Japanese Godan Verb Conjugations (Formal)

Part 1

Mastering the verbs of any language is like mastering the language itself!

What you need about Japanese verbs!

1. There are 3 kinds of verbs in Japanese.

• Godan verbs• Ichidan verbs• Irregular verbs

2. There are two kinds of speech in Japanese (Formal/Informal) Therefore all verbs have two forms (Informal/formal)

3. Japanese verbs have no future tenses. “Go” and “Will go” both mean the same thing in Japanese. There is no distinction between the two.

4. There are 4 verb tenses in Japanese.• Present affirmative ( I walk/I will walk)• Present negative (I don’t walk/I won’t walk)• Past affirmative (I walked)• Past negative (I didn’t walk)

1. What are Godan verbs?

Godan verbs are also known as “ u verbs” becausethey end in (u).(but not in –iru/-eru *with some exceptions)

Let’s look at some examples of Godan verbs

Godan verbs(notice how they all end in –u)

Verb•aruku•nomu•oyogu•hanasu•kiku•omou•au

Meaning•To walk•To drink•To swim•To speak•To listen•To think •To meet

“I know what they look like now, but how do I conjugate them?!” :O

Don’t worry !

First, let's begin with Godan verbconjugations in the present affirmative tense.

*(Remember that Japanese verbs don’t conjugate in the future tense so I do & I will do mean the same thing.)

Step 1 : Drop the final –u ( aruku becomes aruk )

Step2: Add –imasu to the stem( aruk Becomes arukimasu)

arukimasu = (I) walk/(I) will walk

Done! You have just conjugated your first GodanVerb in the present affirmative.

aruku (to walk)

Notes• You may be asking yourself why aruku was changed

to arukimasu. The reason for this is that aruku is the dictionary form of the verb “to walk”. This means that if you look up aruku in a Japanese dictionary you will find it but if you look up arukimasu you won’t. The verb aruku is considered informal, while arukimasu is the formal form. They both mean the same thing. In fact you can interchangeably say them to a native Japanese speaker and they will understand you perfectly, but it is important to keep in mind that formality is necessary since Japanese is a very formal language. So we use arukimasu.

• The “stem” is what is left of the word after you remove the final -u.

ex: aruku /aruk “aruk” is the stem of aruku

• When speaking with friends you can use aruku because the conversation is casual/informal, but if you are speaking to a stranger or a superior, you must use the formal “arukimasu” instead.

Ready to conjugate another Godan verb?

Step 1: Drop the final –u ( oyogu becomes oyog )

Step 2: Add –imasu to the stem( oyog becomes oyogimasu )

oyogimasu = (I) swim/(I) will swim

Done! You have now turned the informal oyogu into it’s formal form (oyogimasu)

oyogu ( to swim)

Let’s try one more!

kiku drop the final u kik you are left with the stem “kik” kik + imasu add –imasu to the stem kikimasu = (I) listen/(I) will listen

Done!

kiku ( to listen)

Up until now you have learned how to conjugate Godan verbs in the present affirmative tenseEx:( I walk/I will walk)

Now it’s time to learn how to conjugate verbs inthe present negative tenseEx: ( I don’t walk/I won’t walk)

1.aruku drop the final u2.aruk you now have the stem “aruk”3.aruk + imasen add -imasen to the stem arukimasen = (I) don’t walk/(I) won’t walk

Compare:arukimasu = I walk / I will walk Present affirmativearukimasen = I don’t walk / I won’t walk Present negative

aruku (to walk)

oyogu (to swim)

oyogu drop the final uoyog now you have the stem “oyog”oyog + imasen add imasen to the stem

oyogimasen = (I) don’t swim/ (I) will not swim

Compare:oyogimasu=I swim/I will swimoyogimasen=I don’t swim/I won’t swim

kiku drop the final ukik you get the stem “kik”kik + imasen add imasen to the stem

kikimasen = (I) don’t listen/(I) won’t listen

Compare :kikimasu= I listen / I will listen kikimasen = I don’t listen/ I won’t listen

kiku (to listen)

• Now , that we have gone over conjugations of verbs in the present affirmative and present negative. It’s time to inform you about the exceptions to these rules.

• Don’t fear the exceptions. Just follow closely!

hanasu (to speak) This here is a Godan verb because it ends in (u), but this Godan verb conjugates a bit differently from it’s other Godan buddies.

*Anytime that a Godan verb ends in -su , you must change the -su to -shi.

