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Japanese conjugation
Overview of how Japanese verbs conjugate From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Japanese verbs, like the verbs of many other languages, can be morphologically modified to change their meaning or grammatical function – a process known as conjugation. In Japanese, the beginning of a word (the stem) is preserved during conjugation, while the ending of the word is altered in some way to change the meaning (this is the inflectional suffix). Japanese verb conjugations are independent of person, number and gender (they do not depend on whether the subject is I, you, he, she, we, etc.); the conjugated forms can express meanings such as negation, present and past tense, volition, passive voice, causation, imperative and conditional mood, and ability. There are also special forms for conjunction with other verbs, and for combination with particles for additional meanings.
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Japanese verbs have agglutinating properties: some of the conjugated forms are themselves conjugable verbs (or i-adjectives), which can result in several suffixes being strung together in a single verb form to express a combination of meanings.
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Verb groups
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For Japanese verbs, the verb stem remains invariant among all conjugations. However, conjugation patterns vary according to a verb's category. For example, 知る (shiru) and 着る (kiru) belong to different verb categories (godan and ichidan, respectively) and therefore follow different conjugation patterns. As such, knowing a verb's category is essential for conjugating Japanese verbs.
Japanese verbs can be allocated into three categories:[1]
- Godan verbs (五段動詞, godan-dōshi; literally: "five‑row verbs"), also known as "pentagrade verbs"
- Ichidan verbs (一段動詞, ichidan-dōshi; literally: "one‑row verbs"), also known as "monograde verbs"
- Irregular verbs, most notably: する (suru, to do) and 来る (kuru, to come)
Verbs are conjugated from their "dictionary form", where the final kana is either removed or changed in some way.[1] From a technical standpoint, verbs usually require a specific conjugational stem (see § Verb bases, below) for any given inflection or suffix. With godan verbs, the conjugational stem can span all five columns of the gojūon kana table (hence, the classification as a pentagrade verb). Ichidan verbs are simpler to conjugate: the final kana, which is always る (ru), is simply removed or replaced with the appropriate inflectional suffix. This means ichidan verb stems, in themselves, are valid conjugational stems which always end with the same kana (hence, the classification as a monograde verb).
This distinction can be observed by comparing conjugations of the two verb types, within the context of the gojūon table.[2]
- * These forms are given here in hiragana for illustrative purposes; they would normally be written with kanji as 見ない, 見ます etc.
As can be seen above, the godan verb yomu (読む, to read) has a static verb stem, yo- (読〜), and a dynamic conjugational stem which changes depending on the purpose: yoma- (読ま〜; row 1), yomi- (読み〜; row 2), yomu (読む; row 3), yome- (読め〜; row 4) and yomo- (読も〜; row 5). Unlike godan verb stems, ichidan verb stems are also functional conjugational stems, with the final kana of the stem remaining static in all conjugations.
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Verb bases
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Conjugable words (verbs, i‑adjectives, and na‑adjectives) are traditionally considered to have six possible conjugational stems or bases (活用形, katsuyōkei; literally "conjugation forms") .[3] However, as a result of the language evolving,[4][5] historical sound shifts,[6][7] and the post‑WWII spelling reforms,[8] three additional sub‑bases have emerged for verbs (seen in the table below as the Potential, Tentative, and Euphonic bases). Meanwhile, verbs no longer differentiate between the terminal form (終止形, shūshikei; used to terminate a predicate) and the attributive form (連体形, rentaikei; used to modify a noun or noun phrase) bases (these bases are only distinguished for na‑adjectives in the modern language, see Japanese adjectives).[9][10] Verb bases function as the necessary stem forms to which inflectional suffixes attach.
Verbs are named and listed in dictionaries according to their "dictionary form" (辞書形, jishokei). This is also called the "plain form" (since this is the plain, non‑polite, non‑past conjugation), and it is the same as the modern "terminal form" (終止形, shūshikei), and the "attributive form" (連体形, rentaikei).[2] The verb group (godan, ichidan, or irregular) determines how to derive any given conjugation base for the verb. With godan verbs, the base is derived by shifting the final kana along the respective vowel row of the gojūon kana table. With ichidan verbs, the base is derived by removing or replacing the final る (ru) kana.[2]
The table below illustrates the various verb bases across the verb groups, with the patterns starting from the dictionary form.[11]
Of the nine verb bases, the shūshikei/rentaikei, meireikei, and ren'yōkei bases can be considered fully conjugated forms without needing to append inflectional suffixes. In particular, the shūshikei/rentaikei and meireikei bases do not conjugate with any inflectional suffixes. By contrast, a verb cannot be considered fully conjugated in its kateikei, mizenkei, ishikei, kanōkei, or onbinkei base alone; a compatible inflectional suffix is required for that verb construction to be grammatical.[31]
Certain inflectional suffixes, in themselves, take on the form of verbs or i‑adjectives. These suffixes can then be further conjugated by adopting one of the verb bases, followed by the attachment of the appropriate suffix. The agglutinative nature of Japanese verb conjugation can thus make the final form of a given verb conjugation quite long. For example, the word 食べさせられたくなかった (tabesaseraretakunakatta) is broken down into its component morphemes below:
Derivative verb bases
There are three modern verb base forms that are considered to be derived from older forms. These are the potential, volitional, and euphonic sub‑bases, as shown in the Verb base formation table above.
As with all languages, the Japanese language has evolved to fulfil the contemporary needs of communication. The potential form of verbs is one such example. In Old Japanese and Early Middle Japanese, potential was expressed with the verb ending ゆ (yu), which was also used to express the passive voice ("to be done") and the spontaneous voice ("something happens on its own"). This evolved into the modern passive ending （ら）れる (-(ra)reru), which can similarly express potential and spontaneous senses. As usage patterns changed over time, different kinds of potential constructions emerged, such as the grammatical pattern of the rentaikei base + -koto ga dekiru (〜ことができる), and also via the kanōkei base.[4] The historical development of the kanōkei base is disputed, however the consensus is that it stemmed from a shift wherein transitive verbs developed an intransitive sense similar to the spontaneous, passive, and potential, and these intransitive forms conjugated in the 下二段活用 (shimo nidan katsuyō, lower bigrade conjugation pattern) of the Classical Japanese of the time.[5] The lower bigrade conjugation pattern evolved into the modern ichidan pattern in modern Japanese, and these stems for godan verbs have the same form as the hypothetical stems in the table above.
The mizenkei base that ends with -a was also used to express the volitional mood for yodan verbs (四段動詞, yodan-dōshi; "Class‑4 verbs") in Old Japanese and Middle Japanese, in combination with volitional suffix む (-mu). Sound changes caused the resulting -amu ending to change: /-amu/ → /-ãu/ → /-au/ (like English "ow") → /-ɔː/ (like English "aw") → /-oː/. The post‑WWII spelling reforms updated spellings to reflect this and other sound changes, resulting in the addition of the ishikei or volitional base, ending with -o, for the volitional mood of yodan verbs. This also resulted in a reclassification of "yodan verbs" to "godan verbs" (五段動詞, godan-dōshi; "Class‑5 verbs").[8][26]
The ren'yōkei base also underwent various euphonic changes specific to the perfective and conjunctive (te) forms for certain verb stems,[32][6][7] giving rise to the onbinkei or euphonic base.[28] In the onbinkei base, the inflectional suffixes for godan verbs vary according to the last kana of the verb's ren'yōkei base.[2]
The bases of suru
Unlike most verbs, suru and its derived compounds exhibit strong irregularity in their verb bases. In some cases, some variants are preferred over the others, and such preferences vary among speakers. Roughly speaking, there are three major groups that behave similarly:[33]
- Group A: Suru itself and compounds of it and free nouns (which are usually, but not always, spelt with two more kanji if Sino-Japanese): jikkō suru (実行する; 'practise'), toku suru (得する; 'gain'), son suru (損する; 'lose'), bikkuri suru (吃驚する; 'be startled'), janpu suru (ジャンプする; 'jump'), etc.
