Ichidan Verbs - 一段動詞

The second group of verbs are called Ichidan (一段) verbs. It is usually an Ichidan verb if it ends with the sound "iru" or "eru". Some well used verbs which appear to be Ichidan but are really Godan are listed here. Ichidan verbs also follow a simple conjugation pattern that is somewhat similar to that of the Godan verbs. Here's an example:

漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana Romaji (English Letters) Verb Base 食べる たべる taberu (to eat) 食べ たべ tabe Base 1 食べ たべ tabe Base 2 食べる たべる taberu Base 3 食べれ たべれ tabere Base 4 食べよう たべよう tabeyou Base 5 食べて たべて tabete Base "te" 食べた たべた tabeta Base "ta"

Base 1 and Base 2: As you can see, Base 1 and 2 are the same. Just like with the Godan verbs, a negative can be made by adding -nai (ex. tabenai - I will not eat.) and this base, or root form, is also used for the formal form of the verb.

Base 3: Base 3 is the same as with Godan verbs.

Base 4: Base 4, however, can not be used by itself like with Godan verbs. It is only used for "if verb" by adding -ba. (ex. tabereba - If I eat it...) It is not the low command form for Ichidan verbs. The low command form for Ichidan verbs is Base 1 + ろ (ro).

Base 5: Base 5 is the same as with Godan verbs.

Base "te" and Base "ta": The Base "te" and "ta" forms for Ichidan verbs are a lot easier than with Godan verbs. Simply take off the "ru" and add a "te" for Base "te" and a "ta" for Base "ta". These have the same functions as with Godan verbs.

Here are some Ichidan verbs. Try conjugating them on a piece of paper using what you have just learned. Click here for the answers.

漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana Romaji (English Letters) English Meaning いる いる iru to exist (animate), to be somewhere 見る みる miru to see 寝る ねる neru to sleep 着る きる kiru to wear, put on 出来る できる dekiru can do 覚える おぼえる oboeru to remember

Irregular Verbs

The last type of verbs are the Irregular verbs but there are only 2 of them in the entire language so just memorize their charts below. The first one is suru (to do something). Many nouns can be used as a verb simply by putting "suru" right after them. It is probably the most used of all Japanese verbs. The second Irregular verb is kuru (to come).

漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana Romaji (English Letters) Verb Base する する suru (to do) し し shi Base 1 し し shi Base 2 する する suru Base 3 すれ すれ sure Base 4 しよう しよう shiyou Base 5 して して shite Base "te" した した shita Base "ta"

The functions for these bases are the same as for the Godan verbs except that Base 4 can only be used as the "if verb".
The rude command form is "Shiro".

漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana Romaji (English Letters) Verb Base 来る くる kuru (to come) 来 こ ko Base 1 来 き ki Base 2 来る くる kuru Base 3 来れ くれ kure Base 4 来よう こよう koyou Base 5 来て きて kite Base "te" 来た きた kita Base "ta"

The functions for these bases are the same as for the Godan verbs except that Base 4 can only be used as the "if verb".
The rude command form is "Koi" and really should only be used on animals.

lesson 8~using verb bases

Now that you know about 30 verbs and can conjugate them, I'll show you what you can do with those bases. You may want to regularly refer to Lesson 6 and Lesson 7 while learning these. The following chart applies to all verbs unless otherwise noted.

ひらがな - Hiragana Romaji (English Letters) English Meaning Base 1 + ない Base 1 + nai plain form negative (will not verb) Base 1 + なかった Base 1 + nakatta plain form past negative (did not verb) Base 2 + ます Base 2 + masu polite form present/future tense Base 2 + ました Base 2 + mashita polite form past tense Base 2 + ません Base 2 + masen polite form negative (will not verb) Base 2 + ませんでした Base 2 + masen deshita polite form past negative (did not verb) Base 2 + たい Base 2 + tai want to verb (add です (desu) to make it polite) Base 3 Base 3 plain form present/future tense Base 4 + ば Base 4 + ba if verb Base 4 + る Base 4 + ru plain form can verb (Godan verbs only) (verb now becomes an Ichidan verb) Base 4 + ます Base 4 + masu polite form can verb (can be changed like above) Base 5 + とする Base 5 + to suru try to verb (this suru is the same verb learned in lesson 7 (to do something)) Base "te" + 欲しい Base "te" + hoshii want someone else to verb (hoshii is an adjective which will be covered in the next lesson) Base "te" Base "te" plain form command Base "te" + 下さい Base "te" + kudasai polite form command Base "te" + いる Base "te" + iru plain form presently verbing (this iru is the same verb learned in lesson 7 (to exist (animate)) Base "te" + います Base "te" + imasu polite form presently verbing (can be changed like above) Base "ta" Base "ta" plain form past tense Base "ta" + ら Base "ta" + ra if and when I verb (similar to Base 4 + ba) Base "ta" + りする Base "ta" + ri suru do such things as... (this suru is also the same verb learned in lesson 7 (to do something))

