Japanese Lesson #6: Verbs (plain form and ます form)
Long time no see! Today, I'll give you a little introduction to verbs.
Japanese may seem like a difficult language sometimes, but it has one advantage in comparison to most Indo-European languages such as English, Spanish, and German. Most Japanese verbs are very regular. There's no future tense, or subjunctive, and the verbs don't change depending on the person, the number, genre or anything like that.
In their simple form, which we could say is equivalent to the "infinitive", all Japanese verbs end with a -u sound. Suru (to do), kau (to buy), iku (to go), oyo gu (to swim), etc.
Verbs are divided into three main groups:
Type I verbs:
Also called u-verbs. Most verbs are in this category. Basically, all verbs that don't fit into the two other categories are here. They can end in う, く, る, つ, む, ぬ, ぐ, ぶ or す.
Examples:
かう - to buy
かく - to write
とる - to take
まつ - to wait
のむ - to drink
しぬ - to die
およぐ - to swim
あそぶ - to play
はなす - to speak
Type II verbs:
Also called ru-verbs. They end in -eru or -iru sounds.
Examples:
ねる - to sleep
みる - to see
たべる - to eat
おりる - to go down
おしえる - to teach
Note that not ALL verbs ending in -eru or -iru will necessarily be in this category. はしる (to run), for example, is a type I verb. You must also be careful with きる: when it means 'to cut', it's a type I; when it means 'to wear', it's a type II. Note that the kanji helps distinguish these two verbs:
切る【きる】 = to cut (type I)
着る【きる】 = to wear (type II)
Type III verbs:
These are the irregular verbs. The good news is that there are only three of them! Or is it two...?
する - to do
くる - to come
いく - to go (often considered a type I verb!)
... There's actually a fourth category, but it consists of the rarely used verbs なさる, おっしゃる, いらっしゃる and ござる. Don't worry about these for now.
In an informal situation, like when talking to friends or family, many Japanese people tend to use verbs in this plain form, like:
わたしは みずを のむ。 = I drink water.
わたしは テレビを みる。 = I watch TV.
わたしは しゅくだいを する。 = I do homework.
みず - water
を - (direct object particle)
のむ - to drink
テレビ - TV
みる - to see; to watch
しゅくだい - homework
する - to do
However, when you're in a formal situation or talking to a stranger, you should use the "masu form" (ますけい). To turn a verb in plain form to a masu form, you have to know what verb category it is.
Masu form in type I verbs:
Remove the -u ending and add -imasu.
かう ＞ かいます
かく ＞ かきます
とる ＞ とります
まつ ＞ まちます
のむ ＞ のみます
しぬ ＞ しにます
およぐ ＞ およぎます
あそぶ ＞ あそびます
はなす ＞ はなします
Masu form in type II verbs:
Remove the -ru ending and add -masu.
ねる ＞ ねます
みる ＞ みます
たべ る ＞ たべます
おりる ＞ おります
おしえる ＞ おしえます
Masu form in type III verbs:
There's no rule. You'll just have to memorize it. Good thing there are only three, huh?
する ＞ します
くる ＞ きます
いく ＞ いきます
So, if you want to be formal or polite, you should use verbs in the masu form when saying sentences such as:
わたしは みずを のみます。 = I drink water.
わたしは テレビを みます。 = I watch TV.
わたしは しゅくだいを します。 = I do homework.
In the next lesson, we'll see exactly what this を particle is for! :)
Japanese may seem like a difficult language sometimes, but it has one advantage in comparison to most Indo-European languages such as English, Spanish, and German. Most Japanese verbs are very regular. There's no future tense, or subjunctive, and the verbs don't change depending on the person, the number, genre or anything like that.
In their simple form, which we could say is equivalent to the "infinitive", all Japanese verbs end with a -u sound. Suru (to do), kau (to buy), iku (to go), oyo gu (to swim), etc.
Verbs are divided into three main groups:
Type I verbs:
Also called u-verbs. Most verbs are in this category. Basically, all verbs that don't fit into the two other categories are here. They can end in う, く, る, つ, む, ぬ, ぐ, ぶ or す.
Examples:
かう - to buy
かく - to write
とる - to take
まつ - to wait
のむ - to drink
しぬ - to die
およぐ - to swim
あそぶ - to play
はなす - to speak
Type II verbs:
Also called ru-verbs. They end in -eru or -iru sounds.
Examples:
ねる - to sleep
みる - to see
たべる - to eat
おりる - to go down
おしえる - to teach
Note that not ALL verbs ending in -eru or -iru will necessarily be in this category. はしる (to run), for example, is a type I verb. You must also be careful with きる: when it means 'to cut', it's a type I; when it means 'to wear', it's a type II. Note that the kanji helps distinguish these two verbs:
切る【きる】 = to cut (type I)
着る【きる】 = to wear (type II)
Type III verbs:
These are the irregular verbs. The good news is that there are only three of them! Or is it two...?
する - to do
くる - to come
いく - to go (often considered a type I verb!)
... There's actually a fourth category, but it consists of the rarely used verbs なさる, おっしゃる, いらっしゃる and ござる. Don't worry about these for now.
In an informal situation, like when talking to friends or family, many Japanese people tend to use verbs in this plain form, like:
わたしは みずを のむ。 = I drink water.
わたしは テレビを みる。 = I watch TV.
わたしは しゅくだいを する。 = I do homework.
みず - water
を - (direct object particle)
のむ - to drink
テレビ - TV
みる - to see; to watch
しゅくだい - homework
する - to do
However, when you're in a formal situation or talking to a stranger, you should use the "masu form" (ますけい). To turn a verb in plain form to a masu form, you have to know what verb category it is.
Masu form in type I verbs:
Remove the -u ending and add -imasu.
かう ＞ かいます
かく ＞ かきます
とる ＞ とります
まつ ＞ まちます
のむ ＞ のみます
しぬ ＞ しにます
およぐ ＞ およぎます
あそぶ ＞ あそびます
はなす ＞ はなします
Masu form in type II verbs:
Remove the -ru ending and add -masu.
ねる ＞ ねます
みる ＞ みます
たべ る ＞ たべます
おりる ＞ おります
おしえる ＞ おしえます
Masu form in type III verbs:
There's no rule. You'll just have to memorize it. Good thing there are only three, huh?
する ＞ します
くる ＞ きます
いく ＞ いきます
So, if you want to be formal or polite, you should use verbs in the masu form when saying sentences such as:
わたしは みずを のみます。 = I drink water.
わたしは テレビを みます。 = I watch TV.
わたしは しゅくだいを します。 = I do homework.
In the next lesson, we'll see exactly what this を particle is for! :)