- Group B: Compounds with bound Sino-Japanese morphemes that behave more like godan verbs. These often have full-fledged, interchangeable godan derivatives: aisu(ru) (愛す(る); 'love'), zokusu(ru) (属す(る); 'belong'), tassu(ru) (達す(る); 'reach'), etc.
- Such a form as aisenu (愛せぬ) is supposed to be the classical Japanese equivalent to aisanai (愛さない). Compare the following translations of 1 John 3:14 ("[…] Anyone who does not love remains in death."[34]):
- However, aisenu ("not love") as the negative of aisu(ru) ("love") would likely be confused with aisenu ("cannot love") as the negative of the potential aiseru ("can love") in modern Japanese. It is clear that aisenu is not the same as aisanu where they both occur in close proximity: Wa ga ko o aisanu mono wa arimasen. Wa ga ko sae aisenu mono ga, dō shite goshukun o aisemashō. (わが子を愛さぬ者はありません。わが子さえ愛せぬ者が、どうしてご主君を愛せましょう。; transl. No man does not love his own son. If he is not capable of loving even his own son, in what way could he ever love his lord?).[37]
- There is great variety among Group-B verbs as to whether to choose between the godan-negative -san(u)/-zu and the classical-negative -sen(u)/-zu, and there are indeed cases where only contexts can clarify whether -sen(u)/-zu are truly classical-negative, or actually godan-negative-potential. In general, it seems that if the Sino-Japanese stem contains a moraic obstruent as in kussuru (屈する; くっする, /kɯQsɯɾɯ/), a moraic nasal as in hansuru (反する; はんする, /haNsuru/), or lengthening mora as in kyōsuru (供する; きょうする, /kjoRsɯɾɯ/), the godan options are less preferable with all auxiliaries (including the negative -n(u)/-zu), though not impossible. Thus, such forms as kussenu/kussezu (屈せぬ・屈せず; 'not bend') are more likely to be classical-negative, while such forms as aisenu/aisezu (愛せぬ・愛せず; 'cannot love') are more likely to be godan-negative-potential; and while both kussanu/kussazu (屈さぬ・屈さず; 'not bend') and aisanu/aisazu (愛さぬ・愛さず; 'not love') are unambiguously godan-negative, the former are not as likely as the latter.[33]
- Group C: Compounds with bound Sino-Japanese morphmes that behave more like upper (i-stemmed) ichidan verbs. These often have full-fledged, interchangeable upper ichidan derivatives: ronzuru → ronjiru (論ずる→論じる; 'discuss'), ōzuru → ōjiru (応ずる→応じる; 'respond'), omonzuru → omonjiru (重んずる→重んじる; 'appreciate'), sassuru → sasshiru (察する→察しる; 'surmise'), etc.
- Group D: Compounds with bound Sino-Japanese morphemes that behave more like lower (e-stemmed) ichidan verbs. These may have full-fledged, interchangeable lower ichidan derivatives: shinzuru → shinzeru (進ずる→進ぜる; 'provide') and misuru → miseru (魅する→魅せる; 'enchant').
Across the following forms of suru within standard Japanese, an eastern dialect, while there is a dominance of the eastern vowel i as in shinai,[38] shiyō[39] and shiro,[40] the once prestigious western vowel e, as in sen(u) and seyo, still has currency especially in formal or literary Japanese. Such variants as senai and sanai (both of shinai); shin(u) (of sen(u)); shō (← seu), seyō and sō (all of shiyō); sero (of shiro); and shiyo, sē and sei (all of seyo), remain dialectal or obsolete.[41][42]
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Copula: da, de aru and desu
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The copula or "to be" verb in Japanese is a special case. This comes in two basic forms, だ (da) in the plain form and です (desu) in the polite form. These are generally used to predicate sentences, equate one thing with another (i.e. "A is B."), or express a self‑directed thought (e.g. a sudden emotion or realization).[44]
Copula: Conjugation table
The Japanese copula is not a standard 'verb' and conjugations are limited to a smaller subset of functions. Furthermore, this conjugates according to its own specific patterns.[10]
The copulae of Japanese demonstrate suppletion, in that they combined different forms from different words into one word. The original copulae were all based on the verb ari (あり; 'to exist'), which evolved into the modern aru (ある). It needed to be preceded by one of the three particles, ni, ni te → de[95][96] and to, which yielded three variants, ni ari/ni aru → nari/naru,[97] de ari/de aru → da[98] and to ari/to aru → tari/taru, the last of which fell out of use, but did phonetically coincide with te ari/te aru → tari/taru,[99] which in turn evolved into the modern past auxiliary ta.[100] It also combined with adjectival roots to expand their conjugation, for example akaku arō → akakarō (赤かろう), akaku atta → akakatta (赤かった) and akaku areba → akakereba (赤ければ).
In modern Japanese, the copulae da and de aru take various forms by suppletion:
- The original conclusive de ari, was replaced by the attributive de aru, which evolved into the informal conclusive da, and the formal conclusive de aru.
- The current attributive form of de (wa) aru is still de (wa) aru. Da additionally takes naru → na (of said nari) as its attributive form[101] only in adjectival verbs,[102] as in kirei na hana (綺麗な花; 'pretty flower', lit. 'a flower, which is pretty'), and after the auxiliaries sō (そう), yō (よう) and mitai (みたい), as in rikō sō na kao (利口そうな顔; 'smart-looking face', lit. 'a face, which appears smart') and kanojo no yō na hito (彼女のような人; 'someone like her', lit. 'a person, who is like her'); while the particle no is used after nouns, as in tomodachi no Yūko (友達の裕子; 'my friend Yūko', lit. 'Yūko, who is my friend') or bijin no onēsan (美人のお姉さん; 'my beautiful sister', lit. 'my sister, who is a beauty'). However, since no also expresses possession, this may cause ambiguity, as in isha no ojisan (医者のおじさん; lit. 'my uncle, who is a doctor; my doctor's uncle');[103] moreover, some nouns can function as either "adjectival verbs" or "nouns", and take either na or no, such as iroiro na mono/iroiro no mono (色々な物・色々の物; 'various things'). The old naru (of said nari) and taru (of said to ari/to aru → tari/taru) can still be used for literary effect, as in zetsudai naru gokitai (絶大なるご期待; 'the utmost anticipation'), Hokkaidō naru chihō (北海道なる地方; 'Hokkaido region'), isha taru hito (医者たる人; 'a person, who is known as a doctor'), kyōshi taru mono (教師たるもの; 'those who call themselves teachers'), or in such idiom as sei naru (聖なる; 'holy') or dōdō taru (堂々たる; 'splendid').[102] Incidentally, an ancient possessive na was fossilized in words like manako (眼; 'eyeball', lit. 'eye's child'), minato (港; 'harbor', lit. 'water's door'), tanagokoro (掌; 'palm', lit. 'hand's heart'), etc.[104] There is also a niche distinction between Kōbe no hito (神戸の人; 'person from Kobe', lit. 'Kobe's person') and Kōbe na hito (神戸な人; 'person seeming like they could be from Kobe', lit. 'Kobe-ish person').[105] Na is also used before the nominalizer no, as in sobo wa hyakusai na no da (祖母は100歳なのだ; lit. 'it's a fact that my grandma is 100 years old').
