Let me explain about Japanese verbs.
Characteristics of verbs
The main characteristics of verbs are shown below.
- The definitive form ends with the "u" row. This is the dictionary form. Some examples are shown below. Below that, the "u" row in Hiragana is shown. For a basic explanation of Hiragana and Katakana, please see Hiragana and Katakana.
| Verb | English | Pronunciation |
| 見(み)る | see | mi ru |
| 聞(き)く | hear | ki ku |
| 話(はな)す | speak | ha na su |
| 笑(わら)う | laugh | wa ra u |
| a | i | u | e | o | |
| あ (a) | い (i) | う (u) | え (e) | お (o) | |
| k | か (ka) | き (ki) | く (ku) | け (ke) | こ (ko) |
| s | さ (sa) | し (si(shi)) | す (su) | せ (se) | そ (so) |
| t | た (ta) | ち (ti(chi)) | つ (tu(tsu)) | て (te) | と (to) |
| n | な (na) | に (ni) | ぬ (nu) | ね (ne) | の (no) |
| h | は (ha) | ひ (hi) | ふ (hu) | へ (he) | ほ (ho) |
| m | ま (ma) | み (mi) | む (mu) | め (me) | も (mo) |
| y | や (ya) | ゆ (yu) | よ (yo) | ||
| r | ら (ra) | り (ri) | る (ru) | れ (re) | ろ (ro) |
| w | わ (wa) | を (wo) | |||
| n | ん (n) |
- Verbs in the "~ta" form refer to events that occurred in the past or that have led to the present. Below are some examples:
| 動詞(どうし) | 英語(えいご) | 発音(はつおん) |
| 見(み)た | saw | mi ta |
| 聞(き)いた | heard | ki i ta |
| 話(はな)した | spoke | ha na shi ta |
| 笑(わら)った | laughed | wa ra tta |
- There are several types of conjugation for verbs. The types of conjugation are classified into five-step conjugation, upper one-step conjugation, lower one-step conjugation, ka-row irregular conjugation, and sa-row irregular conjugation. Next, we will explain conjugation.
Conjugation of verbs
First, let's explain the conjugation forms of verbs. There are six types of conjugation forms: imperfective form, conjunctive form, dictionary form, attributive form, conditional form, and imperative form. That's all. Please understand the meanings of these conjugation forms.
Below is an example of the word "書(か)く (write)".
| 活用形(Form of conjugation) | 説明(せつめい) | 具体例(ぐたいれい) | 発音(はつおん) | 英語(えいご) |
| 未然形 (みぜんけい) (imperfective form) | ～ない | 書(か)かない | ka ka na i | not write |
| ～う or ～よう | 書(か)こう | ka ko u | let's write | |
| 連用形 (れんようけい) (conjunctive form) | ～ます | 書(か)きます | ka ki ma su | write (polite) |
| ～た | 書(か)いた | ka i ta | wrote | |
| 終止形 (しゅうしけい) (dictionary form) | 終止形 (しゅうしけい) (dictionary form) | 書(か)く | ka ku | write |
| 連体形 (れんたいけい) (attributive form) | ～とき or ～るとき | 書(か)くとき | ka ku to ki | when write |
| 仮定形 (かていけい) (conditional form) | ～ば or ～れば | 書(か)けば | ka ke ba | if write |
| 命令形 (めいれいけい) (imperative form) | 命令形 (めいれいけい) (imperative form) | 書(か)け | ka ke | write (command) |
Next, we will explain the types of conjugation. The types of conjugation are shown below.
