Click for more: - Dictionary Form (辞書形)
- Verb Stem (語幹)
- Negative Form (否定形)
- Te-Form (て形)
- Ta-Form (た形)
- Ba-Form (ば形)
- Tense
The Volitional Form of verbs is similar to
Let's. 食べよう means
Let's eat! Of course, there will be subtle differences in meaning depending on the context it is used in.
Group I | Dictionary Form | Plain Form | Polite Form | Meaning |
| 買う (かう) | 買おう (かおう) | 買いましょう (かいましょう) | let's buy |
| 待つ (まつ) | 待とう (まとう) | 待ちましょう (まちましょう) | let's wait |
| 治る (なおる) | 治ろう (なおろう) | 治りましょう (なおおりましょう) | let's heal |
| 読む (よむ) | 読もう (よもう) | 読みましょう (よみましょう) | let's read |
| 運ぶ (はこぶ) | 運ぼう (はこぼう) | 運びましょう (はこびましょう) | let's carry |
| 死ぬ (しぬ) | 死のう (しのう) | 死にましょう (しにましょう) | let's die |
| 書く (かく) | 書こう (かこう) | 書きましょう (かきましょう) | let's write |
| 泳ぐ (およぐ) | 泳ごう (およごう) | 泳ぎましょう (およぎましょう) | let's swim |
| 話す (はなす) | 話そう (はなそう) | 話しましょう (はなしましょう) | let's talk |
Some of the above examples do not make much sense (such as
Let's die or
Let's heal) but you should get the idea.
To transform a Group I verb into its Volitional Form, change the
-u hiragana at the end with the corresponding
-o hiragana of the same column and add う at the end.
探す → 探 す + そ + う → 探そう
For the Polite Form of Volitional Form verbs, starting with the Affirmative Form (Polite) of the verb, replace the す with しょう.
探す → 探します(Polite Form) → 探しま す + しょう → 探しましょう
Group II | Dictionary Form | Plain Form | Polite Form | Meaning |
| 食べる (たべる) | 食べよう (たべよう) | 食べましょう (たべましょう) | let's eat |
| 起きる (おきる) | 起きよう (おきよう) | 起きましょう (おきましょう) | let's wake up |
Again, some verbs may seem weird in their Volitional Form.
To change a Group II verb into its Volitional Form replace the る at the end with よう.
食べる → 食べ る + よう → 食べよう
For its Polite Form, similar to Group I verbs, replace the す at the end of verbs with しょう.
食べる → 食べます(Polite Form) → 食べま す + しょう → 食べましょう
Group III | Dictionary Form | Plain Form | Polite Form | Meaning |
| する | しよう | しましょう | let's do |
| 来る (くる) | 来よう (こよう) | 来ましょう (きましょう) | let's come |
| 勉強する (べんきょうする) | 勉強しよう (べんきょうしよう) | 勉強しましょう (べんきょうしましょう) | let's study |
| 持ってくる (もってくる) | 持ってこよう (もってこよう) | 持ってきましょう (もってきましょう) | let's bring |
*Note the change in pronunciation.
The Potential Form of verbs suggests a possibility or ability to do things. 読める would mean
I can read.
The Potential Form of verbs acts like Group II verbs (you might notice that they end with
-eru) and therefore I shall not include the Polite Forms here. Refer to the Dictionary Form tab for more information.
Group I | Dictionary Form | Potential Form | Meaning |
| 買う (かう) | 買える (かえる) | (I) can buy |
| 待つ (まつ) | 待てる (まてる) | (I) can wait |
| 治る (なおる) | 治れる (なおれる) | (I) can heal |
| 読む (よむ) | 読める (よめる) | (I) can read |
| 運ぶ (はこぶ) | 運べる (はこべる) | (I) can carry |
| 死ぬ (しぬ) | 死ねる (しねる) | (I) can die |
| 書く (かく) | 書ける (かける) | (I) can write |
| 泳ぐ (およぐ) | 泳げる (およげる) | (I) can swim |
| 話す (はなす) | 話せる (はなせる) | (I) can speak |
To transform Group I verbs into their Potential Form, replace the end
-u hiragana with the corresponding
-e hiragana of the same column and add る to the end.
探す → 探 す + せ + る → 探せる
Group II | Dictionary Form | Potential Form | Meaning |
| 食べる (たべる) | 食べられる (たべられる) | (I) can eat |
| 起きる (おきる) | 起きられる (おきられる) | (I) can wake up |
To transform Group II verbs into their Potential Form, replace the る at the end with られる (try rolling that on your tongue).
食べる → 食べ る + られる → 食べられる
Group III | Dictionary Form | Potential Form | Meaning |
| する | 出来る (できる) | (I) can |
| 来る (くる) | 来られる (こられる) | (I) can come |
| 勉強する (べんきょうする) | 勉強できる (べんきょうできる) | (I) can study |
| 持ってくる (もってくる) | 持ってこられる (もってこられる) | (I) can bring |
*Note the pronunciation and kanji changes
The Passive Form of verbs is similar to how it is in English. The subject is at the receiving end of the action.
Active: Tom ate me → ジョンは私を食べた
Passive: I was eaten by Tom → 私はジョンに食べられた
As with the Potential Form of verbs, the Passive Form of verbs acts like Group II verbs.
It may be easy to to confuse the Potential Form and the Causative Form, as they sound very similar.