Let’s look at an example of how hanasu is conjugated.

Topic: Exceptions to the rule.

-su ending godan verb conjugations Present affirmative:

• Step 1: replace the -su with -shi (hanasu = hanashi)• Step 2: add -masu (hanashi + masu = hanashimasu)

Present negative:

• Step 1: replace -su with -shi (hanasu = hanashi)• Step 2: hanashi add -masen (hanashi + masen = hanashimasen )

Hanashimasu = I have/ I will have present affirmativeHanashimasen= I don’t have / I won’t have present negative

• -su ending verbs are not the only exception, you must also watch out for –tsu ending verbs.

such as motsu = to have

• Anytime you encounter a -tsu ending verb you must change the –tsu to –chi.

• Let’s look at how motsu is conjugated….

-tsu ending verb conjugationsPresent affirmative: 1: replace –tsu with –chi *ex: (motsu=mochi) 2: add –masu *ex : (mochi + masu= mochimasu)

Present negative: 1. replace –tsu with -chi *ex: (motsu=mochi) 2. add masen *ex: (mochi + masen = mochimasen)

Compare:mochimasu = I have / I will have mochimasen= I don’t have/ I won’t have

Recap We learned:

• There are 3 kinds of verbs (godan,ichidan and irregular verbs)• Japanese verbs have no future tense.• Godan verbs end in –u but never in –iru/-eru.(w/some exceptions)• The dictionary form of a verb is Informal.• In order to make an informal verb formal we must add a –masu or –masen ending.• Every verb has a formal and informal form.• When dropping the final –u of a godan verb we are left with what is

called the “stem.”• -su and -tsu ending verbs conjugate differently than other Godan verbs.

(They are the exception to the rule and their conjugations must be memorized because they don’t follow any specific rule.)

Use the following charts as your guide on how to conjugate Godan verbs in the present affirm. and present neg.

aruku

•to walk

arukimasu

•I walk•I will walk

arukimasen

•I don’t walk•I won’t walk

Dictionary form(informal) Present affirmative (formal) Present negative (formal)

oyogu

•To swim

oyogimasu

•I swim•I will swim

oyogimasen

•I don’t swim•I won’t swim

Dictionary form(informal) Present affirmative (formal) Present negative (formal)

nomu

•To drink

nomimasu

•I drink•I will drink

nomimasen

•I don’t drink•I won’t drink

kiku•To listen/hear

kikimasu

•I listen/hear•I will listen/hear

kikimasen•I don’t listen/hear•I won’t listen/hear

yomu

•To read

yomimasu

•I read•I will read

yomimasen

•I don’t read•I won’t read

asobu

•To play

asobimasu

•I play•I will play

asobimasen

•I don’t play•I won’t play

tobu•To jump/fly

tobimasu

•I jump/fly•I will jump/fly

tobimasen•I don’t jump/fly•I won’t jump/fly

• Please note that tobu can mean either jump or fly.

tatsu

•To stand

tachimasu

•I stand•I will stand

tachimasen

•I don’t stand•I won’t stand

• The verb tatsu is a Godan verb just like the rest but remember that when a Godan verb ends in –tsu, you conjugate it differently than the other Godan verbs. Remember that the –tsu ending is replaced by the –chi ending!

hanasu

•To speak

hanashimasu

•I speak•I will speak

hanashimasen

•I don’t speak•I won’t speak

The verb hanasu is a Godan verb as well , but conjugates differently from the rest. Remember that a verb ending in –su must be replaced with the ending –shi.

shinu

•To die

shinimasu

•I die•I will die

shinimasen

•I don’t die•I won’t die

au

•To meet

aimasu•I meet•I will meet

aimasen•I don’t meet•I won’t meet

warau

•To laugh

waraimasu

•I laugh•I will laugh

waraimasen

•I don’t laugh•I won’t laugh

yobu

•To call

yobimasu

•I call•I will call

yobimasen

•I don’t call•I won’t call

iku

•To go

ikimasu

•I go•I will go

ikimasen•I don’t go•I won’t go

utau

•To sing

utaimasu•I sing•I will sing

utaimasen•I don’t sing•I won’t sing

omou

•To think

omoimasu

•I think•I will think

omoimasen

•I don’t think•I won’t think

Part 2 will be uploaded shortly!

In part 2 we will discuss:• Conjugating Godan verbs in the past

affirmative & past negative.(Formal)