Appendix:Japanese verbs

Modern Japanese

This section deals only with Japanese as written and spoken in the late 20th and 21st centuries.

Difference between Japanese school grammar and modern linguistic analysis

Japanese school grammar (学校文法, gakkō bunpō) is based on an analysis of Classical Japanese texts written in the kana script. As the kana script is written without spaces, it represents morae as the smallest phonological unit, and due to differences between Classical Japanese and Modern Japanese, it is very different from the newer grammar designed to teach Japanese to foreign students (日本語教育文法 Nihongo kyōiku bunpō).

Conjugational classes: From a morphological view, regular verbs in Modern Japanese can be roughly classified into two conjugational classes, consonant-stem and vowel-stem. The dictionary form of consonant-stem verbs is stem + -u, and of vowel-stem verbs is stem + -ru.

Conjugational class	Dictionary form	Stem	Conjugated forms
Consonant-stem	書く (kaku)	kak-	kakanai kakimasu kaku kakeba kakō
Vowel-stem	起きる (okiru)	oki-	okinai okimasu okiru okireba okiyō

Japanese school grammar, however, uses a very different approach. Due to the moraic kana script, a consonant-stem verb such as kak-u is segmented as ka-ku since other endings cause a change to the kana for the ku part (e.g. kak-anai, kak-imasu, etc.) In addition, only that kana is regarded as the ending in conjugation; the remaining part is considered as particles or auxiliary verbs.

Stem	Ending	Particles or auxiliary verbs
か ka	か ka	ない nai
か ka	き ki	ます masu
か ka	く ku
か ka	け ke	ば ba
か ka	こ ko	う u

It is easy to see that for any consonant-stem verb, the "ending" in Japanese school grammar is a kana whose consonant does not change (since it is from the true stem) and whose vowel can change to all five vowels in conjugation. In the fifty-sound table (五十音図 gojūon-zu), the ending stays on the same row but can cover all five columns ("grades") in conjugation, so the conjugation of consonant-stem verbs are called five-grade conjugation (五段活用 godan katsuyō).

Vowel-stem verbs are more complex. Since Japanese school grammar is designed for Classical Japanese, where most modern vowel-stem verbs such as oki-ru had alternation in the stem-final vowel (e.g. oki-ru used to conjugate to oki-zu, oki-ki, oku(ru), oku-reba, etc.), the unchanging part was ok- and the same reason with consonant-stem verbs caused them to be segmented like o-kiru, even though the ki part never change in Modern Japanese. In conjugation the ru part is dropped or changed mainly to ensure the same set of particles or auxiliary verbs:

Stem	Ending	Particles or auxiliary verbs
お o	き ki	ない nai
お o	き ki	ます masu
お o	きる kiru
お o	きれ kire	ば ba
お o	き ki	よう yō

It's easy to see that the "ending" begins with a kana that does not change (since it is from the true stem) and therefore stays on one row and one column ("grade") of the fifty-sound table. For i-stem verbs, that kana is on the i row, so the conjugation is called upper-monograde conjugation (上一段活用 kami-ichidan katsuyō). For e-stem verbs, that kana is on the e row, so the conjugation is called lower-monograde conjugation (下一段活用 shimo-ichidan katsuyō). (The names are in reference to a vertically written fifty-sound table where the five rows a, i, u, e, o becomes five columns and the "upper/lower monograde" refers to the column above or below the middle one, u).

The newer grammar designed to teach foreigners follows the morphological analysis and groups the verbs into three classes, Group I (consonant-stem), Group II (vowel-stem), and Group III (irregular). The first two classes are also called -u verbs and -ru verbs, but the stem-ending boundary of consonant-stem verbs is not indicated because it may be blurred by sound changes (e.g. kak-u → kaita), making their kana-based segmentation (ka-ku) more advantageous.

Japanese school grammar		Morphological analysis		New grammar
Conjugational class	Segmentation	Conjugational class	Segmentation	Conjugational class	Segmentation
五(ご)段(だん) (godan, “five-grade”)	か・く ka-ku あそ・ぶ aso-bu うらや・む uraya-mu	consonant-stem	/kak-u/ /asob-u/ /urayam-u/	Group I or -u verbs	か-く ka-ku あそ-ぶ aso-bu うらや-む uraya-mu
上(かみ)一(いち)段(だん) (kamīchidan, “upper monograde”)	みる miru お・きる o-kiru もち・いる mochi-iru	vowel-stem	/mi-ru/ /oki-ru/ /motii-ru/	Group II or -ru verbs	み-る mi-ru おき-る oki-ru もちい-る mochii-ru
下(しも)一(いち)段(だん) (shimoichidan, “lower monograde”)	へる heru た・べる ta-beru たず・ねる tazu-neru		/he-ru/ /tabe-ru/ /tazune-ru/		へ-る he-ru たべ-る tabe-ru たずね-る tazune-ru
カ変(へん) (kahen, “k-irregular”)	くる kuru	irregular	/kuru/ (stem /ko-/)	Group III or irregular verbs	くる -kuru
サ変(へん) (sahen, “s-irregular”)	する suru ろん・ずる ron-zuru		/suru/ (stem /s(i)-/ ~ /se-/) /ronzuru/ (stem /ronze-/)		する -suru ろん-ずる ron-zuru

Paradigm of verbs: In Japanese school grammar, verbs have only six conjugated forms (although some can have further sound changes) and any further conjugation is done by appending particles (助詞 joshi) or auxiliary verbs (助動詞 jodōshi).

Conjugated form (活用形 katsuyōkei)	Of consonant-stem verbs	Of vowel-stem verbs	Derived stem?	Unmodified usage?
未然形 (mizenkei, “irrealis”)	stem + a	stem	Yes	No
連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”)	stem + i	stem	Yes	Yes (to end a coordinate clause in formal writing)
終止形 (shūshikei, “conclusive”)	stem + u	stem + ru	No	Yes (to form or end a nonpast sentence)
連体形 (rentaikei, “adnominal”)	stem + u	stem + ru	No	Yes (to form or end a noun-modifying clause)
仮定形 (kateikei, “hypothetical”)	stem + e	stem + re	Yes	No
命令形 (meireikei, “imperative”)	stem + e	stem + ro/yo	No	Yes (to form or end an imperative sentence)

The newer grammar designed for teaching foreigners Japanese, on the other hand, gives a set of key conjugated forms that may be immediately useful:

Japanese grammar		New grammar (Here based on Minna no Nihongo)
Conjugated form	Example	Conjugated form	Example
未(み)然(ぜん)形(けい) (mizenkei, “irrealis form”)	かか kaka かこ kako	ない形(けい) (-nai kei, “-nai form”) (also called 否(ひ)定(てい)形(けい) (hiteikei, “negative form”))	かか(ない) kaka(nai)
		意(い)向(こう)形(けい) (ikōkei, “volitional form”)	かこう kakō
		受身(うけみ)・尊敬(そんけい) (ukemi sonkei, “passive-honorific verb”)	かかれる kakareru
		使役(しえき) (shieki, “causative verb”)	かかせる kakaseru
連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “adverbial form”)	かき kaki かい kai	ます形(けい) (-masu kei, “-masu form”)	かき(ます) kaki(masu)
		た形(けい) (-ta kei, “-ta form”) (also called 過(か)去(こ)形(けい) (kakokei, “past form”))	かいた kaita
		て形(けい) (-te kei, “-te form”)	かいて kaite
終(しゅう)止(し)形(けい) (shūshikei, “terminal form”)	かく kaku	辞(じ)書(しょ)形(けい) (jishokei, “dictionary form”)	かく kaku
連(れん)体(たい)形(けい) (rentaikei, “adnominal form”)	かく kaku
仮(か)定(てい)形(けい) (kateikei, “hypothetical form”)	かけ kake	条(じょう)件(けん)形(けい) (jōkenkei, “conditional form”) (also called ば形(けい) (-ba kei, “-ba form”))	かけば kakeba
命(めい)令(れい)形(けい) (meireikei, “imperative form”)	かけ kake	命(めい)令(れい)形(けい) (meireikei, “imperative form”)	かけ kake
可(か)能(のう)動(どう)詞(し) (kanōdōshi, “potential verb”)	かける kakeru	可(か)能(のう) (kanō, “potential verb”)	かける kakeru

Conjugation classes

In traditional Japanese grammar, modern Japanese has five verbal conjugational classes: godan (five-grade), kami ichidan (upper monograde), shimo ichidan (lower monograde), ka-gyō henkaku (k- irregular), and sa-gyō henkaku (s- irregular). Some English-language resources simplify them to three: Group I (consonant stem, comprising godan), Group II (vowel stem, comprising the ichidan’s), and Group III (irregular). The first two groups are also known as -u and -ru verbs, respectively, in reference to the dictionary form (i.e. the nonpast) endings.