- The three conjunctive forms (two of which are particles) combine with different words,[106][107][108] each with its own parallel:
- ni + naru → ni naru ("become"), parallel with akaku + naru → akaku naru ("become red")
- de + aru → de aru ("be"), parallel with akaku + aru → akaku aru ("be red") and nomi + suru → nomi suru ("drink")
- de + nai → de nai ("not be"), parallel with akaku + nai → akaku nai ("not be red") and nomi + shinai → nomi shinai ("not drink")
- de ari + -masu → de arimasu ("be"),[l] parallel with nomi + -masu → nomimasu ("drink")
- The above formations allow "splitting",[109] or adding particles like wa or mo between the conjunctive forms and the following verbs, which would be impossible with da ("be"), akai ("be red") and nomu ("drink") alone:
- da ("be"), parallel with akai ("be red") and nomu ("drink")
- ni mo naru ("become …, too"), parallel with akaku mo naru ("become red, too")
- de wa aru ("be …, indeed"), parallel with akaku wa aru ("be red, indeed") and nomi wa suru ("drink, indeed")
- de wa nai ("not be …, indeed"), parallel with akaku wa nai ("not be red, indeed") and nomi wa shinai ("not drink, indeed")
- Ja (じゃ) is a colloquial and informal contraction of de wa (では).[10] The particles wa and mo are often added, especially to the negatives, although not required in principle.[95][110] Wa puts focus on what goes after it, while mo puts focus what goes before it.[111] In the following sentences, the focused information is underlined for the Japanese originals and the literal English translations; for the non-literal English translations, all-caps type emulates how an English speaker would emphasize the focused information.
- Kono hen ga shizuka da. (この辺が静かだ。; lit. 'This area[, not any other area,] is quiet.', transl. THIS area is quiet.)
- Kono hen mo shizuka da. (この辺も静かだ。; lit. 'This area, too, [along with at least another area,] is quiet.', transl. THIS area's also quiet.)
- Kono hen wa shizuka da. (この辺は静かだ。; lit. 'This area? It's quiet.', transl. This area's QUIET.)
- Kono hen wa shizuka de wa aru ga, fuben da. (この辺は静かではあるが、不便だ。; lit. 'This area? Being quiet? It is indeed, but it's inconvenient.', transl. This area IS quiet, but it's inconvenient)
- While de nai/arimasen are sometimes used in formal contexts, in ordinary speech ja nai/ja arimasen are used instead. In this case, even though ja is etymologically a reduced version of de wa, ja nai/arimasen are functionally rather ambiguous colloquial versions of either de nai/arimasen, which focus on what comes before them, or de wa nai/arimasen which focus on nai/arimasen. Some speakers distinguish the short ja (じゃ) for de and the long jā (じゃあ) for de wa.[112]
- Marukusu to Renin no shinja de nai desu ka /~ ja arimasen ka (マルクスとレニンの信者でないですか・～じゃありませんか; lit. 'Are they not believers in Marx and Lenin?', transl. Aren't they BELIEVERS in Marx and Lenin?)
- Marukusu to Renin no shinja de wa nai desu ka /~ ja(a) arimasen ka (マルクスとレニンの信者ではないですか・～じゃ(あ)ありませんか; lit. 'Believers in Marx and Lenin? Is that not what they are?', transl. Are they NOT believers in Marx and Lenin?)
- While de (wa) arimasen and de (wa) arimasen deshita are often recommended, de (wa) nai desu and de (wa) nakatta desu are acceptable colloquial alternatives.[113]
- De (wa) areba ("if it is") is the conventional way of forming conditionals (仮定形, kateikei) in modern Japanese. However, back when this way was used to express causation ("because it is; when it is") as the former realis base (已然形, izenkei), the irrealis base (未然形, mizenkei), as in de (wa) araba, was used for conditionals instead. Naraba (of said nari) is kept as the conditional of da, and along with taraba (of said te ari/te aru → tari/taru → ta), retains the old way of forming conditionals.[114]
- Desu, a copula of uncertain origin, takes its missing forms from de (wa) aru and de (wa) arimasu, the latter of which is conceivably the ancestor of desu.[115]
- Although だろう (darō) and でしょう (deshō) were originally conjugations of だ (da) and です (desu) respectively, they are now also used as auxiliary verbs.[116] Unlike da which is inherently blunt and only suitable for familiar speech, darō is suitable for writing.[117]
Copula: Grammatical compatibility
The だ negative forms, じゃない (ja nai) and ではない (de wa nai), are compatible with all negative valence conjugations (such as the negative past tense or the negative -te form).[10] However, the です negative forms, じゃありません (ja arimasen) and ではありません (de wa arimasen), are conjugated into the past tense by appending でした (deshita) as a suffix (and are therefore incompatible with subsequent 〜ない (-nai) conjugations).[10] Furthermore, the perfective forms, だった (datta) and でした (deshita), are compatible with the ~tara conditional.[118]
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Imperfective
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Perspective
The imperfective form (also known as the "non‑past", "plain form", "short form", "dictionary form" and the "attributive form") is broadly equivalent to the present and future tenses of English. In Japanese, the imperfective form is used as the headword or lemma. It is used to express actions that are assumed to continue into the future, habits or future intentions.[119]
The imperfective form cannot be used to make a progressive continuous statement, such as in the English sentence "I am shopping". To do so, the verb must first be conjugated into its te form and attached to the いる (iru) auxiliary verb ().
Imperfective: Conjugation table
The imperfective form uses the conclusive/attributive, and is thus equivalent to the dictionary form.
Imperfective: Grammatical compatibility
The imperfective form can be used to issue prohibitive commands by attaching 〜な (-na).[128] For example, 入るな！ (hairu na!, "Do not enter!"). Additionally, the imperfective form is compatible with the nominalizers 〜の (-no) and 〜こと (-koto), which repurpose the verb as a noun. For example, カラオケで歌うのは楽しい！ (karaoke de utau no wa tanoshii!, Singing at karaoke is fun!).
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Negative
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The negative form is broadly equivalent to the English word "not".[119]
Negative: Conjugation table
The negative form is created by using the mizenkei base, followed by the ない (-nai) suffix.
-N (tsukuran (作らん; 'not make')) is an old negative auxiliary that was reduced from the earlier western and classical -nu (tsukuranu (作らぬ)), but was largely displaced by the eastern -nai (tsukuranai (作らない)).[129][130] However, only -n(u), not -nai, is compatible with -masu (ます), which yields -masen (ません),[42] whose negative past form of 〜ます is 〜ませんでした (-masen deshita, did not).[2] -N(u) is still found in modern Japanese and thought of as "shortened" from -nai, although as the fact that shin(u) (しん・しぬ) is strictly dialectal compared to the standard sen(u) (せん・せぬ) shows,[41] it is not really a "short" form. Some modern examples include tokoro ga, henji o yokosan no desu (ところが、返事を寄越さんのです; 'but they sent me no reply'), Boku wa benkai sen desu. Tada iwan koto o kakaretara komaru. (僕は弁解せんです。ただ言わん事を書かれたら困る; 'I don't make excuses. It's just that it is embarrassing to have things written as if I had said them when I haven't.'), sen de kudasai (せんでください; 'don't do it').[41] -N(u)'s conjunctive form, -zu, is still used in writing. Ja nai (no) ka (じゃない（の）か; 'isn't it?') is indeed shortened to jan (じゃん) especially by young people.[131] -Nai and -nu can be used in the same sentence where -nai is treated as conclusive and -nu as attributive: Gaikōken o motanu Okinawa wa Amerika to kōshō suru koto mo dekinai (外交権を持たぬ沖縄はアメリカと交渉することもできない; 'Okinawa, which does not have diplomatic power, cannot negotiate with America').[132]
-N also happens to be a reduced form of -mu (tsukuramu (作らむ; 'let's make; probably make')), whose other reduced form, -u, is still used to make volitional forms (tsukurō (作ろう)).[129]
Negative: Grammatical compatibility
The negative form is compatible with the ～で (-de) particle for additional functions, such as requesting someone to cease/desist or joining a subordinate clause. It is also compatible with i‑adjective inflections, since the ～ない (-nai) suffix ends with ～い (-i). なくて (-nakute) is also used.
