Japanese conjugation

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.

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.

A revision sheet visually summarizing the conjugations and uses described below

Verb groups

Main article: Japanese godan and ichidan verbs

Gojuon Table

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]

1. Godan verbs (五段動詞, godan-dōshi; literally: "five‑row verbs"), also known as "pentagrade verbs"
2. Ichidan verbs (一段動詞, ichidan-dōshi; literally: "one‑row verbs"), also known as "monograde verbs"
3. 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]

Godan Form		Gojūon table 'ma' row	Godan Verb 読む (to read)		Ichidan Form	Ichidan Verb 見る (to see)	Ichidan Verb 止める (to stop)
	Negative	ま (ma)	読まない yomanai		Negative	みない* minai	止めない tomenai
	Polite	み (mi)	読みます yomimasu		Polite	みます* mimasu	止めます tomemasu
	Dictionary (no conjugation)	む (mu)	読む yomu		Dictionary	みる* miru	止める tomeru
	Potential	め (me)	読める yomeru		Potential	みられる* mirareru	止められる tomerareru
	Volitional	も (mo)	読もう yomō		Volitional	みよう* miyō	止めよう tomeyō

^* 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.

Verb bases

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]

Verb base formation table

Verb base		Godan		Ichidan		Irregular				Usage
		言う (to say)	作る (to make)	見る (to see)	始める (to begin)	来る (to come)	する (to do)
	Shūshikei base [9]	No changes		No changes		No changes				Imperfective form
	(終止形, Terminal)	言う yuu[a]	作る tsukuru	見る miru	始める hajimeru	くる kuru	する suru
	Rentaikei base [9] (連体形, Attributive)
Kateikei base [15]		Shift the 〜〇 kana to the え row		Remove る		[i]				Conditional form
(仮定形, Hypothetical)		言え ie[b]	作れ tsukure	見 mi	始め hajime	くれ kure	すれ sure
	Kanōkei base [4][5]	Shift the 〜〇 kana to the え row				(こ ko)	(できる dekiru)			Potential form
	(可能形, Potential)	言え ie[b]	作れ tsukure
Meireikei base [18]		Shift the 〜〇 kana to the え row		Remove る[ii]			[ii]			Imperative form
(命令形, Imperative)		言え ie[b]	作れ tsukure	見 mi (見ろ miro)	始め hajime (始めろ hajimero)	こい koi	しろ shiro せよ seyo
Mizenkei base [19]		Shift the 〜〇 kana to the あ row		Remove る			[v]			Negative form Passive form Causative form
(未然形, Irrealis) [iii]		言わ iwa/yuwa [iv]	作ら tsukura	見 mi	始め hajime	こ ko	さ sa	し shi	せ se
	Suiryoukei / Ishikei base [20]	Shift the 〜〇 kana to the お row					し shi			Tentative form
	(推量形 / 意思形,　Tentative)	言お io[b]	作ろ tsukuro
Ren'yōkei base [21]		Shift the 〜〇 kana to the い row		Remove る						Conjunctive form
(連用形, Conjunctive)		言い ii[b]	作り tsukuri	見 mi	始め hajime	き ki	し shi
	Onbinkei base [22]	Remove the 〜〇 kana, add っ, し, い or ん								Perfective form te form
	(音便形, Euphonic)	言っ it/yut [vi]	作っ tsukut

^[i] 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][23] See also the § Passive: Conjugation table section below.

^[ii] 〜ろ (-ro) is used for the spoken imperative form, while 〜よ (-yo) is used for the written imperative form.^[24]

^[iii] 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.^[25] 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.

^[iv] 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).^[26] In modern Japanese, original instances of mid‑word consonant [w] have since been dropped before all vowels except [a].^[26][27][28] (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.^[16]

^[v] 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.^[29]

^[vi] 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^[16]); and for u-onbin in western and southern dialects, as in kōte (買うて), yūte (言うて).^[30][31] 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).^[16]

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.^[32]

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:

食べさせられたくなかった (tabesaseraretakunakatta, "did not want to be made to eat")
食べ (tabe)	させ (sase)	られ (rare)	たく (taku)	なかっ (naka'-)	た (ta)
Mizenkei base of 食べる (taberu)	Mizenkei base of the させる (saseru) causative suffix	Ren'yōkei base of the られる (rareru) passive suffix	Ren'yōkei base of the たい (tai) desiderative suffix	Past‑tense ren'yōkei base of the ない (nai) negation suffix	Inflectional suffix た (ta), marking past tense
"to eat" (Verb stem)	Causative voice: "to make someone do"	Passive voice: "to be done"	Desiderative mood: "wanting to do something"	Negation: "not", negates whatever came before	Perfective aspect: indicates completion or past tense

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][20]

The ren'yōkei base also underwent various euphonic changes specific to the perfective and conjunctive (te) forms for certain verb stems,^[33][6][7] giving rise to the onbinkei or euphonic base.^[22] In the onbinkei base, the inflectional suffixes for godan verbs vary according to the last kana of the verb's ren'yōkei base.^[2]

Copula: da, de aru and desu

See also: Japanese grammar § Copula (だ da)

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).^[34]

Copula example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
It is a book.	本です (hon desu)	predicate
The weather was awful.	天気が大変でした (tenki ga taihen deshita)	copula, A is B
Ah! A cockroach!	わっ！ゴキブリだ！ (wa! gokiburi da!)	self‑directed

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]

Dictionary form	Attributive	Negative (colloquial)	Negative (formal)	Perfective (past tense)	Perfective negative (colloquial)	Perfective negative (formal)	te form	Conditional	Conjectural (probably)	Imperative
だ da	な（る） na(ru)	じゃない ja nai [i]	で（は）ない de (wa) nai[c] で（は）あらない de (wa) aranai[d][c]	だった datta	じゃなかった ja nakatta	で（は）なかった de (wa) nakatta[c] で（は）あらない de (wa) aranakatta[c]	で de	なら（ば） nara(ba)	(だろう) (darō) [ii]
である de aru				であった de atta				であれば de areba	(であろう) (de arō)	であれ de are[e]
です desu[f]		じゃありません ja arimasen [i] じゃないです ja nai desu[37]	で（は）ありません de (wa) arimasen[c] で（は）ないです de (wa) nai desu[37][c]	でした deshita	じゃありませんでした ja arimasen deshita じゃなかったです ja nakatta desu[37]	で（は）ありませんでした de (wa) arimasen deshita[c] で（は）なかったです de (wa) nakatta desu[37][c]			(でしょう) (deshō) [ii]
であります[38] de arimasu[f]				でありました de arimashita					(でありましょう) (de arimashō)

^[i] じゃ (ja) is a colloquial abbreviation of では (de wa).^[10]

^[ii] 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.^[39] Unlike da which is inherently blunt and only suitable for familiar speech, darō is suitable for writing.^[40]

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^[41][42] and to, which yielded three variants, ni ari/ni aru → nari/naru,^[43] de ari/de aru → da^[44] 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,^[45] which in turn evolved into the modern past auxiliary ta.^[46] It also combined with adjectival roots to expand their conjugation, for example akaku arō → akakarō (赤かろう) and akaku atta → akakatta (赤かった).

