動詞（どうし）: Verbs

🚀 Japanese Verbs Made Simple: Three Families You Need to Know

　So you’ve started learning Japanese verbs. At first, they look wild — different endings, strange sounds — but don’t worry. In reality, Japanese verbs live in just three families: ru-verbs, u-verbs, and irregular verbs. Once you know their “family rules,” you can handle almost any verb that comes your way.

🥢 1. Ru-verbs (the simple ones)

　These are the most predictable. They end in -ru. To make them polite, just drop -ru and add ます.

• たべる (to eat) → たべます (I eat / I will eat)

• みる (to watch, to see) → みます (I watch)
  

　To make them negative, add ません instead of ます:

• たべません (I don’t eat)

• みません (I don't watch)

Easy, right? 📈 Some common ru-verbs:

Dictionary Form	Romaji	Meaning
たべる	taberu	to eat
みる	miru	to see / to watch
おきる	okiru	to get up
ねる	neru	to sleep / go to bed

🐙 2. U-verbs (the shape-shifters)

　U-verbs are trickier. They can end in many sounds, like -u, -ku, -mu, -su, -ru, and more. When you make them polite, the final sound slides from the “u” row to the “i” row, then you add ます/ません. e.g. はなす/hanasu/ 💡Step 1: Change the vowel -u in the last syllable to -i (= the previous sound in hiragana chart). はなす/hanasu/　→　はなし/hanashi 💡Step 2: Add -ます for affirmative and -ません for negative. はなし + ます/ません　→ はなします / はなしません

• はなす (to speak) → はなします (I speak) / はなしません (I don't speak)

• のむ (to drink) → のみます (I drink) / のみません (I don't drink)

• よむ (to read) → よみます (I read) / よみません (I don't read)

• きく (to listen/ask) → ききます (I listen) / ききません (I don't listen)

• かえる (to return) → かえります (I return) / かえりません (I don't return)

• いく (to go) → いきます (I go) / いきません (I don't go)
  

👉 Watch out! Some verbs ending in -ru (like かえる) are actually u-verbs. 　For example, かえる looks like a ru-verb. If you try applying the ru-verb conjugation, it would be かえます. But, the actual long form is かえります, which applies the u-verb conjugation, so you can tell it's an u-verb. If you encounter those u-verbs ending with る for the first time, it might be difficult to identify the verb group without the long form. So, basically you will need to memorize every time you meet an u-verb ending with る. But if you see both the dictionary form and long form (かえる / かえります), you can definitely tell if it's a ru- or u-verb, testing each conjugation pattern that can be applied. 📈 Some common u-verbs:

Dictionary Form	Romaji	Meaning
いく	iku	to go
かえる	kaeru	to return / go back
きく	kiku	to listen / to ask
のむ	nomu	to drink
はなす	hanasu	to speak
よむ	yomu	to read
あう	au	to meet
ある	aru	there is (thing)
とる	toru	to take (a photo)
まつ	matsu	to wait
わかる	wakaru	to understand

🤹 3. Irregular verbs (the rebels)

　Good news: there are only two. Memorize these and you’re safe.

• する (to do) → します／しません

• くる (to come) → きます／きません
  

　Plus, any compound verbs that contain ...する or ...くる: → You just apply the same する/くる patterns.

• べんきょうする (to study) → べんきょうします (I study)
  

📈 Some common irregular verbs:

Dictionary Form	Romaji	Meaning
する	suru	to do
べんきょうする	benkyou suru	to study
くる	kuru	to come

🕒 The Present Tense in Japanese

　Here’s the fun twist: the Japanese present tense doesn’t only mean “right now.” It can also mean a habit or a future plan.

• まいにち にほんごを べんきょうします。(I study Japanese every day.)

• あした えいがを みます。(I will watch a movie tomorrow.)

→ Context words for frequency or time like まいにち (every day) or あした (tomorrow) tell you which one it is.

☕ Bonus: Inviting someone politely

　You can turn the negative into a soft invitation: 〜ませんか.

• あした コーヒーを のみませんか。(Would you like to drink coffee tomorrow?)

　It’s polite, safe, and very handy for making plans.

🎯 Quick Recap

• Ru-verbs: drop -ru → ます／ません

• U-verbs: last sound changes to “i” row + ます／ません

• Irregular verbs: only する／くる (and combos)

• Present tense = habit OR future

• 〜ませんか = polite invitation
  

✨ Practice: Try it yourself (Answers are below)

✍️Can you read and translate these?

1. まいにち コーヒーを のみます。

2. あした としょかんで ほんを よみます。

3. えいがを みませんか。
   

Answers: 1) I drink coffee every day. "Mainichi koohii wo nomimasu" 2. I will read a book at the library tomorrow. "Ashita toshokan de hon wo yomimasu" 3. Would you like to watch a movie?) "Eiga wo mimasenka"

　Did you get how verbs are used and conjugate in Japanese? We have so many verbs but all of them are categorized into one of those verb groups above. So, every time you find a new verb, try identifying the verb group so you can change the forms of the verb and use it in your sentence!