Negative continuous
The negative continuous form is created by using the mizenkei base, followed by the 〜ず (zu) suffix; equivalent to replacing 〜ない (-nai) with 〜ず (-zu) in the table above. An exception is する (suru, to do), which instead conjugates as せず (sezu, not doing). In this form, the negative continuous cannot terminate a sentence. The verb has the "negative continuous tense" unless followed by the に (ni) particle, where its meaning changes to "without". The -zuni form (〜ずに, without doing) is semantically interchangeable with -naide (〜ないで, without doing). However, -zuni is only used in written Japanese or formal speech.[194][195]
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Perfective
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Perspective
The perfective form (過去形・完了形, kakokei / kanryōkei; also known as the "ta form", "past tense" and the "perfect tense") is equivalent to the English "past tense".[196]
Perfective: Conjugation table
The perfective form is created by using the onbinkei base, followed by the た・だ (ta/da) suffix. This conjugation pattern is more complex compared to other conjugations because the exact realization of the inflectional suffix—particularly in godan verbs—is based on the euphony (音便, onbin) of the verb stem. (See also: Euphonic changes)
Perfective: Grammatical compatibility
The perfective form is compatible with:
- The "tari form" (or "tari‑tari form", also known as the "tari‑tari‑suru form"), to describe a non‑exhaustive list of actions (similar to AやB describes a non‑exhaustive lists of objects). It uses り (ri) as the subordinate conjunction.[237][238]
- The "tara form" (or "past conditional"), to describe events that will happen as a result of completing something. It uses ら (ra) as the subordinate conjunction.[239][118]
- It can be used to mean "if" or "when";
- It can also be used to reveal an unexpected outcome that happened in the past.
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te form
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The te form (て形, tekei) allows verbs to function like conjunctions. Similar to the word "and" in English, the te form connects clauses to make longer sentences. Conversely, as a sentence terminal, it functions as a casual instruction (like a gentle imperative command). Finally, the te form attaches to a myriad of auxiliary verbs for various purposes.[240][241]
There are limitations where the te form cannot be used to conjugate between pairs of verbs (such as when two verbs are unrelated) and the conjunctive form is used instead.[242] ()
te form: Conjugation table
The te form is created by using the onbinkei base, followed by the て・で (te/de) suffix. Just like the perfective form, this conjugation pattern is more complex compared to other conjugations because the exact realization of the inflectional suffix—particularly in godan verbs—is based on the euphony (音便, onbin) of the verb stem. (See also: Euphonic changes)
te form: Grammatical compatibility
The te form is compatible with particles for additional functions, such as giving permission or expressing prohibition.[243][241]
The te form is also compatible with an extensive list of auxiliary verbs. These auxiliary verbs are attached after the 〜て.[244]
- [v] Colloquially, the い (i) is dropped. For example, 持っている (motte iru) becomes 持ってる (motte ru).
- [vi] Colloquially, てお〜 (te o-) undergoes morpheme fusion, becoming と〜 (to-). For example, 作っておく (tsukutte oku) becomes 作っとく (tsukuttoku).
- [vii] In this case, て is dropped rather than being attached to ちゃう. This is because ちゃう (chau) is a morpheme fusion of ちまう (chimau), which itself is a morpheme fusion of てしまう (te shimau). Similarly, で (de) is also dropped when attaching to じゃう (jau) and じまう (jimau), which are the morpheme fusions of でしまう (de shimau).[245]
Finally, the te form is necessary for making polite requests with 下さる (kudasaru) and くれる (kureru). These honorific words are attached with their imperative forms 〜下さい (-kudasai) and 〜くれ (-kure), which is more socially proper than using the true imperative.[246][244]
te form: Advanced usage
During speech, the speaker may terminate a sentence in the te form but slightly lengthen the vowel sound as a natural pause: てぇ (te...). Similar to when a sentence ends with "so..." in English, this serves as a social cue that can:
- give the listener a moment to process;
- indicate the speaker is not finished speaking;
- seek permission from the listener to continue;
- imply that the listener should infer the remainder of the sentence.
Another usage of the te form is, just as with English, the order of clauses may be reversed to create emphasis. However, unlike in English, the sentence will terminate on the te form (rather than between clauses).
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Conjunctive
Summarize
Perspective
The conjunctive form (also known as the "stem form", "masu form", "i form" and the "continuative form")[247] functions like an intermediate conjugation; it requires an auxiliary verb to be attached since the conjunctive form is rarely used in isolation. It can also function to link separate clauses (hence the name "conjunctive") in a similar way to the te form above; however usage of the conjunctive form as a conjunction has restrictions. The conjunctive form can function as a gerund (a verb functioning as a noun) without the need for nominalizers, although permissible use cases are limited.[248][242][249][250]
Conjunctive: Conjugation table
The conjunctive form uses the ren'yōkei base. It is one of the simplest conjugation patterns due to its lack of irregular conjugations. It does have an additional case for certain honorific verbs, but even those follow a consistent conjugation pattern.
Conjunctive: Grammatical compatibility
The conjunctive form is compatible with particles for additional functions, such as expressing purpose[257] or a firm avoidance.[258]
The conjunctive form is also compatible with an extensive list of auxiliary verbs.[248] One of which, ます (masu), has highly irregular inflections.[259][260][261]
Conjunctive: Advanced usage
The conjunctive form, like the te form, connects clauses in a similar way to how "and" does in English. However, the conjunctive and te forms are not usually interchangeable, and each form fulfills specific grammatical purposes. When a pair of verbs have a strong connection in context, only the te form can bridge them. When a pair of verbs are not directly related but happen during a shared period of time, only the conjunctive form can bridge them. Furthermore, if a pair of verbs are both controllable or uncontrollable in nature, the te form must bridge them; otherwise, when a verb is controllable whilst the other verb is uncontrollable, the conjunctive form must bridge them. Finally, the te and conjunctive forms are interchangeable if additional information is included between the verbs.[242][241]
In the case where the conjunctive form is interchangeable with the te form, there is a stylistic means where the conjunctive form is preferred. This avoids 「て...て...て...」 (te...te...te...) repetition, much like how English users might avoid saying "and...and...and...". In practice however, such a strategy is more readily accustomed to writing and more difficult to control in spoken conversation (where the te form is usually elected for every verb).[242]
Another common usage is to form compound words, specifically compound nouns and compound verbs. As for compound nouns, the conjunctive form attaches as a prefix to another noun. Compound verbs are formed in the same way, except the conjunctive form attaches to the imperfective form. This pattern can be used to express mutuality if a transitive verb attaches to 〜合う (-au, to unite).[262]
The conjunctive form is also used in formal honorifics, such as お使い下さい (o tsukai kudasai, "Please use this.").