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, spoken conclusive da, and the formal, written conclusive de aru.
• The current attributive form of de aru is still de aru. Da takes naru → na (of said nari) as its attributive form^[47] only in adjectival verbs,^[48] 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');^[49] 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').^[48] 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.^[50] 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').^[51] 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').
• De 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 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.^[52]
• Desu, a copula of uncertain origin, takes its missing forms from de aru and de arimasu, the latter of which is conceivably the ancestor of desu.^[53]

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.^[54]

Imperfective

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.^[55]

Imperfective form example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
(Do you eat sushi?) Yes, I eat sushi.	(寿司を食べる?) (sushi o taberu?) うん、寿司を食べる (un, sushi o taberu)	assumption to continue action
I go shopping every weekend.	毎週末買い物する (mai shūmatsu kaimono suru)	habit / reoccurring action
I will study tomorrow.	明日勉強する (ashita benkyō suru)	future intention

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 (see § te form: Grammatical compatibility, below).

Imperfective: Conjugation table

The imperfective form uses the shūshikei/rentaikei base, and is thus equivalent to the dictionary form.

Dictionary form	Pattern [2]	Imperfect form
Godan verbs	No change
作る (tsukuru, make)[i]	→	作る (tsukuru, make)
言う (yuu, say)	→	言う (yuu, say)
持つ (motsu, carry)	→	持つ (motsu, carry)
探す (sagasu, look for)	→	探す (sagasu, look for)
Ichidan verbs	No change
見る (miru, see)	→	見る (miru, see)
始める (hajimeru, begin)	→	始める (hajimeru, begin)
Irregular verbs
来る (kuru, come)	→	来る (kuru, come)
する (suru, do)	→	する (suru, do)
Special conjugations
〜ます (-masu)	→	〜ます (-masu)

^[i] For godan verbs ending in 〜る (-ru), the imperfective conjugation, or dictionary form, is the simplest form which is syncretic with ichidan verbs.

Imperfective: Grammatical compatibility

The imperfective form can be used to issue prohibitive commands by attaching 〜な (-na).^[56] 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!).

Negative

The negative form is broadly equivalent to the English word "not".^[55]

Negative form example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
I don't drink alcohol.	お酒は飲まない (osake wa nomanai)	assumption to continue inaction
I won't brush my teeth.	歯を磨かない (ha o migakanai)	immediate inaction
I won't work tomorrow.	明日働かない (ashita hatarakanai)	future inaction

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 earlier -nu (tsukuranu (作らぬ)), but was largely displaced by -nai (tsukuranai (作らない)).^[57] However, only -n(u), not -nai, is compatible with -masu (ます), which yields -masen (ません),^[58] 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,^[59] 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').^[59] -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.^[60] -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').^[61]

-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)).^[57]

Dictionary form	Pattern [2]		Negative form
Godan verbs	Shift the 〜〇 kana to the あ row, then add ない
作る (tsukuru, make)	作る → ら + ない・ん・ぬ・ず		作らない[g]・～ん・～ぬ・～ず (tsukuranai/-n(u)/-zu, not make)
言う (yuu, say) [i]	言う → わ + ない・ん・ぬ・ず		言わない・～ん・～ぬ・～ず (iwanai/yuwanai/-n(u)/-zu, not say)
持つ (motsu, carry)	持つ → た + ない・ん・ぬ・ず		持たない・～ん・～ぬ・～ず (motanai/-n(u)/-zu, not carry)
探す (sagasu, look for)	探す → さ + ない・ん・ぬ・ず		探さない・～ん・～ぬ・～ず (sagasanai/-n(u)/-zu, not look for)
愛す (aisu, love)	愛す → さ + ない・ん・ぬ・ず		愛さない[63]・～ん・～ぬ[64]・～ず[65] (aisanai/-n(u)/-zu, not love)
Ichidan verbs	Remove る then add ない
見る (miru, see)	見る + ない・ん・ぬ・ず		見ない・～ん・～ぬ・～ず (minai/-n(u)/-zu, not see)
始める (hajimeru, begin)	始める + ない・ん・ぬ・ず		始めない・～ん・～ぬ・～ず (hajimenai/-n(u)/-zu, not begin)
信じる (shinjiru, believe)	信じる + ない・ん・ぬ・ず		信じない・～ん・～ぬ・～ず (shinjinai/-n(u)/-zu, not believe)
Irregular verbs
来る (kuru, come)[h]	くる → こ + ない・ん・ぬ・ず		こない・～ん・～ぬ・～ず (konai/-n(u)/-zu, not come)
する (suru, do)[i]	する →	し + ない	しない (shinai, not do)
		せ + ん・ぬ・ず	せん・～ぬ・～ず (sen(u)/-zu, not do)
勉強する (suru, study)[i]	勉強する →	し + ない	勉強しない (benkyō shinai, not study)
		せ + ん・ぬ・ず	勉強せん・～ぬ・～ず (benkyō sen(u)/-zu, not study)
愛する (aisuru, love)	愛する →	さ + ない・ん・ぬ・ず	愛さない[63][67]・ん・～ぬ[68]・～ず[69] (aisanai/-n(u)/-zu, not love)
		し + ない	愛しない (aishinai, not love)[70][71][72][73]
		せ + ん・ぬ・ず	愛せん・ぬ・ず (aisen(u)/-zu, not love)[j]
罰する (bassuru, punish)	罰する →	し + ない	罰しない (basshinai, not punish)
		せ + ん・ぬ・ず	罰せん・～ぬ・～ず (bassen(u)/-zu, not punish)
信ずる (shinzuru, believe)	信ずる →	じ + ない・ん・ぬ・ず	信じない・～ん・～ぬ・～ず (shinjinai/-n(u)/-zu, not believe)
		ぜ + ん・ぬ・ず	信ぜん・～ぬ・～ず (shinzen(u)/-zu, not believe)
Special conjugations
〜ます (-masu)	〜ます → せ + ん・ぬ・ず		〜ません・～ぬ・～ず (-masen(u)/-zu, not)
Special exceptions
ある (aru, exist)	ある → ない		ない (nai, not exist)
	ある → ら + ない・ん・ぬ・ず		あらない[d]・～ん・～ぬ・～ず (aranai/-n(u)/-zu, not exist)

^[i] For godan verbs ending in 〜う (-u), the "う" changes to "わ" (wa) in the negative conjugation. It does not change to "あ" (a).

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 form: Grammatical compatibility example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
Please don't eat it.	食べないで下さい (tabenai de kudasai)	request to cease/desist
Without eating, I went to bed.	食べないで、寝た (tabenai de, neta)	add a subordinate clause
I didn't talk.	話さなかった (hanasanakatta)	i‑adjective inflection (example: negative past tense)

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.^[80][81]

Negative continuous form example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
While not eating breakfast, I went to work.	朝ごはんを食べず、仕事へ行った (asa gohan o tabezu, shigoto e itta)	negative continuous
I went to work without eating breakfast.	朝ごはんを食べずに仕事へ行った (asa gohan o tabezu ni shigoto e itta)	without doing

Perfective

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".^[82]

Perfective form example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
I went to Japan.	日本に行った (nihon ni itta)	past tense
I practiced piano every day.	毎日ピアノの練習をした (mainichi piano no renshū o shita)	simple past

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)