Five-grade (五段 godan)

Five-grade (五段 godan) is the class of consonant stem verbs and is the largest verb class with native vocabulary. The stem-final consonants include -k, -g, -s, -t, -n, -b, -m, -r, and -w. The dictionary form is formed by attaching -u to the stem, making く (ku), ぐ (gu), す (su), つ (tsu), ぬ (nu), ぶ (bu), む (mu), る (ru), and う (u). Traditionally, the stem-final consonant is considered as part of the inflecting suffix, so a verb like 書く (kaku, “to write”, stem kak-) is segmented as か・く (ka-ku), with the inflecting part being -ku. Since the stem-final consonant play a role in some of the conjugation patterns, we include it in the paradigm below as well.

Dictionary form	Base	未然形 mizenkei	連用形 ren'yōkei	終止形 shūshikei	連体形 rentaikei	仮定形 kateikei	命令形 meireikei	Volitional1	音便 onbin forms	Notes
kaku 書く	kak-	kaka- かか	kaki かき	kaku かく	kaku かく	kake- かけ	kake かけ	kakō かこう	kaita, kaite かいた・かいて
oyogu 泳ぐ	oyog-	oyoga- およが	oyogi およぎ	oyogu およぐ	oyogu およぐ	oyoge- およげ	oyoge およげ	oyogō およごう	oyoida, oyoide およいだ・およいで
hanasu 話す	hanas-	hanasa- はなさ	hanashi はなし	hanasu はなす	hanasu はなす	hanase- はなせ	hanase はなせ	hanasō はなそう	hanashita, hanashite はなした・はなして
matsu 待つ	mat-	mata- また	machi まち	matsu まつ	matsu まつ	mate- まて	mate まて	matō まとう	matta, matte まった・まって
shinu 死ぬ	shin-	shina- しな	shini しに	shinu しぬ	shinu しぬ	shine- しね	shine しね	shinō しのう	shinda, shinde しんだ・しんで
asobu 遊ぶ	asob-	asoba- あそば	asobi あそび	asobu あそぶ	asobu あそぶ	asobe- あそべ	asobe あそべ	asobō あそぼう	asonda, asonde あそんだ・あそんで
yasumu 休む	yasum-	yasuma- やすま	yasumi やすみ	yasumu やすむ	yasumu やすむ	yasume- やすめ	yasume やすめ	yasumō やすもう	yasunda, yasunde やすんだ・やすんで
kaeru 帰る	kaer-	kaera- かえら	kaeri かえり	kaeru かえる	kaeru かえる	kaere- かえれ	kaere かえれ	kaerō かえろう	kaetta, kaette かえった・かえって
iu2 言う	iw-	iwa- いわ	ii いい	iu いう	iu いう	ie- いえ	ie いえ	iō いおう	itta, itte いった・いって
Special conjugation (empty slots are regular)
iku 行く	ik-								itta, itte いった・いって	For the verb 行く iku “to go”
kudasaru 下さる	kudasar-		kudasari, kudasai(-masu) くださり, ください(ます)				kudasai ください			For the honorific verbs いらっしゃる irassharu, 仰る ossharu, 下さる kudasaru, なさる nasaru, ござる gozaru
tou 問う	tow-								tōta, tōte とうた・とうて	For the two verbs 問う tou “to ask” and 請う kou “to ask, to beg”

Notes

1. For volitional forms such as kakou, some versions of the katsuyōkei system list the kako- part as an alternative 未然形 mizenkei, and some list it as a seventh katsuyōkei form. The -ou ending is spelt in historical kana orthography (歴史的仮名遣い) as -au (e.g. yasumou as やすまう), reflecting its historical derivation.
2. Historically, the -w ending for all such verbs was originally a -p, hence the historical kana spelling (歴史的仮名遣い) for, say, いう is いふ, with the six katsuyōkei forms いは, いひ, いふ, いふ, いへ, いへ.

Upper monograde (上一段 kami ichidan)

Upper monograde (上一段 kami ichidan) is the class of regular vowel stem verbs whose stems end in -i. The dictionary form is formed by attaching -ru to the stem, making an い段 (i-dan, “i-row”) kana plus る (ru). Traditionally, the final syllable (Ci) of the stem is considered part of the inflecting suffix, so for example 借りる (kariru, “to borrow”, stem kari-) is segmented as か・りる (ka-riru), with the inflecting part being -riru. (If there is only one syllable in the stem, the whole word becomes the inflecting part.) As the final syllable in the stem does not change or affect the conjugational patterns, we will leave it out in the paradigm below.

Dictionary form	Base	未然形 mizenkei	連用形 ren'yōkei	終止形 shūshikei	連体形 rentaikei	仮定形 kateikei	命令形 meireikei1
miru 見る	mi-	mi- み	mi み	miru みる	miru みる	mire- みれ	miro, miyo みろ, みよ

Notes

1. -ro is the spoken imperative and -yo is the written imperative.

Lower monograde (下一段 shimo ichidan)

Lower monograde (下一段 shimo ichidan) is the class of regular vowel stem verbs whose stems end in -e. The dictionary form is formed by attaching -ru to the stem, making an え段 (e-dan, “e-row”) kana plus る (ru). Traditionally, the final syllable (Ce) of the stem is considered part of the inflecting suffix, so for example 食べる (taberu, “to eat”, stem tabe-) is segmented as た・べる (ta-beru), with the inflecting part being -beru. (If there is only one syllable in the stem, the whole word becomes the inflecting part.) As the final syllable in the stem does not change or affect the conjugational patterns, we will leave it out in the paradigm below.

Dictionary form	Base	未然形 mizenkei	連用形 ren'yōkei	終止形 shūshikei	連体形 rentaikei	仮定形 kateikei	命令形 meireikei1
deru 出る	de-	de- で	de で	deru でる	deru でる	dere- でれ	dero, deyo でろ, でよ

Notes

1. The imperatives -ro and -yo are as noted for upper monograde verbs. The verb くれる kureru “to give” has an irregular imperative form くれ kure.

k-irregular (カ行変格 ka-gyō henkaku)

This class holds the only irregular verb 来る (kuru, “to come”).

Dictionary form	未然形 mizenkei	連用形 ren'yōkei	終止形 shūshikei	連体形 rentaikei	仮定形 kateikei	命令形 meireikei
kuru 来る	ko- こ	ki き	kuru くる	kuru くる	kure- くれ	koi こい

Notes

1. Unlike other verbs, the Classical Japanese imperative forms ko and koyo are very rarely used even when trying to sound formal, archaic or stylistic. Such situations are usually handled instead by the suppletive きたれ (kitare), the imperative of the five-grade (godan) きたる (kitaru).

s-irregular (サ行変格 sa-gyō henkaku)

This class holds the irregular verb する (suru, “to do”). Note the suppletive potential form できる (dekiru, “to be able”). When used as a light verb, it is usually used to turn an non-inflecting word into a verb such as 勉強する (benkyō suru, “to study”), びっくりする (bikkuri suru, “to be surprised”), in which case the conjugation is the same. However, a number of words which involve suru (mostly single kanji + suru) conjugate differently: those with suru after a /Q/, such as 達する (tassuru), have different causative and passive forms; those with suru voiced after a moraic nasal, such as 論ずる (ronzuru), have a hybrid conjugation between s- irregular -zuru and kami ichidan -jiru; and some with suru after i or ku, such as 愛する (aisuru), have a hybrid conjugation between s- irregular -suru and godan -su.

Verb and context	未然形 mizenkei1				連用形 ren'yōkei	終止形 shūshikei	連体形 rentaikei	仮定形 kateikei	命令形 meireikei2
	passive ～(ら)れる	causative ～(さ)せる	negative ～ない	volitional ～(よ)う
する suru, noun + する suru	sareru される	saseru させる	shinai しない	shiyō しよう	shi し	suru する	suru する	sure すれ	seyo, shiro せよ, しろ
single kanji ending in /Q/ + する suru e.g. 達する tassuru	serareru, shirareru せられる, しられる	shisaseru しさせる	shinai しない	shiyō しよう	shi し	suru する	suru する	sure すれ	seyo, shiro せよ, しろ
single kanji ending in /n/ or /ŋ/ + ずる zuru e.g. 論ずる ronzuru	jirareru, zerareru じられる, ぜられる	jisaseru じさせる	jinai じない	jiyō じよう	ji じ	zuru, jiru ずる, じる	zuru, jiru ずる, じる	zure, jire ずれ, じれ	zeyo, jiro ぜよ, じろ
single kanji ending in i or ku + する suru e.g. 愛する aisuru	sareru される	saseru させる	sanai, shinai さない, しない	shiyō, sō しよう, そう	shi し	suru, su する, す	suru, su する, す	sure, se すれ, せ	seyo, shiro, se せよ, しろ, せ

Notes

1. When used with older auxiliaries such as the negative ぬ -nu, the older mizenkei, se- (ze- for zuru) is used.
2. The imperatives -ro and -yo are as noted for upper monograde verbs.

