DOUSHI - VERBS - NIHONGO DAISUKI ! 日本語だいすき！

BENKYOU SURU

日本語のどうし
Nihongo no Doushi
Japanese Verbs

BENKYOU SHINAI

At Level Two we deepen our understanding of the wonderful world of Japanese verbs. What's so wonderful about Japanese verbs, I hear you ask?

Many ideas and nuances are communicated in Japanese simply by changing the ending of the verb; concepts like 'will/won't; can/can't; should/shouldn't; would/wouldn't; want to/don't want to' etc, which are communicated in English by adding one of these auxiliary verbs in front of the main verb. (We have already learnt some of the Japanese verb endings, e.g. たべたい - want to eat.)
Even more exciting (yes, exciting!), is the fact that adjectives in Japanese behave just like verbs too, by changing their endings. e.g. あつい - is hot, あつかった - was hot.

Having a solid understanding of how verbs and adjectives behave opens up a whole new world of communication possibilities, and this page is here for you to come back to when you need it, to use as a reference.

So, let's begin by reviewing what we know about the three verb types:

Ichi (1) Dan Verbs

All ichi-dan verbs end in -る, (but not all verbs that end in -る are ichi-dan verbs). Ichi-dan verbs often have only one syllable before the -る, such as みる、ねる. Also, the sound before the -る is always 'i' or 'e', as in the two previous examples, and たべる、おきる.

Some text books refer to ichi-dan verbs as 'Group 2' verbs; other text books refer to them as 'ru' verbs. Ichi-dan verbs is the expression that Japanese people use for these verbs.

Observe how ichi-dan verbs behave in the affirmative and negative Plain Form and -Masu Form, and how theて form and verb-stem are formed.

みる - see/look/watch; たべる - eat (this basic form is called the 'dictionary form')

Plain Form Present/Future Tense (casual language)

みる　―　みない (will see - will not see)
たべる　ー　たべない (will eat - will not eat)

Plain Form Past tense

みた　―　みなかった (saw - did not see)
たべた　―　たべなかった (ate - did not eat)

Masu Form Present/Future Tense (formal language)

みます　―　みません
たべます　ー　たべません

Masu Form Past Tense

みました　―　みませんでした
たべました　ー　たべませんでした

Verb Stem - just remove the final -る

み-
たべ-

-て Form - just remove the final -る and replace with -て

みて
たべて

You will have observed that ichi-dan verbs are easy to work with. Just take off the final -る, and replace with the appropriate ending of your choice. This is why they are called ichi-dan verbs - because the final -る never changes to -ら, -り, -れ or -ろ, it just gets dropped and replaced. Unlike go-dan verbs (and most Japanese verbs are go-dan verbs :-)...

Go (5) Dan Verbs

Like ichi-dan verbs, some go-dan verbs end in -る, but they also end in -う -く -ぐ -す -つ -ぬ -ぶ and -む. Let's look at how they behave:

Some text books refer to go-dan verbs as 'Group 1' verbs; other text books refer to them as 'u' verbs. Ichi-dan verbs is the expression that Japanese people use for these verbs.

Verbs ending in う；e.g. かう - buy；あらう - wash

Plain Form Present/Future Tense (casual language)

かう　―　かわない (will buy - will not buy)
あらう　ー　あらわない (will wash- will not wash)
う changes to わ in the negative

Plain Form Past tense

かった　―　かわなかった (bought - did not buy)
あらった　―　あらわなかった (washed - did not wash)
Little っ comes before た in the past affirmative

Masu Form Present/Future Tense (formal language)

かいます　―　かいません (will buy - will not buy)
あらいます　ー　あらいません (will wash- will not wash)う changes to い, then add ます、ません etc.

Masu Form Past Tense

かいました　―　かいませんでした (bought - did not buy)
あらいました　ー　あらいませんでした (washed - did not wash)

て Form - replace the final -う with -って
(Hint - take the plain past and change the final -た to -て)

かう　―　かって
あらう　ー　あらって

Verb Stem - remove the final -う and replace with -い
(Hint - it's the -masu form without the -masu!)