Dictionary form		Pattern [2]	Perfective form
Godan verbs		Various suffix-specific patterns
る	作る (tsukuru, make)	作る + った	作った (tsukutta, made)
う	言う (yuu, say)	言う + った	言った (itta/yutta, said)
つ	持つ (motsu, carry)	持つ + った	持った (motta, carried)
す	探す (sagasu, look for)	探す → した	探した (sagashita, looked for)
く	置く (oku, put)	置く + いた	置いた (oita, had put)
ぐ	泳ぐ (oyogu, swim)	泳ぐ + いだ	泳いだ (oyoida, swam)
ぶ	呼ぶ (yobu, summon)	呼ぶ + んだ	呼んだ (yonda, summoned)
む	休む (yasumu, rest)	休む + んだ	休んだ (yasunda, rested)
ぬ	死ぬ (shinu, die) [i]	死ぬ + んだ	死んだ (shinda, died)
Ichidan verbs		Remove る then add た
見る (miru, see)		見る + た	見た (mita, saw)
始める (hajimeru, begin)		始める + た	始めた (hajimeta, began)
Irregular verbs		Shift the 〇〜 kana to the い row, remove る then add た
来る (kuru, come)		くる → き + た	きた (kita, came)
する (suru, do)		する → し + た	した (shita, did it)
Special conjugations
〜ます (-masu)		〜ます → し + た	〜ました (-mashita, did) [ii]
〜ない (-nai, not)		〜ない + かった	〜なかった (-nakatta, did not)
Special exceptions
行く (iku/yuku, go)		行く + った・いた	行った・行いた (itta/iita / yutta/yuita, went)[k]
問う (tou, ask/blame)		問う + うた・った	問うた・問った (tōta/totta, asked/blamed)[m]
請う (kou, beg)		請う + うた・った	請うた・請った (kōta/kotta, begged)[m]
恋う (kou, long for)		恋う + うた・った	恋うた・恋った (kōta/kotta, longed for)[m]

^[i] 死ぬ (shinu, to die) is the only verb with the ぬ (nu) suffix, in the entire Japanese vocabulary.

^[ii] The negative perfective form of 〜ます is 〜ませんでした (-masen deshita, did not).^[2]

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.^[124][125]
• 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.^[126][54]
  • It can be used to mean "if" or "when";
  • It can also be used to reveal an unexpected outcome that happened in the past.

Perfective form: Grammatical compatibility example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
I read a book, watched TV, etc.	本を読んだり、テレビを見たりした (hon o yondari, terebi o mitari shita)	non‑exhaustive list of actions
If I go to Japan, I want to see Mount Fuji.	日本に行ったら、富士山が見たい (nihon ni ittara, fuji san ga mitai)	if or when
When I went to the cafe, I came across Suzuki.	カフェに行ったら、鈴木さんに会った (kafe ni ittara, Suzuki-san ni atta)	unexpected past outcome

te form

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.^[127][128]

te form example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
(I will eat breakfast. I will go to school.) I will eat breakfast and go to school.	朝ごはんを食べる。学校に行く。 (asagohan o taberu. gakkō ni iku.) 朝ごはんを食べて学校に行く (asagohan o tabete gakkō ni iku)	conjunction
Please eat.	食べて (tabete)	gentle instruction
I am waiting.	待っている (matte iru)	auxiliary verb (example: present-continuous)

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.^[129] (see § Conjunctive form vs te form, below)

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)

Dictionary form		Pattern [2]	te form
Godan verbs		Various suffix-specific patterns
る	作る (tsukuru, make)	作る + って	作って (tsukutte, make and)
う	言う (yuu, say)	言う + って	言って (itte/yutte, say and)
つ	持つ (motsu, carry)	持つ + って	持って (motte, carry and)
す	探す (sagasu, look for)	探す → して	探して (sagashite, look for and)
く	置く (oku, put)	置く + いて	置いて (oite, put and)
ぐ	泳ぐ (oyogu, swim)	泳ぐ + いで	泳いで (oyoide, swim and)
ぶ	呼ぶ (yobu, summon)	呼ぶ + んで	呼んで (yonde, summon and)
む	休む (yasumu, rest)	休む + んで	休んで (yasunde, rest and)
ぬ	死ぬ (shinu, die) [i]	死ぬ + んで	死んで (shinde, die and)
Ichidan verbs		Remove る then add て
見る (miru, see)		見る + て	見て (mite, see and)
始める (hajimeru, begin)		始める + て	始めて (hajimete, begin and)
Irregular verbs		Shift the 〇〜 kana to the い row, remove る then add て
来る (kuru, come)		くる → き + て	きて (kite, come and)
する (suru, do)		する → し + て	して (shite, do it and)
Special conjugations
〜ます (-masu)		〜ます → し + て	〜まして (-mashite, and)
〜ない (-nai, not) [ii]		〜ない + で	〜ないで (-naide, without and)[iii]
		〜ない + くて	〜なくて (-nakute, not and)[iv]
Special exceptions
行く (iku/yuku, go)		行く + って・いて	行って・行いて (itte/iite / yutte/yuite, go and)[k]
問う (tou, ask/blame)		問う + うて・って	問うて・問って (tōte/totte, ask/blame and)[m]
請う (kou, beg)		請う + うて・って	請うて・請って (kōte/kotte, beg and)[m]
恋う (kou, long for)		恋う + うて・って	恋うた・恋った (kōte/kotte, long for and)[m]

^[i] 死ぬ (shinu, to die) is the only verb with the ぬ (nu) suffix, in the entire Japanese vocabulary.

^[ii] This conjugation is not reciprocated in the perfective form; the past tense of ない (-nai) is なかった (-nakatta, was not).

^[iii] 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...).^[80]

^[iv] The 〜なくて (-nakute) form is grammatical with adjectives and copula, but also with verbs when expressing a consequential human emotion or contradiction.^[80]

te form: Grammatical compatibility

The te form is compatible with particles for additional functions, such as giving permission or expressing prohibition.^[130][128]

te form: Particle example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
It's okay to eat here.	ここで食べてもいい (koko de tabete mo ii)	permission
You must not eat here.	ここで食べてはいけない (koko de tabete wa ikenai)	prohibition

The te form is also compatible with an extensive list of auxiliary verbs. These auxiliary verbs are attached after the 〜て.^[131]

te form: Auxiliary verb example sentences

Aux.	English	Japanese	Function
〜いる	I'm carrying the bag.	鞄を持っている (kaban o motte iru) [v]	continuous action
〜ある	Some Arabic letters are written here.	ここにアラビア文字が書いてある (koko ni arabia moji ga kaite aru)	completed and remains to be
〜おく	I'll make a sandwich for later.	サンドイッチを作っておく (sandoitchi o tsukutte oku) [vi]	prepare for future
〜みる	I'll try to climb Mount Everest.	エベレスト山に登ってみる (eberesuto san ni nobotte miru)	attempt
〜しまう	(I ate.) I finished eating.	(食べた) (tabeta) 食べてしまった (tabete shimatta)	emphasize completion
＊ちゃう	I accidentally forgot my smartphone!	スマホ忘れちゃった！ (sumaho wasure chatta!) [vii]	accident/regret

^[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).^[132]

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.^[133][131]

te form: Request example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
Please lend me the book.	本を貸して下さい (hon o kashite kudasai)	polite request
Will you lend me the book?	本を貸してくれない？ (hon o kashite kurenai?)	plain request

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).

te form: Advanced usage example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
I'll go to the pharmacy and buy medicine.	薬局へ行って薬を買う (yakkyoku e itte kusuri o kau)	typical conjunction
I'll buy medicine, by going to the pharmacy	薬を買う。薬局へ行って (kusuri o kau. yakkyoku e itte)	reversed conjunction

Conjunctive

The conjunctive form (also known as the "stem form", "masu form", "i form" and the "continuative form")^[134] 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.^{[135][129][136][137]}

Conjunctive form example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
I'll meet the customer.	お客様に会います (okyakusama ni aimasu)	polite language
I want to win the game.	試合に勝ちたい (shiai ni kachitai)	auxiliary verb (example: desire)
I'll go to see a movie.	映画を見に行く (eiga o mi ni iku)	particle (example: purpose)
We're about to change trains. Don't forget your shopping!	まもなく列車を乗り換えるよ。 (mamonaku ressha o norikaeru yo.) 買い物を忘れるな！ (kaimono o wasureru na!)	compound words

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.