Inflected forms

In traditional Japanese grammar, verbs have the six basic forms called 活用形 katsuyōkei listed below, from which most of their inflected forms can be derived.

活用形 katsuyōkei	Stem?	Inflected form?
未然形 (mizenkei, “irrealis”)	Yes	No
連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”)	Yes	Yes
終止形 (shūshikei, “conclusive”)	No	Yes
連体形 (rentaikei, “adnominal”)	No	Yes
仮定形 (kateikei, “hypothetical”)	Yes	No
命令形 (meireikei, “imperative”)	No	Yes

Notes: 未然形 mizenkei “irrealis” is named after its use with -ba in Classical Japanese: kakaba “if one writes”, in contrast with the realis kakeba “as, when, because one writes”. It is a stem used to form the negative, passive, causative, and the volitional. 連用形 ren'yōkei is named in reference to its use followed by 用言 yōgen “inflecting words”. It is the infinitive as an inflected form, and also a stem used to form some inflected forms as well as compound verbs. 終止形 shūshikei is the conclusive, and is also the “plain” or “dictionary form” in which verbs are generally cited. 連体形 rentaikei is named in reference to its use followed by 体言 taigen “non-inflecting words”. It is the adnominal, also used to conclude a clause modifying a noun. In modern Japanese the shūshikei always has the same shape as the rentaikei, but in Classical Japanese it does not for some classes. 仮定形 kateikei “hypothetical” is a stem only used with -ba to form the provisional conditional. 命令形 meireikei is the imperative.

There are a large number of suffixes that can follow verbs to express grammatical categories in Japanese, and this section deals with suffixes that are not verbs themselves. Note that a verb can be conjugated several times by chaining auxiliaries, e.g. 食べる (taberu, “to eat”) to the causative 食べさせる (tabesaseru, “to make (someone) eat”) then to the polite form 食べさせます (tabesasemasu) and finally to the negative 食べさせません (tabesasemasen, “does not make (someone) eat”). As such, the actual number of inflected forms of a verb can be very large. The most common, one-level inflected forms of verbs are listed below:

Paradigm of godan verbs with -k, -g, and -s stems

Example word	書く kak-	泳ぐ oyog-	話す hanas-
Mizenkei stem	かか kaka-	およが oyoga-	はなさ hanasa-
Negative	かかない kakanai	およがない oyoganai	はなさない hanasanai
Passive	かかれる kakareru	およがれる oyogareru	はなされる hanasareru
Causative	かかせる kakaseru	およがせる oyogaseru	はなさせる hanasaseru
Ren'yōkei	かき kaki	およぎ oyogi	はなし hanashi
Polite	かきます kakimasu	およぎます oyogimasu	はなします hanashimasu
Desiderative	かきたい kakitai	およぎたい oyogitai	はなしたい hanashitai
Evidential	かきそう kakisō	およぎそう oyogisō	はなしそう hanashisō
Onbin stem	かい kai-	およい oyoi- (< ĩ-)	(ren'yōkei)
Past	かいた kaita	およいだ oyoida	はなした hanashita
-tara conditional	かいたら kaitara	およいだら oyoidara	はなしたら hanashitara
Representative	かいたり kaitari	およいだり oyoidari	はなしたり hanashitari
Conjunctive or -te form	かいて kaite	およいで oyoide	はなして hanashite
Nonpast (shūshikei and rentaikei)	かく kaku	およぐ oyogu	はなす hanasu
-ba conditional (from kateikei stem)	かけば kakeba	およげば oyogeba	はなせば hanaseba
Potential	かける kakeru	およげる oyogeru	はなせる hanaseru
Imperative (meireikei)	かけ kake	およげ oyoge	はなせ hanase
Volitional (from alt. mizenkei stem)	かこう kakō	およごう oyogō	はなそう hanasō

Note

• 行く (iku, “to go”, stem ik-) has the irregular onbin stem iQ-, hence the past is いった (itta), the conjunctive is いって (itte), etc. Otherwise, it is a regular godan verb with -k stem.

Paradigm of godan verbs with -t, -n, and -b stems

Example word	立つ tat-	死ぬ shin-	呼ぶ yob-
Mizenkei stem	たた tata-	しな shina-	よば yoba-
Negative	たたない tatanai	しなない shinanai	よばない yobanai
Passive	たたれる tatareru	しなれる shinareru	よばれる yobareru
Causative	たたせる tataseru	しなせる shinaseru	よばせる yobaseru
Ren'yōkei	たち tachi	しに shini	よび yobi
Polite	たちます tachimasu	しにます shinimasu	よびます yobimasu
Desiderative	たちたい tachitai	しにたい shinitai	よびたい yobitai
Evidential	たちそう tachisō	しにそう shinisō	よびそう yobisō
Onbin stem	たっ taQ-	しん shiN-	よん yoN-
Past	たった tatta	しんだ shinda	よんだ yonda
-tara conditional	たったら tattara	しんだら shindara	よんだら yondara
Representative	たったり tattari	しんだり shindari	よんだり yondari
Conjunctive or -te form	たって tatte	しんで shinde	よんで yonde
Nonpast (shūshikei and rentaikei)	たつ tatsu	しぬ shinu	よぶ yobu
-ba conditional (from kateikei stem)	たてば tateba	しねば shineba	よべば yobeba
Potential	たてる tateru	しねる shineru	よべる yoberu
Imperative (meireikei)	たて tate	しね shine	よべ yobe
Volitional (from alt. mizenkei stem)	たとう tatō	しのう shinō	よぼう yobō

Paradigm of godan verbs with -m, -r, and -w stems

Example word	読む yom-	帰る kaer-	買う kaw-
Mizenkei stem	よま yoma-	かえら kaera-	かわ kawa-
Negative	よまない yomanai	かえらない kaeranai	かわない kawanai
Passive	よまれる yomareru	かえられる kaerareru	かわれる kawareru
Causative	よませる yomaseru	かえらせる kaeraseru	かわせる kawaseru
Ren'yōkei	よみ yomi	かえり kaeri	かい kai
Polite	よみます yomimasu	かえります kaerimasu	かいます kaimasu
Desiderative	よみたい yomitai	かえりたい kaeritai	かいたい kaitai
Evidential	よみそう yomisō	かえりそう kaerisō	かいそう kaisō
Onbin stem	よん yoN-	かえっ kaeQ-	かっ kaQ-
Past	よんだ yonda	かえった kaetta	かった katta
-tara conditional	よんだら yondara	かえったら kaettara	かったら kattara
Representative	よんだり yondari	かえったり kaettari	かったり kattari
Conjunctive or -te form	よんで yonde	かえって kaette	かって katte
Nonpast (shūshikei and rentaikei)	よむ yomu	かえる kaeru	かう kau
-ba conditional (from kateikei stem)	よめば yomeba	かえれば kaereba	かえば kaeba
Potential	よめる yomeru	かえれる kaereru	かえる kaeru
Imperative (meireikei)	よめ yome	かえれ kaere	かえ kae
Volitional (from alt. mizenkei stem)	よもう yomō	かえろう kaerō	かおう kaō

Notes

1. The honorific verbs いらっしゃる (irassharu), 仰る (ossharu), 下さる (kudasaru), なさる (nasaru), ござる (gozaru) have irregular imperative forms and ren'yōkei stems used with the auxiliary verb ます (-masu), formed by changing the -r to -i (rather than the regular ren'yōkei -ri or imperative -re). Otherwise, they are regular godan verbs with -r stems.
2. The verb ある (aru, “to be, to exist”) has the suppletive negative form ない (nai, “non-existent, not”), which is an adjective. Otherwise, it is a regular godan verb with -r stem.
3. The verbs 問う (tou) and 請う (kou) have irregular onbin stems formed by changing the -w to a lengthening mora, hence the past is とうた (tōta), こうた (kōta), the conjunctive is とうて (tōte), こうて (kōte), etc. Otherwise, they are regular godan verb with -w stems.

