What Is a Verb in Japanese?
Japanese verbs can be conjugated in several ways to express different meaning (such as past, future, volitional etc), like English verbs.
For example, the verb “study” becomes “studied” in the past tense.
Japanese verbs have many conjugation forms, and they can be more complicated than English.
The grammars we have learnt until now are not too difficult. But verb conjugation can be challenging enough that some people stop studying Japanese. If you just want to visit Japan and be able to speak Japanese a little, you don’t need to study this conjugation. Sorry if that sounds scary! Let’s take it step by step.
Verb Groups
Japanese verbs can be divided into three groups based on how they conjugate. Don’t worry if this seems confusing at first. We will practice these verb groups step by step in later lessons.
Group 1, (imasu group)
Verbs whose ます-form ends with “-imasu.”
かきます（書きます）, kakimasu, to write
かえります（帰ります）, kaerimasu, to go home
よみます（読みます）, yomimasu, to read
Group 2 (emasu group)
Verbs whose ます-form ends with “-emasu.”
たべます（食べます）, tabemasu, to eat
ねます（寝ます）, nemasu, to sleep
There are some exceptions.
みます（見ます）, mimasu, to see/watch
おきます（起きます）, okimasu, to wake up
They end with “imasu,” but they belong to Group 2 and follow group 2 conjugation rules.
Group 3
There are only two verbs in this group. They conjugate irregularly, so you simply have to memorize them.
します,shimasu, to do
来ます（来ます）,kimasu, to come
Dictionary form
There are two main forms for verbs.
The form explained earlier is the polite form (〜ます), which you can use in any situation. The other is the Dictionary form(Plain form), which is commonly used with family and friends.
To make group1 verb Dictionary form, you just have to change “imasu” into “u”.
かきます, kakimasu → かく, kaku
かえります, kaerimasu,→ かえる, kaeru
To make group2 verb Dictionary form, you just have to change “masu” into “ru”.
たべます, tabemasu → たべる, taberu
ねます, nemasu → ねる, neru
The exception still follows 2group rules.
みます, mimasu → みる, miru
おきます, okimasu → おきる, okiru
Group 3 verbs change as follows:
します, shimasu → する, suru
来ます, kimasu →くる, kuru
Vocabulary list
| Group1 verb | ||
| かきます（書きます） | kakimasu | to write |
| かえります（帰ります） | kaerimasu | to go home |
| よみます（読みます） | yomimasu | to read |
| Group2 verb | ||
| たべます（食べます） | tabemasu | to eat |
| ねます（寝ます） | nemasu | to sleep |
| みます（見ます） | mimasu | to see/watch |
| おきます（起きます） | okimasu | to wake up |
| Group3 verb | ||
| します | shimasu | to do |
| きます（来ます） | kimasu | to come |
| べんきょう（勉強）します | benkyōshimasu | to study |
| Noun | ||
| かいてんずし（回転寿司） | kaitenzushi | conveyor belt sushi |
| え（絵） | e | painting/picture |
| にほんご（日本語） | nihongo | Japanese language |
| えいご（英語） | eigo | English language |
| パーティ | pāti | party |
| きょうかしょ（教科書） | kyōkasho | textbook |
| うどん | udon | udon |
| かのじょ（彼女） | kanojo | she/girlfriend |
Basic Structure: Subject + Verb
Subject +は+（Object +particle）＋Verb.
We learned basic grammar at the beginning with “〜は〜です “. To use an action, you simply replace “〜です” with a verb.
If you need to add an object for that verb (such as “book”), place it before the verb using the particle.
Here are two common particles used with verbs.
Paticle
“を“ marks the direct object of a verb.
“に“ indicates destination.
* Although the particle “を” is pronounced “o” (same as “お”), it is usually written as “wo” in romaji to distinguish them.
I will use “wo” here as well.
* Since “を” is only used as a particle, whenever you see this hiragana, it indicates the object of the verb.
Example
・わたし は 回転寿司 に 行きます。（I go to a conveyor belt sushi.)
(Watashi wa kaitenzushi ni ikimasu)
・わたし の 夫 は 絵 を かきます。（My husband draws a picture.)
(Watashi no otto wa e wo kakimasu)
・わたし は 日本語 を 勉強 します。（I study Japanese.)
(Watashi wa nihongo wo benkyō shimasu.)
※”勉強“(study as noun)＋“します“(to do)→“勉強します“（to study)
・トランプさん は パーティ に 来ます。(Mr Trump comes to the party.)
(Toranpu-san wa pāti ni kimasu)
※We put “san” after the name to address people politely.
・先生 は 教科書 を 読みます。（The teacher reads a textbook.)
(Sensei wa kyōkasyo wo yomimasu)
・かれ も うどん を 食べます。（He eats udon too.)
(Kare mo udon wo tabemasu.)
・母 は わたし の 本 を よみます。（My mother reads my book.)
(Haha wa watashi no hon wo yomimasu)
Negative Form
To make a verb negative form, replace “ます” with “ません.
It’s easy to make polite form of verb into negative form, but it will be a little bit complicated when you make Dictionary form of verb into negative form. We will look at later post.
Examples:
• わたし は 英語 を 勉強 しません。 (I don’t study English.)
• かれ は 本 を 読みません。 (He doesn’t read a book)
Question Form
To ask a question, add “か？” at the end:
• あなたは日本語を勉強しますか？ (Do you study Japanese?)
→はい、勉強します。(Yes, I do.)
→いいえ、しません。(No, I don’t.)
You can omit “勉強“.
Practice Section
Exercise 1: Translate to Japanese
1. My mother wats Udon.
2. My girl friend doesn’t study Japanese.
3. I read a Japanese book.
Exercise 2: Translate to English
1. わたしはテレビをみます。
2. あなたはパーティに来ますか？
3. かれは日本語を勉強しません。
Answers are at the end.
Summary
・There are three types of Japanese verb groups.
・The verbs in Group1 end with “imasu”, The verbs in Group2 end with “emasu”
・There are exceptions, a few verbs are still in Group2, even though they end with “imasu”
・Group 3 has only two verbs, “します“ and “くる”, they conjugate irregularly so you have to memorize them all.
・There are two forms for verbs, polite form and dictionary form.
・ To make the verb in polite form into negative form, replace “ます” with “ません”.
・To make the verb in polite form into question form, add “か“ after “ます“
Answer
Exercise 1: Translate to Japanese
1. My mother eats Udon. → 母はうどんをたべます。
2. My girl friend doesn’t study Japanese. → かのじょは日本語を勉強しません。
3. I read a Japanese book. → わたしは日本語の本を読みます。
H3 Exercise 2: Translate to English
1. わたしはテレビをみます。→ I watch TV.
2. あなたはパーティに来ますか？→ Do you come to the party?
3. かれは日本語を勉強しません。→He doesn’t study Japanese.