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Volitional
Summarize
Perspective
The volitional form (also known as the "conjectural form", "tentative form", "presumptive form" and the "hortative form") is used to express speaker's will or intention (volitional), make an inclusive command or invitation (hortative or persuasive)[263] or to make a guess or supposition (presumptive).
Volitional: Conjugation table
The volitional form is created by using the ishikei base, which derived from the mizenkei base through a systematic sound change in Late Middle Japanese triggered by the う (u) suffix. This sound change gave rise to the conjugation class now known as godan. Phonetically, う is surfaced as お (o) in volitional form, unlike う in dictionary/imperfective form; for example, 問う (tou, to ask) and 問おう (toō, let's ask).
The so-called "volitional form" is actually actually a combination of the irrealis form and the auxiliary う, which underwent a systemic historical sound change that affected all the examples below. This sound change motivated the term godan ("five grade"), which replaced yodan ("four grade"). See Japanese godan and ichidan verbs § Godan vs yodan.
Most verbs have volitional meanings, as in shiyō/shimashō (しよう・しましょう; 'let's do it'), although this can be interpreted as self-tentative ("I'll probably do it"). To express tentativity unambiguously, (d(e)) arō or deshō, which is unambiguously tentative, is added, as in suru darō/suru deshō (するだろう・するでしょう; 'he'll probably do it'). In some cases where the subject lacks human agency, the tentative meaning is more plausible, for example, Kumorō/kumorimashō (曇ろう・曇りましょう) means "it'll probably be cloudy" tentatively, not *"let's be cloudy" volitionally, and ame ga furō/furimashō (雨が降ろう・降りましょう) means "it'll probably rain", not *"let's rain". Additionally, dekiyō/dekimashō (できよう・できましょう) means "probably can" not *"let's be able", although these have been increasingly replaced by kumoru darō/kumoru deshō (曇るだろう・曇るでしょう) and dekiru darō/dekiru deshō (できるだろう・できるでしょう). Most adjectives have tentative meanings, as in akakarō (赤かろう; 'it's probably red') with a built-in arō, or alternatively, akai darō/akai deshō (赤いだろう・赤いでしょう).[265] Arō (tentative) may be substituted with aru darō in writing, and with arimashō for more politeness;[117] and de arō with darō in writing, and with de arimashō for more politeness.[131]
Volitional: Grammatical compatibility
The volitional form is also used to describe intention 〜と思う (-to omou)[299] an attempt 〜とする (-to suru) or an imminent action 〜としている (-to shite iru).[300]
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Passive
Summarize
Perspective
The passive form (受身形, ukemikei) or passive-potential[301] refocuses the verb as the target objective of a sentence; it emphasizes the action as the detail of importance. Although a sentence can include a specific subject enacting the passive verb, the subject is not required.[302] The pure passive simply expresses what act is done to the subject, as in B ga A ni yobareru (BがAに呼ばれる; 'B is called by A'). The adversative or "victimizing" passive can further express how the subject suffers from the act being done to an object, as in B ga A ni C o yobareru (BがAにCを呼ばれる; 'B suffers because A calls C'). The passive can also have no passive meaning, but is merely a more honorific way to exalt the subject.[303][304][305] Actual sentences may lack one of the said components (A, B or C) and therefore can become ambiguous (purely passive, adversatively passive or honorific) without additional context, for example kekkonshiki ni yobareru (結婚式に呼ばれる; 'one gets invited to weddings; one suffers because someone else's invited to weddings; those honoroble invite others to weddings').[303] Some verbs, such as korareru (来られる) and arareru (あられる), do not have purely passive meanings, as in B ga A ni korareru (BがAに来られる; 'B suffers because A comes') and B ga A de arareru (BがAであられる; B is (honorably) A).[306]
Note that historically and dialectically, the "passive" construction also had or has potential use. See #Potential for more.
Passive: Conjugation table
The passive form is created by using the mizenkei base, followed by the れる・られる (reru/rareru) suffix. For ichidan verbs and 来る (kuru), the passive form and the potential form have an identical conjugation pattern with the same られる (rareru) suffix. This makes it impossible to distinguish whether an ichidan verb adopts a passive or potential function without contextual information.
Passive: Grammatical compatibility
After conjugating into the passive form, the verbs become ichidan verbs. They can therefore be further conjugated according to any ichidan pattern. For instance, a passive verb (e.g. 言われる (iwareru, be said)) can conjugate using the ichidan pattern for the te form (て形, te kei) to join sequential statements (言われて (iwarete)), or the conjunctive form to append the polite -masu (〜ます) auxiliary verb (言われます (iwaremasu)).
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Potential
Summarize
Perspective
The potential form describes the capability of doing something.[361] It is also used to ask favors from others, just as "Can you...?" does in English. However, unlike in English, the potential form does not request permission; the phrase この林檎が食べられる？ (kono ringo ga taberareru?, "Can I eat this apple?") is always understood to mean "Do I have the ability to eat this apple?" or "Is this apple edible?" (but never "May I eat this apple?" ).
For transitive verbs, the potential form uses the が (ga) particle to mark direct objects, instead of the を (o) particle.
Potential: Conjugation table
The potential form is created by using the kanōkei base, followed by the る・(ら)れる (ru/(ra)reru) suffix. する (suru, to do) has its own suppletive potential form 出来る (dekiru, can do). For ichidan verbs and 来る (kuru), the potential form and the passive form have an identical conjugation pattern with the same られる (rareru) suffix. This makes it impossible to distinguish whether an ichidan verb adopts a passive or potential function without contextual information.
For godan verbs, short potential verbs (hanaseru (話せる; 'can speak')) are conventional in Tokyo Japanese, while long verbs, identical to passive verbs (hanasareru (話される; 'can speak; be spoken')), have become largely obsolescent or non-Tokyo. This means that, in Tokyo Japanese, non-godan-based potential verbs such as taberareru (食べられる; 'can eat; be eaten') are ambiguous. Such ambiguity can be resolved, at least colloquially, by a process dubbed ra-nuki kotoba (ら抜き言葉; lit. 'ra-less word'),[361] thus distinguishing the short taberareru → tabereru (食べられる→食べれる; 'can eat') for the potential and the long taberareru (食べられる; 'be eaten') for the passive. This process was originally dialectal, but has been increasingly adopted by Tokyo speakers.[362] Preference polls have shown that even among ra-nuki kotoba users, the likelihood of usage significantly decreases as the mora count in the verb stem exceeds two; in other words, mi.re.ru (見れる; one-mora stem) and ta.be.re.ru (食べれる; two-mora stem) are highly likely, but shi.n.ji.re.ru (信じれる; three-mora stem), ka.n.ga.e.re.ru (考えれる; four-mora stem), o.to.shi.i.re.re.ru (陥れれる; five-mora stem) are much less likely.[363] Other dialects may only use long potential verbs.[364]
The hypothetical potential verb *分かれる (wakareru; 'can understand') is not used. The adversative passive 分かられる (wakarareru; 'suffer from having it understood') and causative 分からせる (wakaraseru; 'cause it to be understood') are acceptable, however.[365]
Apart from the dedicated potential verbs, the circumlocutory phrase koto ga dekiru (ことができる) can be used instead, as in iku koto ga dekiru (行くことができる; 'can go'), yameru koto ga dekiru (止めることができる; 'can stop'), etc. Depending on usage, the particles wa and mo can be used instead of ga.[366]
Most -suru verbs do not have underlying potential verbs and must use suru koto ga dekiru by suppletion, which can be shortened to dekiru only for Group-A verbs, as in yasuku (suru koto ga) dekiru (安く(することが)できる; 'can make cheap'), benkyō (suru koto ga) dekiru (勉強(することが)できる; 'can study'), onegai (suru koto ga) dekiru (お願い(することが)できる; 'can request'); but nessuru koto ga dekiru (熱することができる; 'can heat'), kyōsuru koto ga dekiru (供することができる; 'can offer'), etc. Non-Group-A verbs, which have become more like godan (partially or completely), do have potential verbs, such as aiseru (愛せる; 'can love') (short)/aisareru (愛される; 'can love; be loved') (long), nakuseru (無くせる; 'can lose')/nakusareru (無くされる; 'can lose; be lost'), etc; or more like ichidan, although probably without ra-nuki kotoba, as in ōjirareru/ōzerareru (応じられる・応ぜられる; 'can respond'),[367] or with it, as in shinjireru (信じれる; 'can believe').[362]
Potential: Grammatical compatibility
After conjugating into the potential form, the verbs become ichidan verbs. They can therefore be further conjugated according to any ichidan pattern. For instance, a potential verb (e.g. 言える (ieru, can say)) can conjugate using the ichidan pattern for the te form (て形, te kei) to join sequential statements (言えて (iete)), or the conjunctive form to append the polite -masu (〜ます) auxiliary verb (言えます (iemasu)).