Paradigm of kami ichidan and shimo ichidan verbs

Example word	見る mi-	出る de-
Basic stem (mizenkei and ren'yōkei)	み mi	で de
Negative	みない minai	でない denai
Passive	みられる mirareru	でられる derareru
Causative	みさせる misaseru	でさせる desaseru
Polite	みます mimasu	でます demasu
Desiderative	みたい mitai	でたい detai
Evidential	みそう misō	でそう desō
Past	みた mita	でた deta
-tara conditional	みたら mitara	でたら detara
Representative	みたり mitari	でたり detari
Conjunctive or -te form	みて mite	でて dete
Nonpast (shūshikei and rentaikei)	みる miru	でる deru
-ba conditional (from kateikei stem)	みれば mireba	でれば dereba
Potential	みられる mirareru みれる mireru (nonstandard)	でられる derareru でれる dereru (nonstandard)
Imperative (meireikei)	みろ miro (spoken) みよ miyo (written)	でろ dero (spoken) でよ deyo (written)
Volitional (from mizenkei stem)	みよう miyō	でよう deyō

Note

The verb くれる (kureru, “to give (me or someone of lower rank)”) has the irregular imperative form くれ (kure). Otherwise, it is a regular shimo ichidan verb.

Paradigm of the k- irregular verb 来る (kuru, “to come”)

Word	来る kuru
Mizenkei stem	こ ko-
Negative	こない konai
Passive	こられる korareru
Causative	こさせる kosaseru
Ren'yōkei	き ki
Polite	きます kimasu
Desiderative	きたい kitai
Evidential	きそう kisō
Past	きた kita
-tara conditional	きたら kitara
Representative	きたり kitari
Conjunctive or -te form	きて kite
Nonpast (shūshikei and rentaikei)	くる kuru
-ba conditional (from kateikei stem)	くれば kureba
Potential	こられる korareru これる koreru (nonstandard)
Imperative (meireikei)	こい koi
Volitional (from mizenkei stem)	こよう koyō

Note

Unlike other verbs, the Classical Japanese forms ko and koyo are never used for the imperative even when trying to sound formal, archaic or stylistic. Such situations are instead handled by the suppletive kitare きたれ, the imperative of the five-grade (godan) verb kitaru きたる.

Paradigm of the s- irregular verb する (suru, “to do”) (empty slots are regular)

Word	する suru (regular)	達する tassuru	論ずる ronzuru	愛する aisuru
Mizenkei stem	さ sa- せ se- (archaic) し shi-	せ se- し shi-	じ ji- ぜ ze-	あいさ aisa- あいし aishi-
Negative	しない shinai		じない jinai	さない sanai 　しない shinai
Passive	される sareru	せられる serareru 　しられる shirareru	じられる jirareru 　ぜられる zerareru
Causative	させる saseru	しさせる shisaseru	じさせる jisaseru
Ren'yōkei	し shi		じ ji
Polite	します shimasu		じます jimasu
Desiderative	したい shitai		じたい jitai
Evidential	しそう shisō		じそう jisō
Past	した shita		じた jita
-tara conditional	したら shitara		じたら jitara
Representative	したり shitari		じたり jitari
Conjunctive or -te form	して shite		じて jite
Nonpast (shūshikei and rentaikei)	する suru		ずる zuru じる jiru	する suru す su
-ba conditional (from kateikei stem)	すれば sureba		ずれば zureba じれば jireba	すれば sureba せば seba
Potential	できる dekiru	= passive		せる seru
Imperative (meireikei)	しろ shiro (spoken) せよ seyo (written)		じろ jiro (spoken) ぜよ zeyo (written)	しろ shiro (spoken) せよ seyo (written) せ se
Volitional (from mizenkei stem)	しよう shiyō		じよう jiyō	しよう shiyō そう sō

When there are several auxiliaries following a verb, they generally occur in this order:

• Causative -seru ~ -saseru
• Passive/spontaneous/honorific(/potential) -reru ~ -rareru (~ -eru)
• Desiderative -tai (if this suffix is present, further inflection becomes i-adjective like)
• Polite -masu
• Negative -nai, -nu ~ -n
• Evidential -sō (if this suffix is present, further inflection becomes na-adjective like; not used with -masu)
• Suffixes expressing obligatory categories

The causative and passive auxiliaries have shimo ichidan conjugation. The desiderative auxiliary -tai have adjectival inflection. The evidential -sō behaves like a nominal. The other two non-final auxiliaries, polite -masu and negative -nai, have the following paradigms:

Paradigm of the polite auxiliary ます (masu) ~ まする (masuru, rare)

Auxiliary	ます masu
Mizenkei stem	ませ mase- ましょ masho-
Negative	ません masen
Negative past	ませんでした masen deshita
Ren'yōkei	まし mashi (only used as a stem)
Past	ました mashita
-tara conditional	ましたら mashitara (super-polite)
Conjunctive or -te form	まして mashite (super-polite)
Nonpast (shūshikei and rentaikei)	ます masu (adnominal use is super-polite) まする masuru (rare)
-ba conditional (from kateikei stem)	ますれば masureba (super-polite) ませば maseba (rare)
Imperative (meireikei)	ませ mase (only used with some honorific verbs) まし mashi (ditto, rare)
Volitional (from alt. mizenkei stem)	ましょう mashō

Paradigm of the negative auxiliaries ない (nai) and ぬ (nu) ~ ん (n)

Auxiliary	ない nai	ぬ nu ~ ん n
Mizenkei stem	なかろ nakaro-
Ren'yōkei	なく naku (adverbial) なかっ nakaQ- (stem)	ず zu (adverbial)
Past	なかった nakatta
-tara conditional	なかったら nakattara
Representative	なかったり nakattari
Conjunctive or -te form	なくて nakute 　ないで naide
Evidential	なそう nasō なさそう nasasō
Nonpast (shūshikei and rentaikei)	ない nai	ぬ nu ん n
-ba conditional (from kateikei stem)	なければ nakereba	ねば neba
Volitional (from mizenkei stem)	なかろう nakarō

Note

• Compared with ない (nai), ぬ (nu) is more old-fashioned while ん (n) n can be colloquial, old-fashioned or dialectal (except that it is mandatory after ます (masu)).
• The conjunctive form なくて (nakute) and ないで (naide) have different uses: when linking verbs, the former simply joins two clauses while the latter means "without", equivalent to ずに (zu ni). The former is used with the conditional particle は (wa) and the concessive particle も (mo), while the latter is used with auxiliary verbs like もらい (morai), ください (kudasai), ほしい (hoshii), e.g. 言わなくてもいい (iwanakute mo ii, “it's ok if you don't say it”), 言わないでください (iwanaide kudasai, “please don't say it”).
• As with i-adjectives, the volitional なかろう (nakarō) is now largely replaced by ない (nai) + だろう (darō).

Basic inflected forms

Here are the first set of inflected forms commonly taught in textbooks.

Plain forms

Form	Conjugation	kaku 書く (base kak-)	miru 見る (base mi-)
Nonpast	shūshikei / rentaikei	kaku かく	miru みる
Past	ren'yōkei + -ta (with sound changes for five-grade verbs)	kaita かいた	mita みた
Negative nonpast	mizenkei + -nai	kakanai かかない	minai みない
Negative past	mizenkei + -nakatta	kakanakatta かかなかった	minakatta みなかった

Polite forms

Form	Conjugation	kaku 書く (base kak-)	miru 見る (base mi-)
Nonpast	ren'yōkei + -masu	kakimasu かきます	mimasu みます
Past	ren'yōkei + -mashita	kakimashita かきました	mimashita みました
Negative nonpast	ren'yōkei + -masen	kakimasen かきません	mimasen みません
Negative past	ren'yōkei + -masen deshita	kakimasen deshita かきませんでした	mimasen deshita みませんでした

Note: The verb aru ある “to be, to exist” does not have the negative formed in this way. The plain negative is the adjective nai ない “nonexistent, not be”, and the polite negative is nai desu ないです or arimasen ありません.

All these forms can occur in the predicate position of a sentence (i.e. at the end, where the plain form is considered to be in the shūshikei form).

アリスは毎(まい)日(にち)コーヒーを飲(の)む / 飲(の)みます。 ― Arisu wa mainichi kōhī o nomu / nomimasu. ― Alice drinks coffee every day.

アリスの電(でん)話(わ)番(ばん)号(ごう)を知(し)らない / 知(し)りません。 ― Arisu no denwabangō o shiranai / shirimasen. ― I don't know Alice's telephone number.

昨日(きのう)、友(とも)達(だち)が家(いえ)に来(き)た / 来(き)ました。 ― Kinō, tomodachi ga ie ni kita / kimashita. ― Friends came to my house yesterday.