An easy way to remember the Potential Form is to remember that of the verb する, which is される. You might notice that all the verbs in their Potential Forms end with
-areru. Therefore, try to get the verb to end with
-areru when changing it into its Potential Form.
Group I | Dictionary Form | Passive Form |
| 買う (かう) | 買われる (かわれる) |
| 待つ (まつ) | 待たれる (またれる) |
| 治る (なおる) | 治られる (なおられる) |
| 読む (よむ) | 読まれる (よまれる) |
| 運ぶ (はこぶ) | 運ばれる (はこばれる) |
| 死ぬ (しぬ) | 死なれる (しなれる) |
| 書く (かく) | 書かれる (かかれる) |
| 泳ぐ (およぐ) | 泳がれる (およがれる) |
| 話す (はなす) | 話される (はなされる) |
To change a Group I verb to its Passive Form, replace the end
-u hiragana with the corresponding
-a hiragana of the same column and add れる.
書く → 書 く + か + れる → 書かれる
Group II | Dictionary Form | Passive Form |
| 食べる (たべる) | 食べられる (たべられる) |
| 起きる (おきる) | 起きられる (おきられる) |
Similar to the Potential Form of Group II verbs, replace the る at the end of the Dictionary Form with られる to obtain its Passive Form.
*Do note confuse these with the Potential Form of verbs. Look at the context the verb is used in.
食べる → 食べ る + られる → 食べられる
Group III | Dictionary Form | Passive Form |
| する | される |
| 来る (くる) | 来られる (こられる) |
*Note the difference in pronunciation.
As it name implies, the Causative Form of a verb indicates that the subject made someone/something do something.
My girlfriend made me wait → 彼女は私を待たせた
The Causative Form may also be used to seek permission.
Please let me leave →
帰らせてください
The Causative Form of verbs act like Group II verbs as well.
You may notice that the Causative Form of verbs sound similar to the Passive Form of verbs. Similar to remembering the Passive Form, you can keep the Causative Form of the verb する, させる, in your head to differentiate between the two Forms. Causative Forms end with
-aseru.
Group I | Dictionary Form | Causative Form |
| 買う (かう) | 買わせる (かわせる) |
| 待つ (まつ) | 待たせる (またせる) |
| 治る (なおる) | 治らせる (なおらせる) |
| 読む (よむ) | 読ませる (よませる) |
| 運ぶ (はこぶ) | 運ばせる (はこばせる) |
| 死ぬ (しぬ) | 死なせる (しなせる) |
| 書く (かく) | 書かせる (かかせる) |
| 泳ぐ (およぐ) | 泳がせる (およがせる) |
| 話す (はなす) | 話させる (はなさせる) |
To change a Group I verb to its Causative Form, replace the end
-u hiragana with the corresponding
-a hiragana of the same column and add せる.
書く → 書 く + か + せる → 書かせる
Group II | Dictionary Form | Causative Form |
| 食べる (たべる) | 食べさせる (たべさせる) |
While similar to the Passive Form of Group II verbs, replace the る at the end of the Dictionary Form with させる instead to obtain its Causative Form.
食べる → 食べ る + させる → 食べさせる
Group III | Dictionary Form | Causative Form |
| する | させる |
| 来る (くる) | 来らせる (こらせる) |
*Note the difference in pronunciation.
The Passive Causative Form of a verb is simply the Passive Form of the Causative Form of a verb.
Hence, to obtain the Passive Causative Form of verbs, apply the rules for Passive Form to the Causative Form of a verb. Remember, you would treat the Causative Form of a verb as a Group II verb. However, there is an exception to Group I Passive Causative verbs, where it is "shortened". This does not apply to Group II or III verbs.
Group I | Dictionary Form | Passive Causative Form |
| 買う (かう) | 買わされる (かわされる) |
| 待つ (まつ) | 待たされる (またされる) |
| 治る (なおる) | 治らされる (なおらされる) |
| 読む (よむ) | 読まされる (よまされる) |
| 運ぶ (はこぶ) | 運ばされる (はこばされる) |
| 死ぬ (しぬ) | 死なされる (しなされる) |
| 書く (かく) | 書かされる (かかされる) |
| 泳ぐ (およぐ) | 泳がされる (およがされる) |
| 話す (はなす) | 話させられる (はなさせられる) |
To change a Group I verb to its Passive Causative Form, first change the verb into its Causative Form, then into its Passive Form, and finally "shorten" it by replacing the せら with さ.
*Do not "shorten" the verb if it ends with
-su because that will become even more of a mouthful.
書く → 書 く + か + せる → 書かせる
書かせる → 書かせ る + られる → 書かせられる
書かせられる → 書かせられる → 書かされる
話す → 話 す + さ + せる → 話させる
話させる → 話させ る + られる → 話させられる
話させられる → 話させられる → 話さされる (Do not do this!)
Group II | Dictionary Form | Passive Causative Form |
| 食べる (たべる) | 食べさせられる (たべさせられる) |
To change a Group II verb into its Passive Causative Form, first change it into its Causative Form then change its Causative Form into its Passive Form (hence Passive Causative Form).
食べる → 食べ る + させる → 食べさせる
食べさせる → 食べさせ る + られる → 食べさせられる
Group III | Dictionary Form | Passive Causative Form |
| する | させられる |
| 来る (くる) | 来させられる (こさせられる) |
*Note the difference in pronunciation.
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- Respectable Form (敬語)