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Causative
Summarize
Perspective
The causative form (使役形, shiekikei) is used to express that a subject was forced or allowed to do something.[373]
- [i] The director causing the action can be specified with the は (wa) or が (ga) particle, whilst the people forced to do the action are specified with the に (ni) particle.[373]
Causative: Conjugation table
The causative form is created by using the mizenkei base, followed by the せる・させる (-seru/-saseru; ichidan) suffix. Colloquially, the shorter す・さす (-su/-sasu; godan) can be used, which may cause some verbs to take the same form, such as ugokasu (動かす; 'cause to move; move it') and ugokaseru (動かせる; 'can cause to move; can move it').[374] -Su/-sasu was the nidan ancestor of the modern ichidan -seru/-saseru; it became yodan sometime during Late Middle Japanese.[131]
Causative: Grammatical compatibility
After conjugating into the causative form, the verbs become ichidan verbs. They can therefore be further conjugated according to any ichidan pattern. For instance, a causative verb (e.g. 言わせる (iwaseru, caused to say)) can conjugate using the ichidan pattern for the te form (て形, te kei) to join sequential statements (言わせて (iwasete)), or the conjunctive form to append the polite -masu (〜ます) auxiliary verb (言わせます (iwasemasu)).
Causative passive
The causative passive form expresses that a reluctant subject was positioned (or forced) into doing something they would rather avoid. The causative passive form is obtained by conjugating a verb into its causative form and further conjugating it into the passive form. However, because words such as 待たせられる (mataserareru) are considered difficult to pronounce, the conjugational suffix is often contracted in colloquial speech. Specific to godan verbs only, the せら〜 (sera-; from せられる) contracts into さ〜 (sa-).[399]
Imperative
Summarize
Perspective
The imperative form functions as firm instructions do in English. It is used to give orders to subordinates (such as within military ranks, or towards pet animals) and to give direct instructions within intimate relationships (for example, within family or close friends). When directed towards a collective rather than an individual, the imperative form is used for mandatory action or motivational speech.[128] The imperative form is also used in reported speech.
However, the imperative form is perceived as confrontational or aggressive when used for commands; instead, it is more common to use the te form (with or without the 〜下さい (-kudasai, please do) suffix), or the conjunctive form's polite imperative suffix, 〜なさい (-nasai).[128]
Imperative: Conjugation table
The imperative form uses the meireikei base.
With non-godan verbs, there are two imperative forms, one ending in 〜ろ (-ro) and one in 〜よ (-yo). -Ro has been characterized as used for speech, while -yo as used for writing.[408] In actuality, this corresponds to a difference between modern Japanese (口語, kōgo; lit. 'oral language'), the modern form of Japanese, and Classical Japanese (文語, bungo; lit. 'literary language'), various stages of premodern Japanese used exclusively in writing. However, the difference between -ro and -yo forms is actually a dialectal one: -ro is characteristic of Kantō (eastern Japan),[ax] and -yo is of Kansai (western Japan).[410][323][411] Both -ro and -yo were interjectional particles in Old Japanese,[412][ay][413][414] and were sometimes optional, sometimes obligatory with non-godan verbs. -Yo became obligatory with non-godan verbs toward Early Middle Japanese, and its reduced variant -i arose during Late Middle Japanese.[415][az] Historically, mi-yo/mi-i/mi-ro (見よ・見い・見ろ; 'look!'), oki-yo/oki-i/oki-ro (起きよ・起きい・起きろ; 'get up!'), ke-yo/ke-i/ke-ro (蹴よ・蹴い・蹴ろ; 'kick!'),[ba] ake-yo/ake-i/ake-ro (開けよ・開けい・開けろ; 'open!') (all ichidan), se-yo/shi-yo/se-i/shi-i/se-ro/shi-ro/se/shi (せよ・しよ・せい・しい・せろ・しろ・せ・し; suru, 'do!') and ko-yo/ki-yo/ko-i/ki-i/ko-ro/ki-ro/ko/ki (来よ・来い・来ろ・来; kuru, 'come!') were all possible,[416][417][418][bb] with -yo and -i being the western forms, and -ro being the eastern form.[422][423][424][425] The division between western -yo/-i and eastern -ro still exists today.[426][427] In modern Tokyo Japanese (eastern, specifically Yamanote Japanese), -yo largely displaced -ro in non-imperative contexts. -Yo can be optionally added to modern imperative forms with no historical -yo, as in kake-yo (書けよ; 'write!'), mi-ro-yo (見ろよ), shi-ro-yo (しろよ), ko-i-yo (来いよ); -ro can no longer be used this way, although historically it used to occasionally be, as with the yodan imperative oke-ro (置けろ; 'put!').[414] Although -yo forms already contains -yo and is primarily "written", it is not impossible for it to be followed by another colloquial -yo, as in Kura o ake-yo-yo (倉を開けよよ; 'Open the storehouse, would you?')[428] or Mō ne-yo-yo (もう寝よよ; 'Just sleep, would you?').[429] While such forms as mi-yo (見よ) have been claimed to be "written only" within Tokyo Japanese, they are only "written" primarily in the sense of being Classical Japanese, the so-called "written language", and they are confined to archaic-sounding usage, such as proverbs or period dramas.[430] A popular example is Ide-yo, Shenron! (出でよ、神龍！; 'Come out, Shenlong!') from Dragon Ball,[431] where an archaic imperative form of an archaic nidan verb, izu (出づ; 'come out'), is used to summon a dragon; the modern equivalent would be dero (出ろ). There also seems to be a difference in register between -yo and -ro forms,[425] the former of which are still used in formal instructions, such as on test forms,[432] in academic questions,[433] on signage, in formal or polite quoted commands or concessive clauses (spoken[434][435][436][437][438] or written[439][440][441]), etc, while the latter has a connotation of colloquial rudeness.[425][bc] Either mi-ro (見ろ) or mi-yo (見よ) can be used in quotes, for example with to iu (という) and tte (って), as in Mi-yo-to it-ta (見よといった; 'He said "Look!"'), Benkyō shiro shiro tte (勉強しろしろって; 'He said "Study, study!"')[409] or Ki-o tsuke-ro-to it-ta (気を付けろといった; 'I said "Be careful!"').[430] Except in ko-i, -i exists as a marginal variant of -yo, as in mi-i (見い), ake-ro-i (開けろい), shi-ro-i (しろい), in Shitamachi Japanese,[409] but it is quite common in western dialects.[419] -re is used in Hokkaido, likely as a shortened -ro-i.[409]