かう　―　かい-
あらう　ー　あらい-

Verbs ending in く；e.g. きく - listen/hear；あるく - walk

Plain Form Present/Future Tense (casual language)

きく　―　きかない (will listen - will not listen)
あるく　ー　あるかない (will walk - will not walk)
Finalく changes to か in the negative

Plain Form Past tense

きいた　―　きかなかった (listened - did not listen)
あるいた　―　あるかなかった (walked - did not walk)
い comes before た in the past affirmative

Masu Form Present/Future Tense (formal language)

ききます　―　ききません (will listen - will not listen)
あるきます　ー　あるきません (will walk - will not walk)
Final く changes to き, then add ます、ません etc.

Masu Form Past Tense

ききました　―　ききませんでした (listened - did not listen)
あるきました　ー　あるきませんでした (walked - did not walk)

- Form - replace the final -く with -いて
(Hint - take the plain past and change the final -た to -て.)

きく　―　きいて
あるく　ー　あるいて
いく has an irregular ‐て form: いった

Verb Stem - remove the final -く and replace with -き
(Hint - it's the -masu form without the -masu!)

きく　―　きき-
あるく　ー　あるき-

Verbs ending in ぐ；e.g. およぐ - swim；いそぐ - hurry

Plain Form Present/Future Tense (casual language)

およぐ　―　およがない (will swim - will not swim)
いそぐ　ー　いそがない (will hurry - will not hurry)
Finalぐ changes to が in the negative

Plain Form Past tense

およいだ　―　およがなかった (swam - did not swim)
いそいだ　―　いそがなかった ((hurried - did not hurry)
い comes before だ in the past affirmative

Masu Form Present/Future Tense (formal language)

およぎます　―　およぎません (will swim - will not swim)
いそぎます　ー　いそぎません (will hurry- will not hurry)
Final ぐ changes to ぎ, then add ます、ません etc.

Masu Form Past Tense

およぎました　―　およぎませんでした (swam - did not swim)
いそぎました　ー　いそぎませんでした (hurried - did not hurry)

て Form - replace the final -ぐ with -いで
(Hint - take the plain past and change the final -だ to -で.)

およぐ　―　およいで
いそぐ　ー　いそいで

Verb Stem - remove the final -ぐ and replace with -ぎ
(Hint - it's the -masu form without the -masu!)

およぐ　―　およぎ-
いそぐ　ー　いそぎ-

Verbs ending in す；e.g. はなす - speak；さがす - look for/search

Plain Form Present/Future Tense (casual language)

はなす　―　はなさない (will speak - will not speak)
さがす　ー　さがさない (will search- will not search)
Finalす changes to さ in the negative

Plain Form Past tense

はなした　―　はなさなかった (spoke - did not speak)
さがした　―　さがさなかった (searched- did not search)
し comes before た in the past affirmative

Masu Form Present/Future Tense (formal language)

はなします　―　はなしません (will speak - will not speak)
さがします　ー　さがしません (will search- will not search)
Final す changes to し, then add ます、ません etc.

Masu Form Past Tense

はなしました　―　はなしませんでした (spoke - did not speak)
さがしました　ー　さがしませんでした (searched- did not search)

て Form - replace the final -す with -して
(Hint - take the plain past and change the final -た to -て.)

はなす　―　はなして
さがす　ー　さがして

Verb Stem - remove the final -す and replace with -し
(Hint - it's the -masu form without the -masu!)

はなす　―　はなし-
さがす　ー　さがし-

Verbs ending in つ；e.g. まつ - wait；かつ - win

Plain Form Present/Future Tense (casual language)

まつ　―　またない (will wait- will not wait)
かつ　ー　かたない (will win- will not win)
Finalつ changes to た in the negative

Plain Form Past tense

まった　―　またなかった (waited - did not wait)
かった　―　かたなかった(won - did not win)
Little っ comes before た in the past affirmative

Masu Form Present/Future Tense (formal language)

まちます　―　まちません (will wait- will not wait)
かちます　ー　かちません (will win- will not win)
Final つ changes to ち, then add ます、ません etc.

Masu Form Past Tense

まちました　―　まちませんでした (waited - did not wait)
かちました　ー　かちませんでした (won - did not win)

て Form - replace the final -つ with -って
(Hint - take the plain past and change the final -た to -て)

まつ　―　まって
かつ　ー　かって

Verb Stem - remove the final -つ and replace with -ち
(Hint - it's the -masu form without the -masu!)

