form (basic form) of all Japanese verbs end with "u". This is the form listed in the dictionary, and is the informal, present affirmative form of the verb. This form is used among close friends and family in informal situations. The ~ masu Form (Formal Form) The suffix "~ masu" is added to the dictionary form of the verbs to make sentence polite. Aside from changing the tone, it has no meaning. This form is used in situations required politeness or a degree of formality, and is more appropriate for general use. Check out the ~ masu form of the basic verbs. The ~ masu Form Group 1

Take off the final ~u, and add ~ imasu kaku --- kakimasu, nomu --- nomimasu

Group 2

Take off the final ~ru, and add ~ masu miru --- mimasu, taberu --- tabemasu

Group 3

kuru --- kimasu, suru --- shimasu

The ~ masu Form minus "~ masu" is the stem of the verb. The verb stems are useful since many verb suffixes are attached to them.

Present Tense

~ Masu Form

The stem of the verb

Kakimasu

kaki

Nomimasu

nomi

Mimasu

mi

Tabemasu

tabe

Japanese verb forms have two main tenses, the present and the past. There is no future tense. The present tense is used for future and habitual action as well. The informal form of the present tense is the same as the dictionary form. The ~ masu form is used in formal situations. Past Tense The past tense is used to express actions completed in the past (I saw, I bought etc.) and present perfect tense (I have read, I have done etc.). Forming the informal past tense is simpler for Group 2 verbs, but more complicated for Group 1 verbs. The conjugation of Group 1 verbs varies depending on the consonant of the last syllable on the dictionary form. All Group 2 verbs have the same conjugation pattern. Group 1 Formal

Replace ~ u with ~ imashita

kaku --- kakimashita nomu --- nomimashita

Informal

(1) Verb ending with ~ ku: replace ~ ku with ~ ita

kaku --- kaita kiku --- kiita

(2) Verb ending with ~ gu: replace ~ gu with ~ ida

isogu --- isoida oyogu --- oyoida

(3) Verb ending with ~ u, ~tsu and ~ ru: replace them with ~ tta

utau --- utatta matsu --- matta kaeru --- kaetta

(4) Verb ending with ~ nu, ~bu and ~ mu: replace them with ~ nda

shinu --- shinda asobu --- asonda nomu --- nonda

(5) Verb ending with ~ su: replace ~ su with ~ shita

hanasu --- hanashita dasu --- dashita

Group 2 Formal

Take off ~ru, and add ~ mashita

miru --- mimashita taberu ---tabemashita

Informal

Take off ~ru, and add ~ ta

miru --- mita taberu --- tabeta

Group 3 Formal

Kuru --- kimashita, suru --- shimashita

Informal

kuru --- kita, suru ---shita

Present Negative To make sentence negative, verb endings are changed into negative forms (The ~ nai Form).

Formal

All Verbs (Group 1, 2, 3) Replace ~ masu with ~ masen

Informal

nomimasu tabemasu kimasu shimasu

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nomimasen tabemasen kimasen shimasen

Group 1 Replace the final ~ u with ~anai (If verb ending is a vowel + ~ u, replace with ~ wanai)

kiku --- kikanai nomu --- nomanai au --- awanai

Group 2 Replace ~ ru with ~ nai

miru --- minai taberu --- tabenai Group 3

kuru --- konai, suru ---shinai Past Negative Formal

All Verbs (Group 1, 2, 3) Add ~ deshita to the formal present negative form

Informal

nomimasen --- nomimasen deshita tabemasen --- tabemasen deshita kimasen--- kimasen deshita shimasen--- shimasen deshita All Verbs (Group 1, 2, 3)

Replace ~ nai with ~ nakatta

nomanai --- nomanakatta tabenai --- tabenakatta konai --- konakatta shinai ---shinakatta

The ~ te form is a useful form of the Japanese verb. It does not indicate tense by itself, however it combines with other verb forms to create other tenses. It has many other uses as well. To make the ~ te form, replace the final ~ ta of the informal past tense of the verb with ~ te, and ~ da with ~ de. Learn the ~ te form of the basic verbs. Here are some examples. nonda （飲んだ） - nonde （飲んで） tabeta （食べた） - tabete （食べて） kita （来た） - kite （来て）

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Here are some other functions of the ~ te form. (1) Request: the ~ te form kudasai

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Mite kudasai. （（（（（（（（（ - Please look. Kiite kudasai. （聞いてください。（ - Please listen.

(2) The present progressive: the ~ te form iru or imasu (formal)

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Hirugohan o tabete iru. （昼ご飯を食べている。） - I am having lunch. Terebi o mite imasu. （テレビを見ています。） - I am watching TV.

It is also used to describe a habitual action and a condition. (3) Listing successive actions It is used to connect two or more verbs. The ~ te form is used after all but the last sentence in a sequence.

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Hachi-ji ni okite gakkou ni itta. （八時に起きて学校に行った。（ - I got up at eight and went to school. Depaato ni itte kutsu o katta. （デパートに行って靴を買った。） - I went to department store and bought shoes.

(4) Asking permission: the ~ te form mo ii desu ka.