- Five-step conjugation
- Upper one-step conjugation
- Lower one-step conjugation
- Irregular conjugation of the ka-row
- Irregular conjugation of the sa-row
These names may seem difficult to understand, so we've broken them down as follows:
| 活用 (かつよう) | 分類 (ぶんるい) |
| 五段活用 (ごだんかつよう) (five-step conjugation) | conjugation-aiueo |
| 上一段活用 (かみいちだんかつよう) (upper one-step conjugation) | conjugation-i |
| 下一段活用 (しもいちだんかつよう) (lower one-step conjugation) | conjugation-e |
| カ行変格活用 (かぎょうへんかくかつよう) (irregular conjugation of the ka-row) | conjugation-kuru |
| サ行変格活用 (さぎょうへんかくかつよう) (irregular conjugation of the sa-row) | conjugation-suru |
Conjugation-aiueo (five-step conjugation)
This is a pattern where the conjugation endings are in five rows: "a, i, u, e, o." The five rows can be "ka, ki, ku, ke, ko" or "sa, shi, su, se, so." This means that the vowels are always a, i, u, e, o.
Below are the conjugations for "話(はな)す (speak)".
| 活用形(かつようけい) | 説明(せつめい) | 活用(かつよう) | 発音(はつおん) | 英語(えいご) |
| 未然形 (みぜんけい) (imperfective form) | ～ない | 話(はな)さない | ha na sa na i | not speak |
| ～う or ～よう | 話(はな)そう | ha na so u | let's speak | |
| 連用形 (れんようけい) (conjunctive form) | ～ます | 話(はな)します | ha na shi ma su | speak (polite) |
| ～た | 話(はな)した | ha na shi ta | spoke | |
| 終止形 (しゅうしけい) (dictionary form) | 終止形 (しゅうしけい) (dictionary form) | 話(はな)す | ha na su | speak |
| 連体形 (れんたいけい) (attributive form) | ～とき or ～るとき | 話(はな)すとき | ha na su to ki | when speak |
| 仮定形 (かていけい) (conditional form) | ～ば or ～れば | 話(はな)せば | ha na se ba | if speak |
| 命令形 (めいれいけい) (imperative form) | 命令形 (めいれいけい) (imperative form) | 話(はな)せ | ha na se | speak (command) |
"話(はな)す (speak)" is a conjugation pattern that spans five steps: "sa, shi, su, se, so".
| a | i | u | e | o | |
| あ (a) | い (i) | う (u) | え (e) | お (o) | |
| s | さ (sa) | し (si(shi)) | す (su) | せ (se) | そ (so) |
Conjugation-i (upper one-step conjugation)
This is a pattern where the conjugation ending is only in the "i" row. This can also be "ki" or "mi" etc. In this case, the vowel means "i".
Below are the conjugations of "見(み)る (see)".
| 活用形(かつようけい) | 説明(せつめい) | 活用(かつよう) | 発音(はつおん) | 英語(えいご) |
| 未然形 (みぜんけい) (imperfective form) | ～ない | 見(み)ない | mi na i | not see |
| ～う or ～よう | 見(み)よう | mi yo u | let's see | |
| 連用形 (れんようけい) (conjunctive form) | ～ます | 見(み)ます | mi ma su | see (polite) |
| ～た | 見(み)た | mi ta | saw | |
| 終止形 (しゅうしけい) (dictionary form) | 終止形 (しゅうしけい) (dictionary form) | 見(み)る | mi ru | see |
| 連体形 (れんたいけい) (attributive form) | ～とき or ～るとき | 見(み)るとき | mi ru to ki | when see |
| 仮定形 (かていけい) (conditional form) | ～ば or ～れば | 見(み)れば | mi re ba | if see |
| 命令形 (めいれいけい) (imperative form) | 命令形 (めいれいけい) (imperative form) | 見(み)ろ | mi ro | see (command) |
"見(み)る (see)" is a pattern that is only conjugated in the "mi" row.
| a | i | u | e | o | |
| あ (a) | い (i) | う (u) | え (e) | お (o) | |
| m | ま (ma) | み (mi) | む (mu) | め (me) | も (mo) |
Conjugation-e (lower one-step conjugation)
This is a pattern where the conjugation ending is only in the "e" row. This can also be "ke" or "ne" etc. In this case, the vowel means "e".