まつ　―　まち-
かつ　ー　かち-

Verbs ending in ぬ；e.g. しぬ - die (sorry about the morbid example - this is the only verb that ends in ぬ！)

Plain Form Present/Future Tense (casual language)

しぬ　―　しなない (will die- will not die)
Finalぬ changes to な in the negative

Plain Form Past tense

しんだ　―　しななかった (died- did not die)
ん comes before だ in the past affirmative

Masu Form Present/Future Tense (formal language)

しにます　―　しにません (will die- will not die)
Final ぬ changes to に, then add ます、ません etc.

Masu Form Past Tense

しにました　―　しにませんでした (died- did not die)

て Form - replace the final -ぬ with -んで
(Hint - take the plain past and change the final -だ to -で.)

しぬ　―　しんで

Verb Stem - remove the final -ぬ and replace with -に
(Hint - it's the -masu form without the -masu!)

しぬ　―　しに-

Verbs ending in ぶ；e.g. あそぶ - play/hang out；えらぶ - choose

Plain Form Present/Future Tense (casual language)

あそぶ　―　あそばない (will play - will not play)
えらぶ　ー　えらばない (will choose- will not choose)
Finalぶ changes to ば in the negative

Plain Form Past tense

あそんだ　―　あそばなかった (waited - did not wait)
えらんだ　―　かたなかった(won - did not win)
ん comes before だ in the past affirmative

Masu Form Present/Future Tense (formal language)

あそびます　―　あそびません (will play - will not play)
えらびます　ー　えらびません (will choose- will not choose)
Final ぶ changes to び, then add ます、ません etc.

Masu Form Past Tense

あそびました　―　あそびませんでした (waited - did not wait)
えらびました　ー　えらびませんでした (won - did not win)

て Form - replace the final -ぶ with -んで
(Hint - take the plain past and change the final -だ to -で.)

あそぶ　―　あそんで
えらぶ　ー　えらんで

Verb Stem - remove the final -ぶ and replace with -び
(Hint - it's the -masu form without the -masu!)

あそぶ　―　あそび-
えらぶ　―　えらび-

Verbs ending in む；e.g. たのむ - order/request；たのしむ - enjoy

Plain Form Present/Future Tense (casual language)

たのむ　―　たのまない (will request - will not request)
たのしむ　ー　たのしまない (will enjoy - will not enjoy)
Final む changes to ま in the negative

Plain Form Past tense

たのんだ　―　たのまなかった (requested- did not request)
たのしんだ　―　たのしまなかった(enjoyed- did not enjoy)
ん comes before だ in the past affirmative

Masu Form Present/Future Tense (formal language)

たのみます　―　たのみません (will request- will not request)
たのしみます　ー　たのしみません (will enjoy - will not enjoy)
Final む changes to み, then add ます、ません etc.

Masu Form Past Tense

たのみました　―　たのみませんでした (requested- did not request)
たのしみました　ー　たのしみませんでした (enjoyed - did not enjoy)

て Form - replace the final -む with -んで
(Hint - take the plain past and change the final -だ to -で.)

たのむ　―　たのんで
たのしむ　ー　たのしんで

Verb Stem - remove the final -む and replace with -み.
(Hint - it's the -masu form without the -masu!)

たのむ　―　たのみ-
たのしむ　―　たのしみ-

Verbs ending in る；e.g. やる - do (casual)；まもる - preserve/protect

Plain Form Present/Future Tense (casual language)

やる　―　やらない (will do - will not do)
まもる　ー　まもらない (will protect - will not protect)
Final む changes to ま in the negative

Plain Form Past tense

やった　―　やらなかった (did- did not do)
まもった　―　まもらなかった (protected- did not protect)
Little っ comes before た in the past affirmative

Masu Form Present/Future Tense (formal language)

やります　―　やりません (will do - will not do)
まもります　ー　まもりません (will protect - will not protect)
Final る changes to り then add ます、ません etc.

Masu Form Past Tense

やりました　―　やりませんでした (did- did not do)
まもりました　ー　まもりませんでした (protected- did not protect)

て Form - replace the final -る with -った
(Hint - take the plain past and change the final -た to -て)

やる　―　やって
まもる　ー　まもって

So, why are they called Go (5) Dan (five step) Verbs? Let's take a look at this chart, and see if we can work it out.

Irregular Verbs

Apart from that minor irregularity with いくin the -て form, there are only two irregular verbs: する (do) and くる (come). These verbs are so commonly used, that we have already learnt the irregular forms without being conscious of it.

する - do；くる - come

Plain Form Present/Future Tense (casual language)