The 3 Japanese Verb Groups

One of the characteristics of the Japanese language is that the verb generally comes at the end of the sentence. Since Japaneses sentences often omit the subject, the verb is probably the most important part in understanding the sentence. However, verb forms are considered to be challenging to learn. The good news is the system itself is rather simple, as far as memorizing specific rules. Unlike the more complex verb conjugation of other languages, ​​Japanese verbs do not have a different form to indicate the person (first-, second, and third-person), the number (singular and plural), or gender. Japanese verbs are roughly divided into three groups according to their dictionary form (basic form). Group 1: ~ U Ending Verbs The basic form of Group 1 verbs end with ~ u. This group is also called Consonant-stem verbs or Godan-doushi (Godan verbs). hanasu è © ±Ã£ â„¢ - to speakkaku æ› ¸Ã£   - to writekiku è Å¾Ã£   - to listenmatsu Ã¥ ¾â€¦Ã£  ¤ - to waitnomu é £ ²Ã£â€šâ‚¬ - to drink Group 2: ~ Iru and ~ Eru Ending Verbs The basic form of Group 2 verbs end with either ~iru or ~ eru. This group is also called Vowel-stem-verbs or Ichidan-doushi (Ichidan verbs). ~ Iru Ending Verbs kiru ç â‚¬Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to wearmiru è ¦â€¹Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to seeokiru è µ ·Ã£  Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to get uporiru é™ Ã£â€šÅ Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to get offshinjiru ä ¿ ¡Ã£ ËœÃ£â€šâ€¹ - to believe ~ Eru Ending Verbs akeru éâ€"‹ã â€˜Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to openageru 㠁‚㠁’ã‚‹ - to givederu å‡ ºÃ£â€šâ€¹ - to go outneru Ã¥ ¯ Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to sleeptaberu é £Å¸Ã£  ¹Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to eat There are some exceptions. The following verbs belong to Group 1, though they end with ~ iru or ~ eru. hairu å… ¥Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to enterhashiru è µ °Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to runiru 㠁„ã‚‹ - to needkaeru Ã¥ ¸ °Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to returnkagiru é™ Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to limitkiru 切る - to cutshaberu 㠁â€"ã‚Æ'㠁 ¹Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to chattershiru çŸ ¥Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to know Group 3: Irregular Verbs There are only two irregular verbs, kuru (to come) and suru (to do). The verb suru is probably the most often used verb in Japanese. It is used as to do, to make, or to cost. It is also combined with many nouns (of Chinese or Western origin) to make them into verbs. Here are some examples. benkyousuru 勉å ¼ ·Ã£ â„¢Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to studyryokousuru æâ€"…è ¡Å'㠁™ã‚‹ - to travelyushutsusuru è ¼ ¸Ã¥â€¡ ºÃ£ â„¢Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to exportdansusuru ãÆ'ۋÆ' ³Ã£â€š ¹Ã£ â„¢Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to danceshanpuusuru ã‚ ·Ã£Æ' £Ã£Æ' ³Ã£Æ'â€"ãÆ' ¼Ã£ â„¢Ã£â€šâ€¹ - to shampoo