Below are the conjugations of "寝(ね)る (sleep)".
| 活用形(かつようけい) | 説明(せつめい) | 活用(かつよう) | 発音(はつおん) | 英語(えいご) |
| 未然形 (みぜんけい) (imperfective form) | ～ない | 寝(ね)ない | ne na i | not sleep |
| ～う or ～よう | 寝(ね)よう | ne yo u | let's sleep | |
| 連用形 (れんようけい) (conjunctive form) | ～ます | 寝(ね)ます | ne ma su | sleep (polite) |
| ～た | 寝(ね)た | ne ta | slept | |
| 終止形 (しゅうしけい) (dictionary form) | 終止形 (しゅうしけい) (dictionary form) | 寝(ね)る | ne ru | sleep |
| 連体形 (れんたいけい) (attributive form) | ～とき or ～るとき | 寝(ね)るとき | ne ru to ki | when sleep |
| 仮定形 (かていけい) (conditional form) | ～ば or ～れば | 寝(ね)れば | ne re ba | if sleep |
| 命令形 (めいれいけい) (imperative form) | 命令形 (めいれいけい) (imperative form) | 寝(ね)ろ | ne ro | sleep (command) |
"寝(ね)る (sleep)" is a pattern that is only conjugated in the "ne" row.
| a | i | u | e | o | |
| あ (a) | い (i) | う (u) | え (e) | お (o) | |
| n | な (na) | に (ni) | ぬ (nu) | ね (ne) | の (no) |
Conjugation-kuru (irregular conjugation of the ka-row)
「来(く)る (come)」、1語だけです。
Just one word: "来(く)る (come)".
下に「来(く)る (come)」の活用を示します。
Below are the conjugations of "来(く)る (come)".
| 活用形(かつようけい) | 説明(せつめい) | 活用(かつよう) | 発音(はつおん) | 英語(えいご) |
| 未然形 (みぜんけい) (imperfective form) | ～ない | 来(こ)ない | ko na i | not come |
| ～う or ～よう | 来(こ)よう | ko yo u | let's come | |
| 連用形 (れんようけい) (conjunctive form) | ～ます | 来(き)ます | ki ma su | come (polite) |
| ～た | 来(き)た | ki ta | came | |
| 終止形 (しゅうしけい) (dictionary form) | 終止形 (しゅうしけい) (dictionary form) | 来(く)る | ku ru | come |
| 連体形 (れんたいけい) (attributive form) | ～とき or ～るとき | 来(く)るとき | ku ru to ki | when come |
| 仮定形 (かていけい) (conditional form) | ～ば or ～れば | 来(く)れば | ku re ba | if come |
| 命令形 (めいれいけい) (imperative form) | 命令形 (めいれいけい) (imperative form) | 来(こ)い | ko i | come (command) |
Conjugation-suru (irregular conjugation of the sa-row)
Just "する (do)" and "～する (do ~)". "Do" is, for example, "勉強(べんきょう)する (do study)" and "行動(こうどう)する (do action)".
Below are the conjugations of "する (do)".
| 活用形(かつようけい) | 説明(せつめい) | 活用(かつよう) | 発音(はつおん) | 英語(えいご) |
| 未然形 (みぜんけい) (imperfective form) | ～ない | しない | shi na i | not do |
| ～う or ～よう | しよう | shi yo u | let's do | |
| 連用形 (れんようけい) (conjunctive form) | ～ます | します | shi ma su | do (polite) |
| ～た | した | kshi ta | did | |
| 終止形 (しゅうしけい) (dictionary form) | 終止形 (しゅうしけい) (dictionary form) | する | su ru | do |
| 連体形 (れんたいけい) (attributive form) | ～とき or ～るとき | するとき | su ru to ki | when do |
| 仮定形 (かていけい) (conditional form) | ～ば or ～れば | すれば | su re ba | if do |
| 命令形 (めいれいけい) (imperative form) | 命令形 (めいれいけい) (imperative form) | しろ | shi ro | do (command) |