Dictionary form	Pattern [2]		Conjunctive form
Godan verbs	Shift the 〜〇 kana to the い row
作る (tsukuru, make)	作る → り		作り (tsukuri, making)
言う (yuu, say)	言う → い		言い (ii, saying)
持つ (motsu, carry)	持つ → ち		持ち (mochi, carrying)
探す (sagasu, look for)	探す → し		探し (sagashi, looking for)
Ichidan verbs	Remove る
見る (miru, see)	見る		見 (mi, seeing)
始める (hajimeru, begin)	始める		始め (hajime, beginning)
Irregular verbs	Shift the 〇〜 kana to the い row, then remove る
来る (kuru, come)	くる → き		き (ki, coming)
する (suru, do)	する → し		し (shi, doing)
Honorific verbs
下さる (kudasaru, give)	下さる →	り	下さい (kudasari, giving)
		い・り + ます	下さいます・下さります (kudasa(r)imasu, give)[n]

Conjunctive: Grammatical compatibility

The conjunctive form is compatible with particles for additional functions, such as expressing purpose^[139] or a firm avoidance.^[140]

Conjunctive form: Particle example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
I'll go to Hiroshima to see the Itsukushima shrine.	厳島神社を見に広島へ行く (itsukushima jinja o mi ni hiroshima e iku)	purpose
I won't talk.	話しはしない (hanashi wa shinai)	firm avoidance

The conjunctive form is also compatible with an extensive list of auxiliary verbs.^[135] One of which, ます (masu), has highly irregular inflections.^{[141][142][143]}

Conjunctive form: Auxiliary verb example sentences

Aux.	English	Japanese	Function
〜ます	I'll write a letter.	手紙を書きます (tegami o kakimasu)	polite language
〜たい	I want to buy a new computer.	新しいパソコンを買いたい (atarashii pasokon o kai tai)	desire
〜易い	It's easy to learn mathematics.	数学が学び易い (sūgaku ga manabi yasui)	easy to do
〜難い	It's hard to understand classical literature.	古典文学が分かり難い (koten bungaku ga wakari nikui)	difficult to do
〜過ぎる	I drink too much alcohol.	お酒を飲み過ぎる (o sake o nomi sugiru)	excessiveness
〜ながら	I'll drink coffee while walking to the station.	駅に向かって歩きながらコーヒーを飲む (eki ni mukatte aruki nagara kōhii o nomu)	simultaneous action
〜なさい	Write your name here.	ここに名前を書きなさい (koko ni namae o kaki nasai)	polite imperative

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.^[129][128]

Conjunctive: Conjunctive form vs te form

Permissible	English	Japanese	Relationship between verbs
te form	I'll go to the department store and do some shopping.	デパートへ行って、買い物をする depāto e itte, kaimono o suru	closely related
te form	I'll meet my friend and ask about their holiday.	友達に会って、休みのことを尋ねる tomodachi ni atte, yasumi no koto o tazuneru	both controllable
te form	The ground shook so much in the earthquake that I couldn't stand up.	地震で地面がすごく揺れて、立てなかった jishin de jimen ga sugoku yurete, tatenakatta	both uncontrollable
Interchangeable	Can you open the fridge and get me the carrots from the lower right shelf?	冷蔵庫を開けて、右下の棚から人参を取ってくれない？ reizōko o akete, migi shita no tana kara ninjin o totte kurenai?	additional information between them
		冷蔵庫を開け、右下の棚から人参を取ってくれない？ reizōko o ake, migi shita no tana kara ninjin o totte kurenai?
Conjunctive form	They were born in Japan and studied at a Japanese school.	彼らは日本で生まれ、日本の学校で勉強した karera wa nihon de umare, nihon no gakkō de benkyō shita	unrelated (birth is unrelated to studying)
Conjunctive form	It rained, so I used an umbrella.	雨が降り、傘を使った ame ga furi, kasa o tsukatta	uncontrollable + controllable

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).^[129]

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).^[144]

Conjunctive form: Compound word examples

Verb [conjunctive form] + Noun/Verb [imperfective form]		Compound	Literal translation	Dynamic translation	Function
食べ (tabe, eating)	物 (mono, thing)	食べ物 (tabe mono)	"eating thing"	food	compound noun
切り (kiri, cutting)	離す (hanasu, to separate)	切り離す (kiri hanasu)	"cutting and separating"	to cut off	compound verb
誓い (chikai, promise)	合う (au, to unite)	誓い合う (chikai au)	"promising and uniting"	to promise each other	mutual verb

The conjunctive form is also used in formal honorifics, such as お使い下さい (o tsukai kudasai, "Please use this.").

Volitional

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)^[145] or to make a guess or supposition (presumptive).

Volitional form example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
I will put off this task for later.	その仕事は後回しにしよう (sono shigoto wa atomawashi ni shiyō)[146]	personal volition
Let's go home!	帰ろう！ (kaerō!)	inclusive command
Shall we eat outside?	外で食べようか？ (soto de tabeyō ka?)	inclusive invitation
There will probably be many objections at the meeting.	会議では多くの反論が出されよう (kaigi de wa ōku no hanron ga dasareyō)[146]	making a guess or supposition

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/shi mashō (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'). Kumorō/kumori mashō (曇ろう・曇りましょう) means "will probably be cloudy" tentatively, not *"let's be cloudy" volitionally, and dekiyō/deki mashō (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).^[147] Arō (tentative) may be substituted with aru darō in writing, and with ari mashō for more politeness;^[40] and de arō with darō in writing, and with de ari mashō for more politeness.^[60]

Dictionary form	Pattern [2]		Volitional form	Historical evolution[148]
Godan verbs	Shift the 〜〇 kana to the お row, then add う
作る (tsukuru, make)	作る → ろ + う		作ろう (tsukurō, let's make)	/amu → aũ → ɔː → oː/
言う (yuu, say)	言う → お + う		言おう (iō, let's say)
持つ (motsu, carry)	持つ → と + う		持とう (motō, let's carry)
探す (sagasu, look for)	探す → そ + う		探そう (sagasō, let's look for)
愛す (aisu, love)	愛す → そ + う		愛そう (aisō, let's love)
Ichidan verbs	Remove る then add よう
見る (miru, see)	見る + よう		見よう (miyō, let's see)	/imu → iũ → juː → ijoː/[o]
始める (hajimeru, begin)	始める + よう		始めよう (hajimeyō, let's begin)	/emu → eũ → joː → ejoː/[o]
信じる (shinjiru, believe)	信じる + よう		信じよう (shinjiyō, let's believe)
Irregular verbs
来る (kuru, come)	くる → こ + よう		こよう (koyō, let's come back)	/komu → koũ → koː → kojoː/[o]
する (suru, do)	する → し + よう		しよう (shiyō, let's do it)	/semu → seũ → sjoː → sijoː/[o]
勉強する (benkyō suru, study)	勉強する → し + よう		勉強しよう (benkyō shiyō, let's study)
愛する (aisuru, love)	愛する →	そ + う	愛そう (aisō, let's love)
		し + よう	愛しよう (aishiyō, let's love)
罰する (bassuru, punish)	罰する → し + よう		罰しよう (basshiyō, let's punish)
信ずる (shinzuru, believe)	信ずる → じ + よう		信じよう (shinjiyō, let's believe)
Special conjugations
です (desu)	です → しょ + う		でしょう (deshō, probably be)	/semu → seũ → sjoː/
〜ます (-masu)	〜ます → しょ + う		〜ましょう (-mashō, let's)
〜ない (-nai, not)	ない → かろ + う		〜なかろう (-nakarō, probably not)[p]	/ɾamu → ɾaũ → ɾɔː → ɾoː/
Honorific verbs	Change る to ろ then add う
Honorific verbs	〜る → ろ + う		〜ろう (-rō, let's)[q]
Special exceptions
ある (aru, exist)	ある → ろ + う		あろう (arō, probably exist)[164][165][166][167][156]
だ (da)	だ + ろう		だろう (darō, probably be)