Are and de (wa) are have limited use in writing, for example Kami mo shōran are (神も照覧あれ; 'may God be my witness'),[409] hikari are (光あれ; 'let there be light'), Ito takaki tokoro ni wa eikō, Kami ni are, chi ni wa heiwa, mikokoro ni kanau hito ni are. (いと高きところには栄光、神にあれ、地には平和、御心に適う人にあれ。; 'In the highest realm, glory be unto God, on earth, peace be unto those who earn his grace.'),[442] itsumo Kami ni shitagatte are. (いつも神に従ってあれ。; 'always be obedient to God.'),[443] shōjiki de are (正直であれ; 'be honest').[409] De (wa) are also has a concessive use, as in Riyū wa nan de are, bōryoku wa yoku nai yo. (理由は何であれ，暴力はよくないよ。; 'No matter the reason, violence is not good.'),[444] Nan no heya de are, mō koko ni tomete morau hoka wa nai (何の部屋であれ、もうここに泊めてもらうほかはない; 'Whatever the room may be, we have no choice but to stay here.').[445] This has been linked to a probable contraction from the identically sounding conditional base, de are, preceding the particle -do, as in de are do.[445] However, unambiguously imperative bases in ni seyo and ni shiro also have concessive uses, as in Sanka suru ni seyo, shinai ni seyo, toriaezu renraku o kudasai. (参加するにせよ，しないにせよ，とりあえず連絡を下さい。; 'Whether you partake or not, please get in touch soon.') and Soba ni shiro, udon ni shiro, menrui nara nan de mo ii n da. (そばにしろ，うどんにしろ，麺類なら何でもいいんだ。; 'Soba, udon, whatever, any kind of noodles will do.')[444]
Non‑volitional verbs, such as #invoke:Nihongo and #invoke:Nihongo, have imperative forms (for these two verbs, #invoke:Nihongo and #invoke:Nihongo), but these appear to be relatively recent innovations, and usage may be limited to informal contexts.
Conditional
Summarize
Perspective
The conditional form (also known as the "hypothetical form", "provisional form" and the "provisional conditional eba form") is broadly equivalent to the English conditionals "if..." or "when...". It describes a condition that provides a specific result, with emphasis on the condition.Template:Sfn The conditional form is used to describe hypothetical scenarios or general truths.Template:Sfn
Conditional: Conjugation table
The conditional form is created by using the kateikei base, followed by the #invoke:Nihongo suffix.
The modern conditional evolved from the earlier #invoke:Nihongo base. See #Copula: da, de aru and desu for more.
- Template:Note label For godan verbs ending in #invoke:Nihongo, the conditional conjugation is syncretic with ichidan verbs.
- Template:Note label Colloquially the #invoke:Nihongo form is contracted to #invoke:Nihongo or #invoke:Nihongo, which comes from #invoke:Nihongo. For example, #invoke:Nihongo could become #invoke:Nihongo or #invoke:Nihongo.
Conditional: Advanced usage
In its #invoke:Nihongo, the conditional form can express obligation or insistence by attaching to #invoke:Nihongo or #invoke:Nihongo. This pattern of grammar is a double negative which loosely translates to "to avoid that action, will not happen". Semantically cancelling out the negation becomes "to do that action, will happen" ; however the true meaning is "I must do that action".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
See also
Notes
- When spelt in hiragana, the standard spelling is still いう, not *ゆう.[12][13] This convention, along with the particles wa (は), e (へ) and o (を), is retained from historical kana orthography for practical purposes. For yuu (言う), the kana spelling (いう) is in keeping with other conjugational forms such as iwanai (いわない) and itta (いった). 'say' (Yuu) is possibly homophonous with 'tie (hair)' (yuu),[14] except that the latter can be unaccented or accented, while the former is only unaccented.
- The verb 来る (kuru) has no dedicated kanōkei base. Instead, the passive form 来られる (korareru) is used to express the potential sense. する lacks a kanōkei base; instead, the suppletive ichidan verb できる (dekiru) is used as the potential form of する.[2][16] See also the § Passive: Conjugation table section below.
- There are three mizenkei bases for the verb する (suru), depending on the resulting conjugated form: さ (sa) for passive and causative forms, し (shi) for the negative and volitional forms, and せ (se) for the negative continuous form.[21]
- The meaning of the term 未然形 (mizenkei; irrealis) originates from its archaic usage with the conditional 〜ば (-ba) suffix in Old Japanese and Classical Japanese.[22] The conjugated forms in the modern language, such as the passive and causative forms, do not invoke an irrealis mood, but the term mizenkei was retained.
- The mizenkei base for verbs ending in 〜う (-u) appears to be an exceptional case with the unexpected 〜わ (-wa). This realization of -wa is a leftover from past sound changes, an artifact preserved from the archaic Japanese -fu from -pu verbs (which would have yielded, regularly, -wa from -fa from -pa). This is noted with historical kana orthography in dictionaries; for example, 言う (yuu) from 言ふ (ifu) from ipu and 言わぬ (iwanu) from 言はぬ (ifanu) (from ipanu).[23] In modern Japanese, original instances of mid‑word consonant [w] have since been dropped before all vowels except [a].[23][24][25] (For more on this shift in consonants, see Old Japanese § Consonants, Early Middle Japanese § Consonants, and Late Middle Japanese § /h/ and /p/). Yuwa- is quite common among a number of actors.[17]
- For verbs like kau (買う; 'buy'), yuu (言う; 'say'), etc, there is a clear preference for sokuonbin in northern and eastern dialects, as in katte (買って), itte/yutte (言って) (with yutte being less common generally or by individual speakers who have used both[17]); and for u-onbin in western and southern dialects, as in kōte (買うて), yūte (言うて).[29][30] However, according to two surveys conducted in 2016 and 2017, at least some speakers, particularly female college students from Notre Dame Seishin University, from the western prefecture of Okayama, showed a strong preference for itta n/yutta n (言ったん), even though the broader public still preferred yūta n, and there was a discreprancy in preference for the said forms and itta no/yutta no/yūta no/ (言ったの).[17]
- Suru is also exceptional in that, unlike most verbs, it retains its former conclusive form, su, before ‑beki (べき; 'should').[43]
- (De wa/ja) aranai would be the regular forms, but these are very rarely used, for example in Honma ni uso de wa aranai to yuu no ja na (本間に嘘ではあらないというのじゃな),[41] Tosa to te oni no kuni de mo hebi no kuni de mo aranai mono o (土佐とて鬼の国でも蛇の国でもあらないものを), etc.[53][54] In Murakami Haruki's 2017 novel Killing Commendatore, the character "Commendatore", who is characterized as having "an odd way of speaking" that is "not the way ordinary people would speak",[55] often, but not always, uses aranai in place of nai.
- For godan verbs ending in 〜る (-ru), the imperfective conjugation, or dictionary form, is the simplest form which is syncretic with ichidan verbs.
