書く

Japanese

From Old Japanese, ultimately from Proto-Japonic *kaku (“to scratch”).

First attested in the Kojiki of 712 CE.^[1]

Cognate with 掻く (kaku, “to scratch”) (letters were originally scratched or carved into wood in order to write).

Stem forms
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Terminal (終止形) Attributive (連体形)	書く	かく	`[káꜜkù]`
Imperative (命令形)	書け	かけ	`[káꜜkè]`
Key constructions
Passive	書かれる	かかれる	`[kàkáréꜜrù]`
Causative	書かせる	かかせる	`[kàkáséꜜrù]`
Potential	書ける	かける	`[kàkéꜜrù]`
Volitional	書こう	かこー	`[kàkóꜜò]`
Negative	書かない	かかない	`[kàkáꜜnàì]`
Negative perfective	書かなかった	かかなかった	`[kàkáꜜnàkàttà]`
Formal	書きます	かきます	`[kàkímáꜜsù]`
Perfective	書いた	かいた	`[káꜜìtà]`
Conjunctive	書いて	かいて	`[káꜜìtè]`
Hypothetical conditional	書けば	かけば	`[káꜜkèbà]`

書(か)く • (kaku) transitive godan (stem 書(か)き (kaki), past 書(か)いた (kaita))

to write; to record (words, figures) on the surface of (something)
昨日陳(きのうチェン)さんは図書館(としょかん)でレポートを書(か)いていました。
Kinō Chen-san wa toshokan de repōto o kaite imashita.
Mr. Chen was writing a report at the library yesterday.
to compose; to put (an idea, etc) into words

Conjugation of "書く" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Classical conjugation of "書く" (カ行四段活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形)	書か	かか	kaka
Continuative (連用形)	書き	かき	kaki
Terminal (終止形)	書く	かく	kaku
Attributive (連体形)	書く	かく	kaku
Realis (已然形)	書け	かけ	kake
Imperative (命令形)	書け	かけ	kake
Key constructions
Negative	書かず	かかず	kakazu
Contrasting conjunction	書けど	かけど	kakedo
Causal conjunction	書けば	かけば	kakeba
Conditional conjunction	書かば	かかば	kakaba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge)	書きき	かきき	kakiki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge)	書きけり	かきけり	kakikeri
Perfect tense (conscious action)	書きつ	かきつ	kakitu
Perfect tense (natural event)	書きぬ	かきぬ	kakinu
Perfect-continuative tense	書けり書きたり	かけりかきたり	kakeri kakitari
Volitional	書かむ	かかむ	kakamu

^ “書・描”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.