Volitional: Grammatical compatibility

The volitional form is also used to describe intention 〜と思う (-to omou)^[168] an attempt 〜とする (-to suru) or an imminent action 〜としている (-to shite iru).^[169]

Volitional form: Particle example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
I think I'm going to make a salad.	サラダを作ろうと思う (sarada o tsukurō to omou)	intention
I'll try to go to bed early.	早く寝ようとする (hayaku neyō to suru)	attempt
The dog is about to bark.	犬が吠えようとしている (inu ga hoeyō to shite iru)	imminent action

Passive

The passive form (受身形, ukemikei) 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.^[170] 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.^{[171][172][173]} 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').^[171] 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).^[174]

Note that historically and dialectially, the "passive" construction also had or has potential use. See #Potential for more.

Passive form example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
This TV was made by Toshiba.	このテレビは東芝によって作られた (kono terebi wa Toshiba ni yotte tsukurareta)	neutrality
My beer was drunk by a friend.	私は友達にビールを飲まれた (watashi wa tomodachi ni biiru o nomareta)	regrettable action
Where are you going?	どちらへ行かれますか (dochira e ikaremasu ka)	honorific language

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.

Dictionary form	Pattern [2]		Passive form
Godan verbs	Shift the 〜〇 kana to the あ row, then add れる
作る (tsukuru, make) [i]	作る → ら + れる		作られる (tsukurareru, be made)
言う (yuu, say) [ii]	言う → わ + れる		言われる (iwareru/yuwareru, be said)
持つ (motsu, carry)	持つ → た + れる		持たれる (motareru, be carried)
探す (sagasu, look for)	探す → さ + れる		探される (sagasareru, be looked for)
愛す (aisu, love)	愛す → さ + れる		愛される (aisareru, be loved)
Ichidan verbs	Remove る then add られる
見る (miru, see)	見る + られる		見られる (mirareru, be seen)
始める (hajimeru, begin)	始める + られる		始められる (hajimerareru, be started)
信じる (shinjiru, believe)	信じる + られる		信じられる (shinjirareru, be believed)[175]
Irregular verbs
来る (kuru, come)	くる → こ + られる		こられる (korareru, come) (adversatively passive, honorific)
する (suru, do)	する →	さ + れる	される (sareru, be done)[r]
		せ + られる	せられる (serareru, be done)[s][178]
保護する (hogo suru, protect)	保護する →	さ + れる	保護される (hogo sareru, be protected)[104][179]
		せ + られる	保護せられる (hogo serareru, be protected)[180]
愛する (aisuru, love)	愛する →	さ + れる	愛される (aisareru, be loved)[104][181]
		せ・し + られる	愛せられる[104][182]・愛しられる[183] (aiserareru/aishirareru, be loved)
罰する (bassuru, punish)	罰する →	さ + れる	罰される (bassareru, be punished)[184]
		せ・し + られる	罰せられる[185][186]・罰しられる[179] (basserareru/basshirareru, be punished)
信ずる (shinzuru, believe)	信ずる → ぜ・じ + られる		信ぜられる[187][104][188]・信じられる[187][104][189] (shinzerareru/shinjirareru, be believed)
Honorific verbs	Change る to ら then add れる
Honorific verbs	〜る → ら + れる		〜られる (-rareru) (passive, doubly honorific)[t]
Special exceptions
ある (aru, exist)	ある → ら + れる		あられる (arareru, exist) (honorific)[u]

^[i] For godan verbs ending in 〜る (-ru), the passive conjugation is syncretic with ichidan verbs.

^[ii] For godan verbs ending in 〜う (-u), the "う" changes to "わ" (wa) in the passive conjugation. It does not change to "あ" (a).^[173]

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)).

Causative

The causative form (使役形, shiekikei) is used to express that a subject was forced or allowed to do something.^[204]

Causative form example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
I make them work hard.	頑張らせる (ganbaraseru)	forced to
I let them play outside.	外で遊ばせる (soto de asobaseru)	allowed to
The baseball coach made the players exercise.	野球のコーチは選手達に練習させた (yakyū no kōchi wa senshu tachi ni renshū saseta)[i]	forced to by

^[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.^[204]

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').^[205] -Su/-sasu was the nidan ancestor of the modern ichidan -seru/-saseru; it became yodan sometime during Late Middle Japanese.^[60]

Dictionary form	Pattern [2]		Causative form
Godan verbs	Shift the 〜〇 kana to the あ row, then add せる・す
作る (tsukuru, make)	作る → ら + せる・す		作らせる・作らす (tsukuraseru/tsukurasu, cause to make)
言う (yuu, say) [iii]	言う → わ + せる・す		言わせる・言わす (iwaseru/yuwaseru / iwasu/yuwasu, cause to say)
持つ (motsu, carry)	持つ → た + せる・す		持たせる・持たす (motaseru/motasu, cause to carry)
探す (sagasu, look for)	探す → さ + せる・す		探させる・探さす (sagasaseru/sagasasu, cause to look for)
愛す (aisu, love)	愛す → さ + せる・す		愛させる・愛さす (aisaseru/aisasu, cause to love)
Ichidan verbs	Remove る then add させる
見る (miru, see)	見る + させる・さす		見させる・見さす (misaseru/misasu, cause to see, show)
始める (hajimeru, begin)	始める + させる・さす		始めさせる・始めさす (hajimesaseru/hajimesasu, cause to begin)
感じる (kanjiru, feel)	感じる + させる・さす		感じさせる[206]・感じさす (kanjisaseru/kanjisasu, cause to feel)
Irregular verbs
来る (kuru, come)	くる → こ + させる・さす		こさせる・こさす (kosaseru/kosasu, cause to come)
する (suru, do)	する →	さ + せる・す	させる[v]・さす (saseru/sasu, cause to do)
		せ + させる・さす	せさせる[w]・せさす (sesaseru/sesasu, cause to do)
勉強する (benkyō suru, study)	勉強する →	さ + せる・す	勉強させる・勉強さす (benkyō saseru/benkyō sasu, cause to study)
		せ + させる・さす	勉強せさせる[x]・勉強せさす (benkyō sesaseru/benkyō sesasu, cause to study)
愛する (aisuru, love)	愛する →	さ + せる・す	愛させる[104][212]・愛さす (aisaseru/aisasu, cause to love)
		せ + させる・さす	愛せさせる[213]・愛せさす (aisesaseru/aisesasu, cause to love)
達する (tassuru, reach)	達する →	さ + せる・す	達させる[214]・達さす (tassaseru/tassasu, cause to reach)
		せ・し + させる・さす	達せさせる[104][215]・達せさす・達しさせる[104][216]・達しさす (tassesaseru/tassesasu / tasshisaseru/tasshisasu, cause to reach)
感ずる (kanzuru, feel)	感ずる → ぜ・じ + させる・さす		感ぜさせる[104][217]・感ぜさす・感じさせる[104][218]・感じさす (kanzesaseru/kanzesasu / kanjisaseru/kanjisasu, cause to feel)
Honorific verbs	Change る to ら then add せる・す
Honorific verbs [iv]	〜る → ら + せる・す		〜らせる・～らす (-raseru/-rasu, cause to)
Special exceptions
ある (aru, exist)	ある → ら + せる・す		あらせる[219][220][221][222][223][y]・あらす (araseru/arasu, cause to exist)