先(せん)週(しゅう)働(はたら)かなかった / 働(はたら)きませんでしたか。 ― Senshū hatarakanakatta / hatarakimasen deshita ka. ― You didn't work in the last week?

The plain forms can also be used to modify a noun, or in the predicate position of a clause modifying a noun, when occurring before it (here the plain form is to be considered in the rentaikei form in traditional grammar):

私(わたし)が明日(あした)乗(の)る飛(ひ)行(こう)機(き) ― watashi ga ashita noru hikōki ― the plane that I'll take tomorrow (lit. the-tomorrow-taken-by-me plane.)

子(こ)供(ども)のいない夫(ふう)婦(ふ) ― kodomo no inai fūfu ― a couple who have no child (lit. the children-lacking couple.)

トムが昨日(きのう)買(か)ったパソコン ― tomu ga kinō katta pasokon ― the computer that Tom bought yesterday (lit. the yesterday-bought-by-Tom computer.)

トップ10に入(はい)らなかった言(こと)葉(ば) ― toppu 10 ni hairanakatta kotoba ― words that didn't enter the top 10 (lit. the non-entered-to-top-10 words.)

Infinitive

The infinitive (ren'yōkei), apart from deriving nouns or used in the construction of compound verbs, can be used for the non-final predicates when linking several predicates together in a sentence.

君(きみ)が歌(うた)い、僕(ぼく)は踊(おど)る ― kimi ga utai, boku wa odoru ― you sing; I dance

This is called 連用中止 ren'yō chūshi and it is mainly used in written language. The non-final predicates do not conjugate for tense or politeness. Iru いる “to be” in these positions are usually replaced by its humble form oru おる and put in ren'yōkei as ori おり.

Another use of the infinitive is in the grammar pattern verb/clause + ni + motion verb.

遊(あそ)びに来(き)たぜ。 ― asobi ni kita ze. ― I came to play

午(ご)後(ご)、荷(に)物(もつ)を取(と)りに行(い)きます。 ― Gogo, nimotsu o tori ni ikimasu. ― I will go to fetch my luggage this afternoon.

Certain kinds of compound verbs are produced by attaching a word to the continuative form of a verb; for example: 〜やすい (-yasui, “easy to do”), 〜方 (-kata, “way of doing something”), 〜返す (-kaesu, “to do something over again”). Other constructions include 〜たい (-tai, “to want to do something”), 〜ながら (-nagara, “while doing something”), 〜なさい (-nasai, “please do something”) (used only between friends or to someone of a lower rank), 〜そうだ (-sō da, “to seem likely to do something”).

Conjunctive form with て

The conjunctive or te form is spinoff of the continuative form by attaching the particle て to it. For godan (five-grade) verbs, the same kinds of sound changes with ～た applies. The particle て can be used to link several predicates together, as illustrated below:

アリスは毎(まい)晩家(ばんいえ)へ帰(かえ)って、テレビを見(み)ます。 ― Arisu wa maiban ie e kaette, terebi o mimasu. ― Alice returns home and watches TV every night.

昨日(きのう)図(と)書(しょ)館(かん)へ行(い)って、勉(べん)強(きょう)しました。 ― Kinō toshokan e itte, benkyō shimashita. ― I went to the library and studied yesterday.

When used at the end of a sentence it makes a light command:

助(たす)けて！ ― tasukete! ― Help!

ゆっくりしていってね！ ― Yukkuri shite itte ne! ― Take it easy!

More often, this form is part of certain kinds of expressions: 〜てから (after doing something), 〜ても(いい) (it's OK to do something), 〜てはだめ/いけない/ならない (it's not ok to do something), 〜て下さい (please do something), 〜ている (to be doing something), 〜てある (to be in the state of ...), 〜てばかり (to be always doing something), 〜てあげる (to do something to others), 〜てくれる (to do something for me), 〜てもらう (to receive the favor of doing something), 〜ておく (to do something in preparation), 〜てしまう (to do something completely or accidentally), 〜てみる (to try doing something), etc. When followed by motion verbs like いく and くる as a set expression, the basic meaning is to do something towards a direction (e.g. 帰る is "return", 帰っていく is "go back", while 帰ってくる is "come back"), and the notion of the direction can be abstract (towards the future, up to the present, come to the state, etc.)

Imperative form

The imperative form (命令形) is often irregular in honorific speech; in other cases it can be rude in everyday conversation except when quoted or used in と-clauses. With a spoken/written register denotion where present, they are conjugated in the following fashion:

• godan verbs: change the -u to -e. For example, 読む becomes 読め.
• ichidan verbs: change the -ru to -ro/-yo. For example, 見る becomes 見ろ/見よ.
• irregular verbs: kuru becomes koi/koyo, suru becomes shiro/seyo.

Volitional form

The volitional form carries the meaning of "let's do something". It has the same meaning when used alone and means "try to do" when followed by とする. It also means "I want to do something", but a less direct way to say this is to follow it by と思う. The conjugation is:

• godan verbs: change the -u to -ō. For example, 読む becomes 読もう.
• ichidan verbs: change the -ru to -yō. For example, 見る becomes 見よう.
• irregular verbs: kuru becomes koyō, suru becomes shiyō.

Hypothetical conditional form

One way to say "if" is to attach ば to the 仮定形 of a verb, which is formed by changing the final vowel u (whether in -u, -ru, kuru, suru) to an e. "AばB" implies that A is a condition for B to happen.

Potential form

• godan verbs: change the -u to -eru. For example, 読む becomes 読める.
• ichidan verbs: change the -ru to -rareru. For example, 見る becomes 見られる.
• irregular verbs: kuru becomes korareru, suru becomes dekiru.

The result can be further conjugated like an ichidan verb; for example, 信じられない (unbelievable). Informally, the ra can be left out (a practice called ら抜き言葉).

Causative form

• godan verbs: change the -u to -a (but -wa if it has no consonant) and attach seru. For example, 読む becomes 読ませる.
• ichidan verbs: change the -ru to -saseru. For example, 見る becomes 見させる.
• irregular verbs: kuru becomes kosaseru, suru becomes saseru.

The result can be further conjugated like an ichidan verb. Sometimes the せる is abbreviated as a single す and conjugates as godan verbs. The object is usually introduced with を, but when there is another object with を (such as "A made B sing a song"), に is used instead.

Passive form

• godan verbs: change the -u to -a (but -wa if it has no consonant) and attach reru. For example, 読む becomes 読まれる.
• ichidan verbs: change the -ru to -rareru. For example, 見る becomes 見られる.
• irregular verbs: kuru becomes korareru, suru becomes sareru.

The result can be further conjugated like an ichidan verb. Aside from the passive voice (where the performer of the verb is introduced with に or によって), the form is also used to show politeness in which case the sentence structure does not change. In casual speech, the せる can be abbreviated as a single す and conjugates as godan verbs. Sometimes, in a phenomenon called the 'suffering passive', the passive form is used, particularly with intransitive verbs, to express that the thing done was somehow regrettable for the speaker; for example, 兎に逃げられた is not "[I] was run away by the rabbit", but "the rabbit ran away, unfortunately [for me]". One may compare this to the similarly functioning structure within expressions such as 'died on me', 'ran out on me'.

Causative passive form

• godan verbs: change the -u to -a (but -wa if it has no consonant) and attach serareru. For example, 読む becomes 読ませられる.
• ichidan verbs: change the -ru to -saserareru. For example, 見る becomes 見させられる.
• irregular verbs: kuru becomes kosaserareru, suru becomes saserareru.

In godan verbs, except those that end in す, the middle part of the causative passive would frequently contract. For example, 読ませられる would contract to 読まされる. Likewise, the result can be further conjugated as an ichidan verb.

Irregular conjugation related to polite speech

• The imperative form of くれる is くれ.
• The imperative form of some godan verbs have the ru replaced with i:

Verb	Imperative form
くださる	ください
なさる	なさい
いらっしゃる	いらっしゃい
おっしゃる	おっしゃい

はがきを５枚(ごまい)ください。

Hagaki o gomai kudasai.

Please give me five postcards.

The i-ending imperative forms are identical to the continuative verb stem (the ren'yōkei). As such, these may be followed by the -mase imperative form of polite suffix -masu. This results in a polite command, and for the appropriate verbs, this makes a greeting more polite:

いらっしゃいませ！

Irasshaimase!

Welcome!

• Similarly, ございます comes from ござる, which is a humble form of ある.

Transitivity

Japanese transitive and intransitive verbs are called 他動詞 (tadōshi) and 自動詞 (jidōshi) in Japanese respectively. Intransitive verbs usually only take a subject marked with が (ga) or は (wa), while transitive verbs can also take an object marked with を (o).