- -Masuru is characterized as "pseudo-literary"[120] or faux archaic,[121] and generally attributive only: Wakayama ni orimasuru haha (和歌山に居りまする母; 'my mother who is in Wakayama'), Taku e de mo maitte iru yō ni itasō ka to zonjimasuru no de gozaimasu (宅へでも参っているように痛そうかと存じまするのでございます; 'I am wondering whether I should decide to come and stay perhaps at your house'). It is sometimes used where a conclusive form is expected, and not used where an attributive form is expected: Sore ni gisei no tame o omotte mimasuru to, geshuku ni okimasu no wa ikaga de gozaimashō (それに犠牲の為を思って見ますると、下宿に置きますのはいかがでございましょう; 'And thinking of the victims' welfare, how about putting them in a boarding house?'). The conjugational similarity between -masu and suru suggests an etymological link.[122]
- Godan and ichidan-based negatives ending -ranai, -rinai or -renai, specifically with the consonant r, can be reduced to -nnai and even -nnē in speech, as in wakaranai → wakannai (分かんない), naranai → nannē (なんねえ), kurenai → kunnai (呉んない).[133]
- These could hypothetically be the negatives of aisuru (愛する; 'love'), but they are more likely the negatives of aiseru (愛せる; 'can love') instead. See The bases of suru for more.
- At least tassezu (達せず) is quite plausible,[33] although these forms still potentially pose the same problem of confusion like aisen(u)/-zu (愛せん・～ぬ・～ず) above.
- Functionally, aranu is usually an attributive adjective that idiomatically means "unexpected" or "untoward",[184][185] as in aranu koto o kuchibashiru (あらぬことを口走る; 'blurt something out out of left field'). It can still have a literal meaning and be used predicatively just like nai, but for literary or faux-archaic effect, as in the Parmenidian phrase aru mono wa ari, aranu mono wa aranu (あるものはあり、あらぬものはあらぬ; transl. that which is, is, that which is not, is not).
- Arazu usually occurs in the literary negative copular phrase ni arazu (にあらず),[189] as in taben wa yūben ni arazu (多弁は雄弁にあらず; transl. a wealth of word is not eloquence).
- The irregular yutte (行って)[197][198][199] and yutta (行った),[197][198][200] and the regular iite[197][201][202][203][204]/yuite[197][200][205][206][207][199][208] (行いて) and iita[197][209][198][210][211]/yuita[212][200][205][213][214] (行いた), are historically attested in both classical and modern Japanese, but they seem to have fallen out of use, even though ika/yuka, iki/yuki, iku/yuku, ike/yuke and ikō/yukō all remain in use.[215][108]
- The authenticity of this particular occurrence is rather dubious. The two other instances of 戀つて in this same edition are meant to be pronounced omotte rather than kotte. Where this edition has kotte (戀つて), others have shitatte (慕つて) instead.[235]
- For verbs like kau (買う; 'buy'), yuu (言う; 'say'), etc, there is a clear preference for sokuonbin in northern and eastern dialects, as in katte (買って), itte/yutte (言って); and for u-onbin in western and southern dialects, as in kōte (買うて), yūte (言うて).[29][30] In standard Japanese (eastern), however, there are three exceptions where u-onbin is preferred, tōte (問うて; 'ask; inquire'), kōte (請うて・乞うて; 'ask; request') and kōte (恋うて; 'long for').[216][217][218] For these verbs, sokuonbin is rare,[216] but not nonexistent, such as totte (問って)[219][220][221]/totta (問った),[222][223][224][225][226] kotte (請って・乞って)[227][228][229]/kotta (請った・乞った)[230][231][232][233] and kotte (恋って).[234][y] Forms such as itōte (厭うて), ōta (負うた), sōta (沿うた), notamōta (宣うた),[216] tamōte (給うて)[236] have been reported as well.
- The 〜ないで (-nai de) form is only grammatical with verbs. It is used to emphasize negation, or otherwise used as an imperative if an auxiliary follows, e.g. 〜ないで下さい (-nai de kudasai, Please don't...).[194]
- The final stage was likely to make the original mizenkei more obvious, and the suffix more uniform.[270]
- In this particular case, the eastern vowel i replaced the original western vowel e. See The bases of suru for more.
- For godan verbs ending in 〜う (-u), the "う" changes to "わ" (wa) in the passive conjugation. It does not change to "あ" (a).[305]
- Said to be shortened from serareru (せられる) below.[319]
- Serareru is aid to be "pseudo-literary" (meant to emulate the writing style of classical Japanese) by Martin (2004:289). Serareru/shirareru are also said to be shortened to sareru (される) above. The true classical form would be seraru (せらる), which can be shortened to saru (さる).[321][322][323][324][325] Shirareru is rare for Group-A verbs,[326] and is not to be confused with shirareru (知られる; 'be known'), which may also be spelt in hiragana.
- irassharareru (いらっしゃられる),[350][351][352] ossharareru (仰られる),[352][353][354] nasarareru (為さられる).[355][356][357]
Excessively honorific verbs have been proscribed by textbooks, but they seem somewhat tolerable by speakers, even though they are still not as frequent with options without -reru.[358][359] There are historical precedents of such double honorifics dating back to the Edo period.[360] - For specific example quotations, see #Passive: Conjugation table
- For godan verbs ending in 〜う (-u), the "う" changes to "わ" (wa) in the causative conjugation. It does not change to "あ" (a).[373]
- Said to be shortened from sesaseru (せさせる) below.[386]
- Purported to be used in modern Japnese,[386][387] but questioned by Martin (2004:289). Also said to be shortened to saseru (させる) above. Like the passive verb serareru (せられる), this is meant to emulate the writing style of classical Japanese, as the true classical would be sesasu (せさす), which can be shortened to sasu (さす).[386]
- Theoretical conjugation only; it's unnatural and not usually used.[2][307] One author has used nasaraseta (なさらせた) in their literal translations of Amdo Tibetan honorific causatives.[398]
- An adaptation of a quote from King Lear.
- A quote attributed to Steve Jobs.
- Although not unheard of western and southern Japan.[409]
- The author uses the term "central" rather than "western" for the once capital Nara, now located in Kansai.
- According to a 1991 survey: -ro is dominates eastern dialects; -yo is found mostly in central Chūbu and eastern Kyushu; -i dominates western dialects in Honshu and Shikoku; -re is found in the northernmost dialects in Hokkaido and the southernmost ones in Kyushu. Shiro dominates eastern dialects, while sē does western dialects, except in central Chūbu where there is a concentration of seyo and shiyo; sero and sere concentrate in western Kyushu. Koi occurs consistently across Japan; kō has a strong presence in the east; there is a concentration of kē and ke in Kyushu; koyo is rare, despite being the standard form in classical Japanese.[419][420][421] According to another account, koro occurs in an Akita dialect, while kiro is found in Ibaraki; other variants include kiyo, kī, kui, keyo, etc.[414]
- The author argues that the imperative forms of most verbs are inherently rude in speech, barring those of honorific verbs which are presumed to be polite, such as irasshai (いらっしゃい; 'come, please!'), asobase (遊ばせ; 'play, please!'), kudasai (下さい; 'give me, please!'). The problem is that, with the sole exception of goranjiro (御覧じろ; 'look, please!'), most of these verbs' conjugations (yodan/godan) have nothing to do with -ro (non-yodan/godan only), giving -ro an unavoidable connotation of rudeness. -Yo, on the other hand, is associated with classical Japanese (the "written" language) and therefore is the only appropriate option in formal contexts, even in speech.
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