^[iii] For godan verbs ending in 〜う (-u), the "う" changes to "わ" (wa) in the causative conjugation. It does not change to "あ" (a).^[204]

^[iv] Theoretical conjugation only; it's unnatural and not usually used.^[2][201] One author has used nasaraseta (なさらせた) in their literal translations of Amdo Tibetan honorific causatives.^[228]

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-).^[229]

Causative passive form example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
I'm made to study by my parents.	両親に勉強させられる (ryōshin ni benkyō saserareru)	formal
I'm made to wait.	待たされる (matasareru)	colloquial present
I was made to buy something.	買わされた (kawasareta)	colloquial past

Imperative

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.^[56] The imperative form is also used in reported speech.

Imperative form example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
To a pet dog: Sit!	座れ！ (Suware!)	command
"O wind, blow, rage! Blow!"[z]	「風よ、吹け、荒れよ！　吹けよ！」――[230] ("Kaze yo, fuke, areyo! Fuke yo!"――)
"Wreck that mountain castle! Make it rain! Make the wind blow!"	「あの山の城をくずしてしまへ！　雨よ降れ。風よ吹け。」[231] ("Ano yama no shiro o kuzushite shimae! Ame yo fure. Kaze yo fuke.")
Signage: STOP	止まれ (tomare)	formal instruction
Signage: USE SAFETY BELT	安全帯を使用せよ (anzentai o seyo)
"Look at the person's outside," right? That is, their outer part, what they do.	その人の外側を視よと、ね？外部及び、行動ですよね。[232] (Sono hito no sotogawa o miyo to, ne? Gaibu oyobi, kōdō desu ne.)
Read the following passage and answer the questions	次の文を読んで問いに答えよ (Tsugi no bun o yonde toi ni kotaeyo)
See Section 23.2	第 23.2 節を参照せよ (Dai nijū santen ni setsu o sanshō seyo)
God said, "Let there be a great void between the waters, let it separate water from water."	神は言われた。「水の中に大空あれ。水と水を分けよ。」[233] (Kami wa iwareta. "Mizu no naka ni ōzora are. Mizu to mizu o wakeyo.")	literary wish
Blessing be unto the one who comes in the name of the Lord.	祝福あれ、主の御名によって来る人に。[234] (Shukufuku are, Shu no gyomei ni yotte kuru hito ni.)
May you be happy	君よ　幸せであれ[235] (Kimi yo Shiawase de are)
Let it rain‼ […] Rain, storm……‼ One more time………… Keep pouring for just one more time, please‼	雨よ降れ‼[…]雨よ　嵐よ……‼もう一度…………せめてもう一度降り続いておくれ‼[236] (Ame yo fure‼ […] Ame yo arashi yo……‼ Mō ichido………… Semete mō ichido furitsuzuite okure‼)
Be that true or false	本当にしろ嘘にしろ (Hontō ni shiro uso ni shiro)	concession
Whether you accept or decline	受けるにせよ断るにせよ (Ukeru ni seyo kotowaru ni seyo)
In any event	いずれにせよ (Izure ni seyo)
Those who keep pets, be they dogs or cats	犬であれ、猫であれ、ペットを飼っている人 (Inu de are, neko de are, petto o katte iru hito)
No matter rain nor wind, Beethoven still roamed the outskirts of Vienna with no care about the weather,	雨よ降れ、風も吹け、ウィーンの郊外を、お天氣構はずに彷徨したベートーヴェンは、[237] (Ame yo fure, kaze mo fuke, Wīn no kōgai o, otenki kamawazu ni hōkō shita Bētōven wa,)
Do your best!	頑張れ！ (Ganbare!)	motivational command
Stay hungry! Stay foolish![aa]	ハングリーであれ！愚かであれ！ (Hangurī de are! Oroka de are!)
Direct speech: "Please begin." I was told to begin.	直接話法：「始めて下さい」 (chokusetsu wahō: "hajimete kudasai") 始めろと言われた (hajimero to iwareta)	quoted command
We were ordered to shoot to kill	射殺せよと命じられていた (Shasatsu seyo to meijirarete ita)
bedtime bell, lit. 'bell that tells you to go to bed'	寝よとの鐘[238] (neyo to no kane)

止まれ STOP signs in Japan use the imperative form of 止まる (to stop) to command mandatory action.

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).^[56]

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.^[24] 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),^[ab] and -yo is of Kansai (western Japan).^[240][241] Both -ro and -yo were interjectional particles in Old Japanese,^{[242][ac][243]} 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.^[244][ad] 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!'),^[ae] 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,^{[245][246][247][af]} with -yo and -i being the western forms, and -ro being the eastern form.^{[251][252][253][254]} The division between western -yo/-i and eastern -ro still exists today.^[255][256] 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!').^[243] 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?')^[257] or Mō ne-yo-yo (もう寝よよ; 'Just sleep, would you?').^[258] 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.^[259] A popular example is Ide-yo, Shenron! (出でよ、神龍！; 'Come out, Shenlong!') from Dragon Ball,^[260] 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,^[254] the former of which are still used in formal instructions, such as on test forms^[261], in academic questions,^[262] on signage, in formal or polite quoted commands or concessive clauses (spoken^{[263][264][265][266]} or written^{[267][268][269]}), etc, while the latter has a connotation of colloquial rudeness.^[254][ag] 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!"')^[239] or Ki-o tsuke-ro-to it-ta (気を付けろといった; 'I said "Be careful!"').^[259] 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,^[239] but it is quite common in western dialects.^[248] -re is used in Hokkaido, likely as a shortened -ro-i.^[239]