先(せん)生(せい)が授(じゅ)業(ぎょう)を始(はじ)める。 ― sensei ga jugyō o hajimeru. ― The teacher starts the class.

授(じゅ)業(ぎょう)が始(はじ)まる。 ― jugyō ga hajimaru. ― The class starts.

Intransitive verbs may also take a noun phrase that would be considered an "object" in English. This is mostly marked by に (ni), similar to an indirect object.

弾(だん)丸(がん)が私(わたし)に当(あ)たった ― dangan ga watashi ni atatta ― The bullet hit me.

Motion verbs can also be used with the object particle を (o) (adding the meaning of 'through'), despite their intransitive status in Japanese.

橋(はし)を渡(わた)る ― hashi o wataru ― to cross a bridge

When a transitive verb is affixed with 〜たい (tai) to express desire (becoming an adjective), or in the potential form (becoming intransitive), it would then usually be marked with が (ga), with を (o) seeing occasional use despite proscription.

水(みず)が飲(の)みたい。 ― mizu ga nomitai. ― I want to drink water.

Passive forms 〜（ら）れる (-(ra)reru) usually become intransitive and causative forms 〜（さ）せる (-(sa)seru) usually become transitive. 〜てある (-tearu) forms usually become intransitive.

窓(まど)が開(あ)けてある。 ― mado ga akete aru. ― The window is opened.

Verb pairs

A Japanese verb pair consists of a transitive verb and an intransitive verb sharing the same root, with the former serving as the causative/active voice, and the latter as the mediopassive voice.

値(ね)段(だん)を上(あ)げる ― nedan o ageru ― (A subject) raises the price.

値(ね)段(だん)が上(あ)がる ― nedan ga agaru ― The price rises.

• Transitivity counterpart constructed on the same root with 下二段活用 inflection (modern 下一段活用).

• 下二段活用 inflection as transitive:

Verb pair	Transitivity	Old Japanese	Modern Japanese
to attach	trans.	付(つ)く (tuku, 下二段活用)	付(つ)ける (tsukeru)
	intrans.	付(つ)く (tuku, 四段活用)	付(つ)く (tsuku)
to lengthen	trans.	伸(の)ぶ (nobu, 下二段活用)	伸(の)べる (noberu)
	intrans.	伸(の)ぶ (nobu, 上二段活用)	伸(の)びる (nobiru)

• 下二段活用 inflection as intransitive:

Verb pair	Transitivity	Old Japanese	Modern Japanese
to burn	trans.	焼(や)く (yaku, 四段活用)	焼(や)く (yaku)
	intrans.	焼(や)く (yaku, 下二段活用)	焼(や)ける (yakeru)

• Transitives may be constructed by attaching Old Japanese auxiliary verb す, and intransitives constructed by attaching Old Japanese auxiliary verb る (or rarely ゆ), them being equivalent to modern せる (seru), れる (reru), and える (eru), respectively.

• With す:

Verb pair	Transitivity	Old Japanese	Modern Japanese
to decrease	trans.	減(へ)らす (ferasu, 四段活用)	減(へ)らす (herasu)
	intrans.	減(へ)る (feru, 四段活用)	減(へ)る (heru)
to wake	trans.	覚(さ)ます (samasu, 四段活用)	覚(さ)ます (samasu)
	intrans.	覚(さ)む (samu, 下二段活用)	覚(さ)める (sameru)
to fill	trans.	満(み)たす (mitasu, 四段活用)	満(み)たす (mitasu)
	intrans.	満(み)つ (mitu, 上二段活用)	満(み)ちる (michiru)

• With る or ゆ:

Verb pair	Transitivity	Old Japanese	Modern Japanese
to sting/to be stung	trans.	刺(さ)す (sasu, 四段活用)	刺(さ)す (sasu)
	intrans.	刺(さ)さる (sasaru, 四段活用)	刺(さ)さる (sasaru)
to raise/to rise	trans.	上(あ)ぐ (agu, 下二段活用)	上(あ)げる (ageru)
	intrans.	上(あ)がる (agaru, 四段活用)	上(あ)がる (agaru)
to see/to seem	trans.	見(み)る (miru, 上一段活用)	見(み)る (miru)
	intrans.	見(み)ゆ (miyu, 下二段活用)	見(み)える (mieru)

• With both:

Verb pair	Transitivity	Old Japanese	Modern Japanese
to transfer	trans.	移(うつ)す (utusu, 四段活用)	移(うつ)す (utsusu)
	intrans.	移(うつ)る (uturu, 四段活用)	移(うつ)る (utsuru)
to stray	trans.	外(はづ)す (fadusu, 四段活用)	外(はず)す (hazusu)
	intrans.	外(はづ)る (faduru, 下二段活用)	外(はず)れる (hazureru)
to move close	trans.	寄(よ)す (yosu, 下二段活用)	寄(よ)せる (yoseru)
	intrans.	寄(よ)る (yoru, 四段活用)	寄(よ)る (yoru)
to erase	trans.	消(け)す (kesu, 四段活用)	消(け)す (kesu)
	intrans.	消(き)ゆ (kiyu, 下二段活用)	消(き)える (kieru)

Stem forms

These are the basic forms of verbs as taught in Japan. Verbs have six associated stem forms; three of these each appear in two different ways that are not given separate names, but are used in disjoint contexts. The izenkei (已然形, classical perfective form) is also called the kateikei (仮定形, hypothetical form in modern Japanese). The shūshikei (終止形, terminal form) and rentaikei (連体形, attributive form) are identical for verbs in modern Japanese.

Prototype

起きる

食べる

書く

行く

剥ぐ

射す

待つ

死ぬ

呼ぶ

飲む

掘る

買う

問う

くる

する

okiru

taberu

kaku

iku

hagu

sasu

matsu

shinu

yobu

nomu

horu

kau

tou

kuru

suru

Class

上一

下一

カ五

カ五

ガ五

サ五

タ五

ナ五

バ五

マ五

ラ五

ワ五

ワ五

カ変格

サ変格

kami-1

shimo-1

ka-5

ka-5

ga-5

sa-5

ta-5

na-5

ba-5

ma-5

ra-5

wa-5

wa-5

ka-hen.

sa-hen.

Stem

起き

食べ

書

行

剥

射

待

死

呼

飲

掘

買

問

irreg.

irreg.

oki-

tabe-

kak-

ik-

hag-

sas-

mat-

shin-

yob-

nom-

hor-

ka(*p)-

to(*p)-

irreg.

irreg.

Mizenkei (未然形)

起き

食べ

書か

行か

剥が

射さ

待た

死な

呼ば

飲ま

掘ら

買わ

問わ

こ

irreg.

Imperfective (general)

oki-

tabe-

kaka-

ika-

haga-

sasa-

mata-

shina-

yoba-

noma-

hora-

kawa-

towa-

ko-

irreg.

Mizenkei (未然形)

起き

食べ

書こ

行こ

剥ご

射そ

待と

死の

呼ぼ

飲も

掘ろ

買お

問お

こ

し

Imperfective (volitional)

oki-

tabe-

kako-

iko-

hago-

saso-

mato-

shino-

yobo-

nomo-

horo-

kao-

too-

ko-

shi-

Ren'yōkei (連用形)

起き

食べ

書き

行き

剥ぎ

射し

待ち

死に

呼び

飲み

掘り

買い

問い

き

し

Continuative (-i)

oki

tabe

kaki

iki

hagi

sashi

machi

shini

yobi

nomi

hori

kai

toi

ki

shi

Ren'yōkei (連用形)

起き

食べ

書い

行っ

剥い

射し

待っ

死ん

呼ん

飲ん

掘っ

買っ

問う

き

し

Continuative (other)

oki-

tabe-

kai-

i_-

hai-

sashi-

ma_-

shin-

yon-

non-

ho_-

ka_-

tou-

ki-

shi-

Shūshikei (終止形)

起きる

食べる

書く

行く

剥ぐ

射す

待つ

死ぬ

呼ぶ

飲む

掘る

買う

問う

くる

する

Terminal

okiru

taberu

kaku

iku

hagu

sasu

matsu

shinu

yobu

nomu

horu

kau

tou

kuru

suru

Rentaikei (連体形)

起きる

食べる

書く

行く

剥ぐ

射す

待つ

死ぬ

呼ぶ

飲む

掘る

買う

問う

くる

する

Attributive

okiru

taberu

kaku

iku

hagu

sasu

matsu

shinu

yobu

nomu

horu

kau

tou

kuru

suru

Izenkei (已然形)

起きれ

食べれ

書け

行け

剥げ

射せ

待て

死ね

呼べ

飲め

掘れ

買え

問え

くれ

すれ

Classical Perfective

okire-

tabere-

kake-

ike-

hage-

sase-

mate-

shine-

yobe-

nome-

hore-

kae-

toe-

kure-

sure-

Meireikei (命令形)

起きよ

食べよ

書け

行け

剥げ

射せ

待て

死ね

呼べ

飲め

掘れ

買え

問え

こよ

せよ

Imperative (written)

okiyo

tabeyo

kake

ike

hage

sase

mate

shine

yobe

nome

hore

kae

toe

koyo

seyo

Meireikei (命令形)

起きろ

食べろ

書け

行け

剥げ

射せ

待て

死ね

呼べ

飲め

掘れ

買え

問え

こい

しろ

Imperative (spoken)

okiro

tabero

kake

ike

hage

sase

mate

shine

yobe

nome

hore

kae

toe

koi

shiro

The ren'yōkei (連用形, -i form), shūshikei (終止形, terminal form), rentaikei (連体形, attributive form), and meireikei (命令形, imperative form) can appear on their own. The other inflections require suffixes.

