Japanese verbs change depending on the level of politeness and the verb type. The two essential forms for beginners are:
Understanding these two forms is foundational for speaking naturally in Japanese.
📘 What is Dictionary Form?
The dictionary form is the basic, unconjugated form of a verb. It is used in casual conversation, dictionaries, and informal writing. It will be one of the three tyes of verbs (る-verbs, う-verbs, or irregular verbs).
🧠 Think of it as the "root" of the verb — it's what you conjugate from.
Examples of Dictionary Form:
🙇 What is ます Form?
The ます form is the polite present/future tense. Use it in most conversations with people you are not close to, or in formal situations.
Some people you would want to use ます form with include:
Conjugation
ます form requires a conversion process known as conjugation.
Conjugation is the process of changing a verb's form to reflect different meanings depending on context—such as tense (past, present, future), politeness, or whether a sentence is affirmative or negative. In Japanese, verb conjugation is essential because it shows how the verb functions within a sentence and indicates the speaker's relationship with the listener. Unlike English, Japanese doesn't use subject-verb agreement, so conjugation carries a lot of the grammatical weight. Learning how to conjugate verbs correctly is key to expressing yourself clearly and appropriately in Japanese.
In Japanese the way you conjugate verbs depends on the verb type.
1. る-verbs (Ichidan Verbs)
る-verbs are the easiest verbs to conjugate into ます form. To make the ます form, drop る and add ます.
| Dictionary Form | Polite (ます) Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| たべる | たべます | to eat |
| みる | みます | to see |
| ねる | ねます | to sleep |
📝 Note:
る-verbs are easy to spot — most end in える or いる.
2. う-verbs (Godan Verbs)
う-verbs are a little more complicated. The conjugation depends on the final character of the う-verb. To conjugate う-verbs you change the final u sound to i and add ます. Below is a table that shows which う character convert to which い character:
| う Sound | い Sound | ます form |
|---|---|---|
| う | い | います |
| く | き | きます |
| ぐ | ぎ | ぎます |
| す | し | します |
| つ | ち | ちます |
| ぬ | に | にます |
| ふ | ひ | ひます |
| む | み | みます |
| る | り | ります |
| Dictionary Form | Polite (ます) Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| のむ | のみます | to drink |
| かく | かきます | to write |
| はなす | はなします | to speak |
| よむ | よみます | to read |
| いく | いきます | to go |
📝 Note:
う-verbs can be identified by their ending in う, く, ぐ, す, つ, ぬ, ふ, む, or る. They are more common than る-verbs.
3. Irregular Verbs
There are only two irregular verbs in Japanese: する (suru) and くる (kuru). Their conjugation is unique and does not follow the rules of る-verbs or う-verbs. Thankfully, with only two irregular verbs it is easy to remember their conjugation.
| Dictionary Form | Polite (ます) Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| する | します | to do |
| くる | きます | to come |