Dictionary form	Pattern [2]		Imperative form
Godan verbs	Shift the 〜〇 kana to the え row
作る (tsukuru, make)	作る → れ		作れ (tsukure, make!)
言う (yuu, say)	言う → え		言え (ie, say!)
持つ (motsu, carry)	持つ → て		持て (mote, carry!)
探す (sagasu, look for)	探す → せ		探せ (sagase, look for it!)
愛す (aisu, love)	愛す → せ		愛せ (aise, love!)
Ichidan verbs	Remove る then add ろ or よ
見る (miru, see)	見る +	ろ	見ろ (miro, see!)
		よ	見よ (miyo, see!)
始める (hajimeru, begin)	始める +	ろ	始めろ (hajimero, begin!)
		よ	始めよ (hajimeyo, begin!)
信じる (shinjiru, believe)	信じる →	じろ	信じろ (shinjiro, believe!)[270]
		じよ・ぜよ	信じよ[270][271][272][273][274][275][276]・信ぜよ[277][278][279][280][281][282] (shinjiyo/shinzeyo, believe!)
呉れる (kureru, begin)[ah]	呉れる +	ろ	呉れ（ろ） (kure(ro), give!)
		よ	呉れ（よ） (kure(yo), give!)
Irregular verbs
来る (kuru, come)	くる → こい		こい (koi, come!)
する (suru, do)	する →	しろ	しろ (shiro, do it!)
		せよ	せよ (seyo, do it!)
勉強する (suru, study)	勉強する →	しろ	勉強しろ (benkyō shiro, study!)
		せよ	勉強せよ (benkyō seyo, study!)
愛する (suru, love)	愛する →	せ	愛せ (aise, love!)
		しろ	愛しろ (aishiro, love!)
		せよ	愛せよ (aiseyo, love!)
罰する (bassuru, punish)	罰する →	しろ	罰しろ (basshiro, punish!)
		せよ	罰せよ (basseyo, punish!)
信ずる (shinzuru, believe)	信ずる →	じろ	信じろ (shinjiro, believe!)
		ぜよ・じよ	信ぜよ[270][288][289]・信じよ[290][291] (shinzeyo/shinjiyo, believe!)
Special conjugations
〜ます (-masu)	〜ます → せ		〜ませ (-mase)
Honorific verbs
下さる (kudasaru, give)[ai]	下さる →	い	下さい (kudasai, give!)
		れ	下され (kudasare, give!)
Special exceptions
ある (aru, exist)	ある → れ		あれ (are, exist!)[e]

Non‑volitional verbs, such as 分かる (wakaru, to understand) and できる (dekiru, to be able), have imperative forms (for these two verbs, 分かれ (wakare) and できろ (dekiro)), but these appear to be relatively recent innovations, and usage may be limited to informal contexts.

Potential

The potential form describes the capability of doing something.^[298] 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?" ).

Potential form example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
I can read Japanese.	日本語が読める (nihongo ga yomeru)	capability
Can you buy some coffee?	コーヒーが買える？ (kōhii ga kaeru?)	requesting favors

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.

However, in colloquial speech the ら (ra) is removed from られる (rareru) in a phenomenon known as ら抜き言葉 (ranuki kotoba).^[298] For example, こられる (korareru, can come) becomes これる (koreru). This contraction is specific to the potential form, and is not reciprocated in the passive form.

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, there is an ambiguity in form for non-godan potential verbs (taberareru (食べられる; 'can eat; is eaten')), although this can be resolved by the aforementioned ra-nuki kotoba (short tabereru (食べれる; 'can eat') vs long taberareru (食べられる; 'be eaten')). Other dialects may only use long potential verbs.^[299]

Most -suru verbs do not have underlying potential verbs and must use (suru koto ga) dekiru by suppletion, such as 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'), 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. Certain 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; is loved') (long), nakuseru (無くせる; 'can lose')/nakusareru (無くされる; 'can lose; is lost'), etc. Others have become more like ichidan, although without ra-nuki kotoba, such as ōjirareru/ōzerareru (応じられる・応ぜられる; 'can respond').^[300]

Dictionary form	Pattern [2]		Potential form
Godan verbs	Shift the 〜〇 kana to the え row, then add る
作る (tsukuru, make)	作る → れ + る		作れる (tsukureru, can make)
言う (yuu, say)	言う → え + る		言える (ieru, can say)
持つ (motsu, carry)	持つ → て + る		持てる (moteru, can carry)
探す (sagasu, look for)	探す → せ + る		探せる (sagaseru, can look for)
愛す (aisu, love)	愛す → せ + る		愛せる (aiseru, can love)
Ichidan verbs	Remove る then add (ら)れる
見る (miru, see)	見る + (ら)れる		見(ら)れる (mi(ra)reru, can see)
始める (hajimeru, begin)	始める + (ら)れる		始め(ら)れる (hajime(ra)reru, can begin)
信じる (shinjiru, believe)	信じる + (ら)れる		信じ(ら)れる (shinji(ra)reru, can believe)
Irregular verbs
来る (kuru, come)	くる → こ + (ら)れる		こ(ら)れる (ko(ra)reru, can come)
する (suru, do)	する → できる		できる (dekiru, can do)
勉強する (suru, study)	勉強する → (することが)できる		勉強(することが)できる (benkyō (suru koto ga) dekiru, can study)
愛する (aisuru, love)	愛する →	せ + る	愛せる (aiseru, can love)
		することができる	愛することができる (aisuru koto ga dekiru, can love)
罰する (bassuru, punish)	罰する + ことができる		罰することができる (bassuru koto ga dekiru, can punish)
信ずる (shinzuru, believe)	信ずる →	じ + (ら)れる	信じ(ら)れる (shinji(ra)reru, can believe)
		ずることができる	信ずることができる (shinzuru koto ga dekiru, can believe)
Special exceptions
分かる (wakaru, understand)	分かる → れ + る		分かれる (wakareru, can understand)[aj]
ある (aru, exist)	ある → ら + れる		あられる (arareru, (can) exist)[u]

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)).

Conditional

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.^[302] The conditional form is used to describe hypothetical scenarios or general truths.^[303]

Conditional form example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
If you see it, you'll understand.	見れば分かる (mireba wakaru)	hypothetical
When you multiply 3 by 4, it becomes 12.	3に4を掛ければ12になる (san ni yon o kakereba jūni ni naru)	general truths

Conditional: Conjugation table

The conditional form is created by using the kateikei base, followed by the ば (ba) suffix.

The modern conditional evolved from the earlier izenkei (已然形) base. See #Copula: da, de aru and desu for more.

Dictionary form	Pattern [2]	Conditional form
Godan verbs	Shift the 〜〇 kana to the え row, then add ば
作る (tsukuru, make) [i]	作る → れ + ば	作れば (tsukureba, if to make)
言う (yuu, say)	言う → え + ば	言えば (ieba, if to say)
持つ (motsu, carry)	持つ → て + ば	持てば (moteba, if to carry)
探す (sagasu, look for)	探す → せ + ば	探せば (sagaseba, if to look for)
Ichidan verbs	Remove る then add れば
見る (miru, see)	見る + れば	見れば (mireba, if to see)
始める (hajimeru, begin)	始める + れば	始めれば (hajimereba, if to begin)
Irregular verbs
来る (kuru, come)	来る → れ + ば	来れば (kureba, if to come)
する (suru, do)	する → れ + ば	すれば (sureba, if to do)
Special conjugations
〜ない (-nai, not)	〜ない → けれ + ば	〜なければ (-nakereba, if not) [ii]

^[i] For godan verbs ending in 〜る (-ru), the conditional conjugation is syncretic with ichidan verbs.

^[ii] Colloquially the 〜なければ (-nakereba) form is contracted to 〜なきゃ (-nakya) or 〜なくちゃ (-nakucha), which comes from 〜なくては (-nakutewa). For example, 行かなければ (ikanakereba) could become 行かなきゃ (ikanakya) or 行かなくちゃ (ikanakucha).

