/

endings

Nominalization

(emphatic/informal)
(abstract)

(use by default)

(able to do ~ing)

(occasional occurrence)

(to decide to ~)

(as a result)

(before ~ing )
...
(as soon as)

(without intent)

(idealistic should)
(formal neg. volitional)

(it seems that ~)

(I've heard that ~)
(apparently -adj.)
= /

(desire -adj.)

(desire vb)

(strong neg. desire)

(while ~ing)

(tends to ~)

(way of ~ing)

(it looks like ~)

(yakuza super rude)
(difficult to ~)
(easy to ~)
(too much)
[verb of motion] (go & do)
speaker's non-speaker's

(compound verb)
(e.g. )
(noun from verb target)

Polite

(non past)

(negative)

(past)

(past neg.)

(volitional)

(connective rare)
(conditional rare)
(imperative)

form
(negative -adj.)
(without ~ing)

(neg. form)

(neg. form)
(neg. cond.)

(neg. vol.)

(don't have to ~ informal)

Formal
Informal

Imperative

Compulsion must ~

Obligation must/have to ~

(negative old)

(without ~ing formal)

(Connective, Adverbial, Imp.)

(volitional / tentative / presumptive)

Conditional Idiom

(conditional)

(I wish that ~)

(potential)

*
( when spoken)

*new verb ( )

(passive / honorific)

form

*
*

( * alternative)

*new verbs

(alternative not used)

**polite version:

Humble Verb Form

**new verbs

[ ]

Imperative

[ ] vb.
[ ] hon.irreg.vb.

(causative passive)

(benefit being given or received)

(continuing change of state)

(continuous/habitual action)
(preparatory action)

(completed action)
*
(I'm glad that ~)

(try ~ and see)

(favour request)
(changed state)

(after ~ing ...)

...
(state change)

**
** (must not ~)

(suggestive)

(permissive)

(permissive)

(even if ~)

(apologetic)

Honorific Verb Form

(alternative **)

( ** alternative)

* vb. In speech:
or
or

(causative)

irreg.

Alternative English names for verb types:

vbs: one-row, group II, type , vowel-stem
vbs: five-row, group I, type , consonant-stem
There are no verbs in modern Japanese ending with
, , or . Only ends with .

(imperative)

AERON BUCHANAN'S
JAPANESE VERB CHART v2.7

verbs

(Sentence Joining)

[verb]
[noun]

- - - - -/ -

(forming noun-phrases or gerunds)

Conjunctive
stem

(negative imperative)

- - - - -/ -

(non-past: habitual or future)

Dictionary or Plain Form

examples

http://respectthebeard.com/japanese/

For more information and examples, see e.g. Oxford Japanese Grammar & Verbs or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_verb_conjugations_and_adjective_declensions

/ /

form
Past (action completion)

(reason for next clause)

repeated
(~ etc. / opposites
)

(If/When ~, ...)

(just happened)

(suggestive)

Layout and design: Aeron Buchanan, 2010

verbs

AERON BUCHANAN'S

For more information and examples, see e.g. Oxford Japanese Grammar & Verbs
or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_verb_conjugations_and_adjective_declensions

JAPANESE VERB CHART

Layout and design: Aeron Buchanan, 2010

Irregular Verbs

Confusing Verbs

Form

to do

Dictionary (Plain)

to come

stem (conj.)

*&**

**

stem

Passive

**

* !

Causative

** **

* *

Passive-Causative

**

Imperative

* !

Conditional

Potential

Volitional

form

* **

**

form

* **

**

Mnemonics

&
&

* from
** from

Irregular / form in other verbs:

to go

to ask

to request

* from
** from

and
and
and

has an irregular negative ( ) form:

The copula is also irregular (note: [written] [spoken]):

Form
Non-past
Negative
Past
Past Negative
Conditional
Neg. Cond.
Conjunctive
Neg. Conj.
Tentative

v2.7

http://respectthebeard.com/japanese/

Informal

Polite

Some verbs are pronounced the same in plain form, but conjugate differently depending on which meaning is being used, e.g.:

Verb

meaning

to exist

to stay alive

to obtain

to win

to alter

to exchange

to put on (clothes)

to close (something)

to sleep

to pass (time/through)

There are many other verbs that end in

to hurry
to tamper
to undulate
to fall, sink
to limit

meaning

Honorific & Humble Irregulars

Verb
Honorific version Humble version

Conjugate as verbs. Except *irregular variation:
:
:

and

to kick
to know
to speak
to slip, ski
to compete

to be necessary
to go in
to roast
to become sultry
to choose
to carve
to turn over/invert
to return (home)
to cut
to be damp
to refine
to decrease

and therefore look like verbs in plain form, for example:

to shine
to grasp
to fall over
to enter
to run

to fart
to visit
to belittle
to cross
to pass by

Adjectives

adjectives
( -adjectives)
Conjugates: see table
For polite forms,
Note:

adjectival nouns
( -adjectives)
Conjugates:
Adverbial:
Attributive:
Note: some end in , e.g.
, , ,
but none have ,
except

Form

-adj.

<remove ~ >
Stem
Negative

Past

Past Negative
Conjunctive
Neg. Conj.

Adverbial

Conditional
Neg. Cond.
When Cond.
Neg. When