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Terebi o mite mo ii desu ka. （テレビを見てもいいですか。） - May I watch TV? Tabako o sutte mo ii desu ka. （タバコを吸ってもいいですか。） - May I smoke?

Verbs Learning verbs when learning a new language is obviously very important. In the table below I have created a list of some of the most important verbs that someone new to Japanese should know. If you are not familiar with Japanese verbs at all, follow this link to learn about verb groups and conjugations. If you would like to hear the pronunciation of each verb, click the link and small audio file will play for you. Group 1 Verbs

Dictionary Form (Basic Form)

English

Formal Form

The ~ te Form

aruku （（

to walk

arukimasu 歩きます

aruite 歩いて

asobu （（

to play

asobimasu 遊びます

asonde 遊んで

au （（

to meet

aimasu （（（（

atte 会って

hairu （（

to enter

hairimasu 入ります

haitte 入って

hajimaru （（（

to begin

hajimarimasu 始まります

hajimatte 始まって

iku （（

To go

ikimasu 行きます

itte 行って

kaeru （（

to return

kaerimasu 帰ります

kaette 帰って

kakaru （（（

to take

kakarimasu かかります

kakatte （（（（

kaku （（

to write

kakimasu 書きます

kaite 書いて

kau （（

to buy

kaimasu （（（（

katte 買って

kiku （（

to listen

kikimasu 聞きます

kiite 聞いて

matsu （（

to wait

machimasu 待ちます

matte 待って

motsu （（

to have

mochimasu （（（（

motte 持って

narau （（

to learn

naraimasu 習います

naratte 習って

nomu （（

to drink

nomimasu 飲みます

nonde 飲んで

okuru （（

to send

okurimasu 送ります

okutte 送って

omou （（

to think

omoimasu 思います

omotte 思って

oyogu （（

to swim

oyogimasu 泳ぎます

oyoide 泳いで

shiru （（

to know

shirimasu 知ります

shitte 知って

suwaru （（

To sit

suwarimasu 座ります

suwatte 座って

tatsu （（

to stand

tachimasu 立ちます

tatte 立って

tomaru 止まる

to stop

tomarimasu 止まります

tomatte 止まって

tsuku （（

to arrive

tsukimasu （（（（

tsuite 着いて

uru （（

To sell

urimasu 売ります

utte 売って

utau （（

to sing

utaimasu （（（（

utatte 歌って

wakaru （（（

to understand

wakarimasu 分かります

wakatte （（（（

warau （（

to laugh

waraimasu 笑います

waratte 笑って

yomu （（

to read

yomimasu （（（（

yonde 読んで

Group 2 Verbs kangaeru （（（

to think

kangaemasu 考えます

kangaete 考えて

miru （（

to see

mimasu 見ます

mite 見て

neru （（

to sleep

nemasu 寝ます

nete 寝て

oshieru （（（

to teach

oshiemasu 教えます

oshiete 教えて

taberu （（（

To eat

tabemasu 食べます

tabete 食べて

Group 3 Verbs

kuru

to come

kimasu

kite

（（

suru （（

To do

来ます

来て

shimasu （（（

shite して

The ~ te form of verbs is one of several other verb forms. It does not indicate tense by itself and is used to string together sequences of verbs. One of the ~te form structure is "~ te kudasai （～てください） ," which expresses a request.

Kaite kudasai. 書いてください。

Please write.

Matte kudasai. 待ってください。

Please wait.

Japanese verbs are roughly divided into three groups according to their dictionary form (basic form). The basic form of 'Group 1' verbs end with "~ u". The basic form of 'Group 2' verbs end with either "~iru" or "~ eru". 'Group 3' verbs are irregular verbs. There are only two irregular verbs, kuru (to come) and suru (to do). Click here to learn more about Japanese verbs and hear their pronunciation ("Audio Phrasaebook – verbs"). Here are some common verbs from each group. The links lead to various conjugations of each verb. Group 1 aruku （歩く） --- to walk（ asobu （遊ぶ） --- to play（ au （会う） --- to meet（ hairu （入る） --- to enter（ hajimaru （始まる） --- to begin（ iku （行く） --- to go（ kaeru （帰る） --- to return（ kakaru （かかる） --- to take kaku （書く） --- to write kau （買う） --- to buy（ kiku （聞く） --- to listen（ matsu （待つ） --- to wait（ motsu （持つ） --- to have narau （習う） --- to learn nomu （飲む） --- to drink okuru （送る） --- to send

omou （思う） --- to think oyogu （泳ぐ） --- to swim shiru （知る） --- to know（ suwaru （座る） --- to sit（ tatsu （立つ） --- to stand（ tomaru （止まる） --- to stop（ tsuku （着く） --- to arrive（ uru （売る） --- to sell utau （歌う） --- to sing wakaru （分かる） --- to understand warau （笑う） --- to laugh（ yomu （読む） --- to read（ Group 2 kangaeru （考える） --- to think miru （見る） --- to see; to look neru （寝る） --- to sleep oshieru （教える） --- to teach taberu （食べる） ---（to eat Group 3 kuru （来る） --- to come（ suru （する） --- to do