Conditional: Advanced usage

In its negative conjugation (〜なければ, -nakereba), the conditional form can express obligation or insistence by attaching to 〜ならない (-naranai, to not happen) or 〜なりません (-narimasen, to not happen (polite)). 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".^[304][305]

Conditional form example sentences

English	Japanese	Function
I have to help.	手伝わなければならない (tetsudawanakereba naranai)	obligation
I must go to the dentist.	歯医者に行かなければならない (haisha ni ikanakereba naranai)	insistence
Your self‑introduction has to be in Japanese.	自己紹介は日本語でなければならないよ (jiko shoukai wa nihongo denakereba naranai yo)	obligation / insistence

See also

• Japanese godan and ichidan verbs
• Honorific speech in Japanese
• Japanese adjectives
• Japanese particles
• Japanese grammar

Notes

1. 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). Yuu (言(い)う; 'say') is possibly homophonous with yuu (結(ゆ)う; 'tie (hair)'),^[14] except that the latter can be unaccented or accented, while the former is only unaccented.
2. Unlike with yuwa, yuu, yutte, yutta, whose statuses are certain, the statuses of yui, yue and especially yuō are dubious. It has been claimed that there are dialects that where yui nagara, yueba and yue have occurred.^[16][17]
3. The particles wa and mo are often added, although not required in principle.^[35][36]
4. (De wa) aranai would be the regular form, but it is 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),^[59] Seku koto wa aranai. (急くは事はあらない。),^[76] Kubi mo kowai mono de wa aranai (首もこはいものではあらない。),^[77] 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).^[78][79]
5. Are and de are have limited use in writing, for example Kami mo shōran are (神も照覧あれ; 'may God be my witness'),^[239] 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.'),^[294] itsumo Kami ni shitagatte are. (いつも神に従ってあれ。; 'always be obedient to God.'),^[157] shōjiki de are (正直であれ; 'be honest'),^[239] Semete kantoku wa gensaku manga no fan de are (せめて監督は原作漫画のファンであれ; 'just let the director be a fan of the original manga').^[295]
   De 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.'),^[296] 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.').^[297] 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.^[297] 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.')^[296]
6. Attributively, only before nominalizers like koto (こと), mono (もの), toki (時), no (の), etc.
7. 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).^[62]
8. Kinai is dialectal.^[59][66]
9. Shinu(u) and sanai are dialectal, while senai is obsolete^[59] or dialectal.^[58]
10. 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:
    1917 classical: […]aisenu mono wa shi no uchi ni iru. ([…]愛せぬ者は死のうちに居る。)^[74]
    Modern: […]Aisanai mono wa, shi no uchi ni todomatte iru. ([…]愛さない者は、死のうちにとどまっている。)
    However, aisenu ("not love") as the negative of aisu(ru) ("love") would likely be confused with aisenu ("can't love") as the negative of the potential aiseru ("can love") in modern Japanese. Aisen(u)/-zu is only listed here as a representative example. There is great variety among single-kanji verbs as to whether to choose between -san(u)/-zu or -sen(u)/-zu.^[75]
11. The irregular yutte (行って)^[83][84][85] and yutta (行った),^[83][84][86] and the regular iite^{[83][87][88][89][90]}/yuite^{[83][86][91][92][93][85][94]} (行いて) and iita^{[83][95][84][96][97]}/yuita^{[98][86][91][99][100]} (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.^[101][102]
12. The authenticity of this particular occurence 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(こ)つて), others have shitatte (慕(した)つて) instead.^[122]
13. 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).^[30][31] 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').^{[103][104][105]} For these verbs, sokuonbin is rare,^[103] but not nonexistent, such as totte (問って)^{[106][107][108]}/totta (問った),^{[109][110][111][112][113]} kotte (請って・乞って)^{[114][115][116]}/kotta (請った・乞った)^{[117][118][119][120]} and kotte (恋って).^[121][l] Forms such as itōte (厭うて), ōta (負うた), sōta (沿うた), notamōta (宣うた),^[103] tamōte (給うて)^[123] have been reported as well.
14. When combining with -masu in particular, it is more common to drop the consonant r.^[101] Keeping the r is obsolescent and has a sarcastic, dialectal or archaic connotation.^[138]
15. The final stage was likely to make the original mizenkei more obvious, and the suffix more uniform.^[149]
16. Such forms of the types of yobanakarō (呼ばなかろう; probably not read),^[150] ōkiku nakarō (大きくなかろう) and hon de/ja nakarō (本で・じゃなかろう; probably not a book) are common in writing but not quite in speech, where nai darō/deshō (～ないだろう・でしょう) are preferred.^[151]
17. irassharō (いらっしゃろう),^{[152][153][154]} ossharō (仰ろう),^[155][156] kudasarō (下さろう),^{[157][158][159][160][161]} nasarō (為さろう).^[162][163]
18. Said to be shortened from serareru (せられる) below.^[176]
19. Purported to be used in modern Japanese.^[177] Said to be "pseudo-literary" (meant to emulate the writing style of classical Japanese) by Martin (2004:289). 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).^[176]
20. irassharareru (いらっしゃられる),^{[190][191][192]} ossharareru (仰られる),^{[192][193][194]} nasarareru (為さられる).^{[195][196][197]}
    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.^[198][199] There are historical precedents of such double honorifics dating back to the Edo period.^[200]
21. Historically attested with potential uses,^[201] but primarily simply the more honorific way of saying aru (ある) and iru (いる).^[202][203]
22. Said to be shortened from sesaseru (せさせる) below.^[207]
23. Purported to be used in modern Japnese,^[207][208] 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).^[207]
24. Said to be plausible, although almost always shortened to benkyō saseru (勉強させる) above,^[209][210] and almost never used.^[211]
25. One of this verb's negative forms, arasezu (あらせず; 'not letting exist'), as in itoma mo arasezu (いとまもあらせず; 'not letting any spare time exist → not letting them have any spare time'), have been attested.^[201] De araseru (であらせる; 'make be; let be') has also been used.^{[224][225][226][227]}
26. An adaptation of a quote from King Lear.
27. A quote attributed to Steve Jobs.
28. Although not unheard of western and southern Japan.^[239]
29. The author uses the term "central" rather than "western" for the once capital Nara, now located in Kansai.
30. Compare the alternative forms of joi/ii (良い), yuku/iku (行く).
31. This verb is primarily godan, therefore the more common imperative is actually kere.
32. 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.^{[248][249][250]} According to another account, koro occurs in an Akita dialect, while kiro is found in Ibaraki; other variants include kiyo, kī, kui, keyo, etc.^[243]
33. 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.
34. Unlike with most verbs, -ro and -yo are optional (possibly dialectal^[283]) with kure (呉れ).^[243][284] Examples with -ro and -yo are not usual, but historically not impossible, such as Rippa-ni ikenie-to natte kure-ro (立派に犧牲となつて吳れろ),^[285] Dō shite kure-ro, to! (どうして吳れろ、と！),^[286] Dare-ka shunsa-o yon-de ki-te kure-yo (誰か巡査を呼んで來て吳れよ),^[287] etc.
35. Originally osshare (おっしゃれ), kudasare (下され), nasare (為され), just like other godan/yodan (四段) verbs, though *irasshare (いらっしゃれ) was not found. These forms are obsolescent and only used for special effect, such as in advertisements.^[138] Historically, honorific verbs were nidan (二段) rather than godan/yodan, and western imperative forms like iraserareyo (いらせられよ; → irasshai), ōserareyo (仰せられよ; → osshai), kudasareyo/kudasarei (下されよ・下されい), nasareyo (為されよ) were attested. From these nidan verbs, apart from the godan offshoots, there still exist ichidan equivalents. Some eastern rural dialects still have nasaro (為さろ).^[292][293]
36. Theoretical conjugation only; it's unnatural and not usually used. 分かる (wakaru) expresses potential innately without having to conjugate it to the potential form. 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, though.^[301]