Lesson 9 ~ Adjectives and Adverb

There are two different types of words that can be used to modify nouns and verbs. One group is much like what we would call an adjective but they can also modify verbs as well. We will refer to these as "dv". The other group can, in most cases, stand alone like a noun but can also be used to modify nouns and verbs. We will refer to these as "dn". All words in the "dv" group always end with い (i). No exceptions. This is placed in front of a noun in order to modify it. For example: 漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana Romaji (English Letters) English Meaning 赤い車 あかいくるま akai kuruma red car These words can be conjugated to form different tenses, modify verbs, etc. Here is how that is done: ひらがな - Hiragana Romaji (English Letters) English Meaning drop the い and add く drop the "i" and add "ku" modifies a verb (akaku natta -> became red) (naru is the verb "to become") drop the い and add くない drop the "i" and add "kunai" present tense negative (akakunai -> is not red) drop the い and add かった drop the "i" and add "katta" past tense (akakatta -> was red) drop the い and add くなかった drop the "i" and add "kunakatta" past tense negative (akakunakatta -> was not red) (This one might take a little practice saying.) It's not as easy to recognize a "dn" but I will point them out in the vocabulary lists. Sometimes you'll even find a "dn" that ends in い (i) (ex. kirei - pretty). As mentioned before, these words can, in most cases, be used by themselves like a noun (ex. shizen - nature). By adding a な (na) to the end of these words they can be used to modify a noun (ex. shizen na kankyou -> a natural environment). And by adding a に (ni) to the end of these words they can be used to modify a verb as an adverb (ex. shizen ni aruku -> to walk naturally). Here's a list of some commonly used "dv" and "dn": 漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana Romaji (English Letters) English Meaning 赤い あかい akai (dv) red 黄色い きいろい kiiroi (dv) yellow 青い あおい aoi (dv) blue 黒い くろい kuroi (dv) black 白い しろい shiroi (dv) white 面白い おもしろい omoshiroi (dv) interesting, funny 暑い あつい atsui (dv) hot 寒い さむい samui (dv) cold 大きい おおきい ookii (dv) big 小さい ちいさい chiisai (dv) small 自然 しぜん shizen (dn) nature 綺麗 きれい kirei (dn) pretty, clean 失礼 しつれい shitsurei (dn) rude 静か しずか shizuka (dn) quiet 特別 とくべつ tokubetsu (dn) special 元気 げんき genki (dn) in good spirits 変 へん hen (dn) weird, strange 上手 じょうず jouzu (dn) skillful 親切 しんせつ shinsetsu (dn) kind, nice 素敵 すてき suteki (dn) "cool", good looking

lesson 10~Meeting Someone New

We are often asked by our students learning Japanese how to introduce oneself to someone new. The interaction is normally very formal and filled with a few bows. Below is a typical Japanese conversation between two people meeting for the first time:

Japanese (In Kanji, Hiragana, and Romaji) English Meaning Person 1: こんにちは。始めまして。 こんにちは。はじめまして。 Konnichi wa. Hajimemashite. Hello. Nice to meet you. Person 2: 始めまして。お元気ですか。 はじめまして。おげんきですか。 Hajimemashite. O-genki desu ka? Nice to meet you. How are you? Person 1: はい、元気です。 はい、げんきです。 Hai, genki desu. I am fine. Person 1: 私は______と申します。あなたのお名前は？ わたしは______ともうします。あなたのおなまえは？ Watashi wa ______ to moushimasu. Anata no o-namae wa? My name is ______. What is your name? Person 2: 私は______と言います。宜しくお願いします。 わたしは______といいます。よろしくおねがいします。 Watashi wa ______ to iimasu. Yoroshiku o-negai shimasu. My name is ______. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Person 1: 宜しくお願いします。 よろしくおねがいします。 Yoroshiku o-negai shimasu. Pleased to make your acquaintance.

Explanation: "Hajimemashite" literally means "it is a beginning" but would be the equivalent of "Nice to meet you" in English. It would only be used the first time meeting someone. As learned in Lesson 9, "genki" means "in good spirits". "O-genki desu ka" is literally asking "Are you in good spirits?". This is the most common way of asking "How are you?" in Japanese. The other person responds "Yes, I am in good spirits". "Mousu" is the ultra polite form of the verb "iu" (to say). Both people are literally saying "I am said/called _____". "Namae" is the word for "name". An "o" is added in front of it (and other words throughout this exchange) to show respect. This is not done when talking about yourself. "Yoroshii" means "good/fine" and "negai" is a wish or request. "Yoroshiku o-negai shimasu" literally means "I request/wish kindly of you". It is basically like saying "Please treat me well". It can be used in other situations as well - such as when asking for a favor.

Other Common Phrases

We are often asked how to say "I love you" in Japanese. This would be "Anata o ai shite imasu" BUT be advised that the Japanese typically don't use the word for love (愛 - あい - ai) when talking about their feelings for someone else (not even a boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, child, parent, etc.). They would typically say "Anata no koto ga suki desu" or "Anata ga daisuki desu". "Suki" means "like" and "daisuki" means "favorite". This may seem strange but this is just what they say for "I love you".

漢字 - Kanji ひらがな - Hiragana Romaji (English Letters) English Meaning 誕生日おめでとうございます たんじょうびおめでとうございます tanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu Happy Birthday! 明けましておめでとうございます あけましておめでとうございます akemashite omedetou gozaimasu Happy New Year! おめでとうございます おめでとうございます omedetou gozaimasu Congratulations! お休みなさい おやすみなさい oyasuminasai Good night. (used when someone is going to bed) 御免なさい ごめんなさい gomennasai I'm sorry. すみません すみません sumimasen Excuse me. トイレは何処ですか トイレはどこですか toire wa doko desu ka Where is the bathroom? お腹が空いています おなかがすいています onaka ga suite imasu I am hungry. ("My stomach is empty.")

See Lesson 3 for other common phrases.