Complex forms

Form	Classes	Stem	Suffix	Result	Examples
Passive 受動態	1, kuru	imperfective (general)	られる	shimo-1 verb	食べられる
	5	imperfective (general)	れる	shimo-1 verb	書かれる
	suru	irreg.	irreg.	shimo-1 verb	される
Causative 使役態	1, kuru	imperfective (general)	させる or さす	shimo-1 verb	食べさせる
	5	imperfective (general)	せる or す	shimo-1 verb	書かせる
	suru	irreg.	irreg.	shimo-1 verb	させる or さす
Potential 可能法	1, kuru	imperfective (general)	られる	shimo-1 verb	食べられる
	5, kuru (colloq.), 1 (colloq.)	classical imperfective	る	shimo-1 verb	書ける, 起きれる
	suru	defective	defective		出来る (せる in compounds)

Other forms

Form	Classes	Stem	Suffix	Result	Examples
Volitional	1, kuru, suru	imperfective (volitional)	よう	indeclinable	食べよう, こよう, しよう
	5	imperfective (volitional)	う	indeclinable	書こう, 話そう
Negative	all	imperfective (general)	ない	i-adjective	食べない, 書かない, こない, しない
Negative (archaic)	all	imperfective (general)	ぬ	indeclinable	食べぬ, 書かぬ
Negative Continuative (-zu)	1, 5, kuru	imperfective (general)	ず	indeclinable	食べず, 書かず, こず
	suru	irreg.	irreg.	indeclinable	せず
Negative Conjunctive (-naide)	all	imperfective (general)	ないで	indeclinable	起きないで, 書かないで, こないで, しないで
Past tense	1, kuru, suru, 5 (ka, sa, ta, ra, wa)	continuative (other)	た	indeclinable	食べた, きた, した, 書いた, 行った, 話した, 待った, 作った, 払った, 問うた
	5 (ga, na, ba, ma)	continuative (other)	だ	indeclinable	泳いだ, 死んだ, 読んだ, 飲んだ
Conjunctive (-te)	1, kuru, suru, 5 (ka, sa, ta, ra, wa)	continuative (other)	て	indeclinable	食べて, きて, して, 書いて, 行って, 話して, 待って, 作って, 払って, 問うて
	5 (ga, na, ba, ma)	continuative (other)	で	indeclinable	泳いで, 死んで, 読んで, 飲んで
Hypothetical (-ba)	all	classical perfective (hypothetical)	ば	indeclinable	起きれば, 書けば, くれば, すれば
Conditional (-tara)	1, kuru, suru, 5 (ka, sa, ta, ra, wa)	continuative (other)	たら	indeclinable	食べたら, きたら, したら, 書いたら
	5 (ga, na, ba, ma)	continuative (other)	だら	indeclinable	泳いだら, 死んだら, 読んだら, 飲んだら

Currently incomplete

Suffixes to the continuative (-i) form

There are several suffixes that attach to the continuative (-i) form. These are some of the most common:

Form	Suffix	Result	Examples
Formal (-masu)	ます	irregular verb	行きます
Desire (-tai)	たい	i-adjective	食べたい

Classical Japanese

The following table shows the conjugations of classical verbs as well as the modern equivalents in historical kana orthography. Note the “school grammar” terminology and notion of verb forms. Although not shown in this table, when the conjunctive form of a verb follows an auxiliary verb, a non-obligatory conjugation change called Onbin may be observed. A conjugation table for auxiliary verbs appears at Appendix:Japanese auxiliary verbs (todo).

動詞活用表

文語 (classical)									口語 (modern)
種類 conjugation class	行 consonant of suffix	語例 example word	未然 irrealis	連用 cont.	終止 terminal	連體 attrib.	已然 realis	命令 imperat.	種類 conjugation class	行 consonant of suffix	語例 example word	未然 irrealis	連用 cont.	終止 terminal	連體 attrib.	假定 hypot.	命令 imperat.
四段 yodan four-grade	カ行 -k-	行（ゆ）く yu.ku	か ka	き ki	く ku	く ku	け ke	け ke	四段 yodan four-grade	カ行 -k-	行（ゆ）く yu.ku	か ka	き ki	く ku	く ku	け ke	け ke
	ガ行 -g-	漕（こ）ぐ ko.gu	が ga	ぎ gi	ぐ gu	ぐ gu	げ ge	げ ge		ガ行 -g-	漕（こ）ぐ ko.gu	が ga	ぎ gi	ぐ gu	ぐ gu	げ ge	げ ge
	サ行 -s-	增（ま）す ma.su	さ sa	し si	す su	す su	せ se	せ se		サ行 -s-	増（ま）す ma.su	さ sa	し si	す su	す su	せ se	せ se
	タ行 -t-	打（う）つ u.tu	た ta	ち ti	つ tu	つ tu	て te	て te		タ行 -t-	打（う）つ u.tu	た ta	ち ti	つ tu	つ tu	て te	て te
	ハ行 -h-	思（おも）ふ omo.hu	は ha	ひ hi	ふ hu	ふ hu	へ he	へ he		ハ行 -h-	思（おも）ふ omo.hu	は ha	ひ hi	ふ hu	ふ hu	へ he	へ he
	バ行 -b-	飛（と）ぶ to.bu	ば ba	び bi	ぶ bu	ぶ bu	べ be	べ be		バ行 -b-	飛（と）ぶ to.bu	ば ba	び bi	ぶ bu	ぶ bu	べ be	べ be
	マ行 -m-	讀（よ）む yo.mu	ま ma	み mi	む mu	む mu	め me	め me		マ行 -m-	読（よ）む yo.mu	ま ma	み mi	む mu	む mu	め me	め me
	ラ行 -r-	取（と）る to.ru	ら ra	り ri	る ru	る ru	れ re	れ re		ラ行 -r-	取（と）る to.ru	ら ra	り ri	る ru	る ru	れ re	れ re
ラ變 ra-hen r- irregular	ラ行 -r-	有（あ）り a.ri	ら ra	り ri	り ri	る ru	れ re	れ re		ラ行 -r-	有（あ）る a.ru	ら ra	り ri	る ru	る ru	れ re	れ re
ナ變 na-hen n- irregular	ナ行 -n-	死（し）ぬ si.nu	な na	に ni	ぬ nu	ぬる nuru	ぬれ nure	ね ne		ナ行 -n-	死（し）ぬ si.nu	な na	に ni	ぬ nu	ぬ nu	ね ne	ね ne
下一段 shimo-ichidan lower-monograde	カ行 -k-	蹴（け）る keru	け ke	け ke	ける keru	ける keru	けれ kere	けよ keyo		ラ行 -r-	蹴（け）る ke.ru	ら ra	り ri	る ru	る ru	れ re	れ re
下二段 shimo-nidan lower-bigrade	ア行 (a)	得（う） u	え e	え e	う u	うる uru	うれ ure	えよ eyo	下一段 shimo-ichidan lower-monograde	ア行 (a)	得（え）る eru	え e	え e	える eru	える eru	えれ ere	えよ eyo
	カ行 -k-	受（う）く u.ku	け ke	け ke	く ku	くる kuru	くれ kure	けよ keyo		カ行 -k-	受（う）ける u.keru	け ke	け ke	ける keru	ける keru	けれ kere	けよ keyo
	ガ行 -g-	上（あ）ぐ a.gu	げ ge	げ ge	ぐ gu	ぐる guru	ぐれ gure	げよ geyo		ガ行 -g-	上（あ）げる a.geru	げ ge	げ ge	げる geru	げる geru	げれ gere	げよ geyo
	サ行 -s-	寄（よ）す yo.su	せ se	せ se	す su	する suru	すれ sure	せよ seyo		サ行 -s-	寄（よ）せる yo.seru	せ se	せ se	せる seru	せる seru	すれ sure	せよ seyo
	ザ行 -z-	交（ま）ず ma.zu	ぜ ze	ぜ ze	ず zu	ずる zuru	ずれ zure	ぜよ zeyo		ザ行 -z-	交（ま）ぜる ma.zeru	ぜ ze	ぜ ze	ぜる zeru	ぜる zeru	ぜれ zere	ぜよ zeyo
	タ行 -t-	捨（す）つ su.tu	て te	て te	つ tu	つる turu	つれ ture	てよ teyo		タ行 -t-	捨（す）てる su.teru	て te	て te	てる teru	てる teru	てれ tere	てよ teyo
	ダ行 -d-	出（い）づ i.du	で de	で de	づ du	づる duru	づれ dure	でよ deyo		ダ行 -d-	出（で）る deru	で de	で de	でる deru	でる deru	でれ dere	でよ deyo
	ナ行 -n-	尋（たづ）ぬ tadu.nu	ね ne	ね ne	ぬ nu	ぬる nuru	ぬれ nure	ねよ neyo		ナ行 -n-	尋（たづ）ねる tadu.neru	ね ne	ね ne	ねる neru	ねる neru	ねれ nere	ねよ neyo
	ハ行 -h-	考（かんが）ふ kanga.hu	へ he	へ he	ふ hu	ふる huru	ふれ hure	へよ heyo		ハ行 -h-	考（かんが）へる kanga.heru	へ he	へ he	へる heru	へる heru	へれ here	へよ heyo
	バ行 -b-	調（しら）ぶ sira.bu	べ be	べ be	ぶ bu	ぶる buru	ぶれ bure	べよ beyo		バ行 -b-	調（しら）べる sira.beru	べ be	べ be	べる beru	べる beru	べれ bere	べよ beyo
	マ行 -m-	止（と）む to.mu	め me	め me	む mu	むる muru	むれ mure	めよ meyo		マ行 -m-	止（と）める to.meru	め me	め me	める meru	める meru	めれ mere	めよ meyo
	ヤ行 -y-	越（こ）ゆ ko.yu	え e	え e	ゆ yu	ゆる yuru	ゆれ yure	えよ eyo		ヤ行 -y-	越（こ）える ko.eru	え e	え e	える eru	える eru	えれ ere	えよ eyo
	ラ行 -r-	晴（は）る ha.ru	れ re	れ re	る ru	るる ruru	るれ rure	れよ reyo		ラ行 -r-	晴（は）れる ha.reru	れ re	れ re	れる reru	れる reru	れれ rere	れよ reyo
	ワ行 -w-	植（う）う u.u	ゑ we	ゑ we	う u	うる uru	うれ ure	ゑよ weyo		ワ行 -w-	植（う）ゑる u.weru	ゑ we	ゑ we	ゑる weru	ゑる weru	ゑれ were	ゑよ weyo
上一段 kami-ichidan upper-monograde	カ行 -k-	著（き）る kiru	き ki	き ki	きる kiru	きる kiru	きれ kire	きよ kiyo	上一段 kami-ichidan upper-monograde	カ行 -k-	著（き）る kiru	き ki	き ki	きる kiru	きる kiru	きれ kire	きよ kiyo
	ナ行 -n-	似（に）る niru	に ni	に ni	にる niru	にる niru	にれ nire	によ niyo		ナ行 -n-	似（に）る niru	に ni	に ni	にる niru	にる niru	にれ nire	によ niyo
	ハ行 -h-	干（ひ）る hiru	ひ hi	ひ hi	ひる hiru	ひる hiru	ひれ hire	ひよ hiyo		ハ行 -h-	干（ひ）る hiru	ひ hi	ひ hi	ひる hiru	ひる hiru	ひれ hire	ひよ hiyo
	マ行 -m-	見（み）る miru	み mi	み mi	みる miru	みる miru	みれ mire	みよ miyo		マ行 -m-	見（み）る miru	み mi	み mi	みる miru	みる miru	みれ mire	みよ miyo
	ヤ行 -y-	射（い）る iru	い i	い i	いる iru	いる iru	いれ ire	いよ iyo		ヤ行 -y-	老（お）いる o.iru	い i	い i	いる iru	いる iru	いれ ire	いよ iyo
	ワ行 -w-	居（ゐ）る wiru	ゐ wi	ゐ wi	ゐる wiru	ゐる wiru	ゐれ wire	ゐよ wiyo		ワ行 -w-	居（ゐ）る wiru	ゐ wi	ゐ wi	ゐる wiru	ゐる wiru	ゐれ wire	ゐよ wiyo
上二段 kami-nidan upper-bigrade	カ行 -k-	起（お）く o.ku	き ki	き ki	く ku	くる kuru	くれ kure	きよ kiyo		カ行 -k-	起（お）きる o.kiru	き ki	き ki	きる kiru	きる kiru	きれ kire	きよ kiyo
	ガ行 -g-	過（す）ぐ su.gu	ぎ gi	ぎ gi	ぐ gu	ぐる guru	ぐれ gure	ぎよ giyo		ガ行 -g-	過（す）ぎる su.giru	ぎ gi	ぎ gi	ぎる giru	ぎる giru	ぎれ gire	ぎよ giyo
	タ行 -t-	落（お）つ o.tu	ち ti	ち ti	つ tu	つる turu	つれ ture	ちよ tiyo		タ行 -t-	落（お）ちる o.tiru	ち ti	ち ti	ちる tiru	ちる tiru	ちれ tire	ちよ tiyo
	ダ行 -d-	恥（は）づ ha.du	ぢ di	ぢ di	づ du	づる duru	づれ dure	ぢよ diyo		ダ行 -d-	恥（は）ぢる ha.diru	ぢ di	ぢ di	じる ziru	じる ziru	じれ zire	ぢよ diyo
	ハ行 -h-	強（し）ふ si.hu	ひ hi	ひ hi	ふ hu	ふる huru	ふれ hure	ひよ hiyo		ハ行 -h-	強（し）ひる si.hiru	ひ hi	ひ hi	ひる hiru	ひる hiru	ひれ hire	ひよ hiyo
	バ行 -b-	亡（ほろ）ぶ horo.bu	び bi	び bi	ぶ bu	ぶる buru	ぶれ bure	びよ biyo		バ行 -b-	亡（ほろ）びる horo.biru	び bi	び bi	びる biru	びる biru	びれ bire	びよ biyo
	マ行 -m-	恨（うら）む ura.mu	み mi	み mi	む mu	むる muru	むれ mure	みよ miyo		マ行 -m-	恨（うら）みる ura.miru	み mi	み mi	みる miru	みる miru	みれ mire	みよ miyo
	ヤ行 -y-	悔（く）ゆ ku.yu	い i	い i	ゆ yu	ゆる yuru	ゆれ yure	いよ iyo		ヤ行 -y-	悔（く）いる ku.iru	い i	い i	いる iru	いる iru	いれ ire	いよ iyo
	ラ行 -r-	懲（こ）る ko.ru	り ri	り ri	る ru	るる ruru	るれ rure	りよ riyo		ラ行 -r-	懲（こ）りる ko.riru	り ri	り ri	りる riru	りる riru	りれ rire	りよ riyo
カ變 ka-hen k- irregular	カ行 -k-	來（く） ku	こ ko	き ki	く ku	くる kuru	くれ kure	こ ko こよ koyo	カ変 ka-hen k- irregular	カ行 -k-	来（く）る kuru	こ ko	き ki	くる kuru	くる kuru	くれ kure	こよ koyo こい koi
サ變 sa-hen s- irregular	サ行 -s-	爲（す） su	せ se	し si	す su	する suru	すれ sure	せよ seyo	サ変 sa-hen s- irregular	サ行 -s-	為（す）る suru	せ se し si	し si	する suru	する suru	すれ sure	せよ seyo しろ siro
		講（かう）ず kau.zu	ぜ ze	じ zi	ず zu	ずる zuru	ずれ zure	ぜよ zeyo			講（かう）ずる kau.zuru	ぜ ze じ zi	じ zi	ずる zuru	ずる zuru	ずれ zure	ぜよ zeyo じろ ziro

The rōmaji are Nihon-shiki transliterations of the kana and do not necessarily reflect the actual sounds.