This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably.(August 2025) |
Japanese conjugation , like the conjugation of verbs of many other languages, allows verbs to be morphologically modified to change their meaning or grammatical function. In Japanese, the beginning of a word (the stem ) is preserved during conjugation, while the ending of the word is altered in some way to change the meaning (this is the inflectional suffix ). Japanese verb conjugations are independent of person, number and gender (they do not depend on whether the subject is I, you, he, she, we, etc.); the conjugated forms can express meanings such as negation, present and past tense, volition, passive voice, causation, imperative and conditional mood, and ability. There are also special forms for conjunction with other verbs, and for combination with particles for additional meanings.
Japanese verbs have agglutinating properties: some of the conjugated forms are themselves conjugable verbs (or i-adjectives), which can result in several suffixes being strung together in a single verb form to express a combination of meanings.
For Japanese verbs, the verb stem remains invariant among all conjugations. However, conjugation patterns vary according to a verb's category. For example, 知る (shiru) and 着る (kiru) belong to different verb categories (godan and ichidan, respectively) and therefore follow different conjugation patterns. As such, knowing a verb's category is essential for conjugating Japanese verbs.
Japanese verbs can be allocated into three categories: [1]
Verbs are conjugated from their "dictionary form", where the final kana is either removed or changed in some way. [1] From a technical standpoint, verbs usually require a specific conjugational stem (see § Verb bases, below) for any given inflection or suffix. With godan verbs, the conjugational stem can span all five columns of the gojūon kana table (hence, the classification as a pentagrade verb). Ichidan verbs are simpler to conjugate: the final kana, which is always る (ru), is simply removed or replaced with the appropriate inflectional suffix. This means ichidan verb stems, in themselves, are valid conjugational stems which always end with the same kana (hence, the classification as a monograde verb).
This distinction can be observed by comparing conjugations of the two verb types, within the context of the gojūon table. [2]
| Godan Form | Gojūon table 'ma' row | Godan Verb 読む (to read) | Ichidan Form | Ichidan Verb 見る (to see) | Ichidan Verb 止める (to stop) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negative | ま (ma) | 読まない yomanai | Negative | みない * minai | 止めない tomenai | ||
| Polite | み (mi) | 読みます yomimasu | Polite | みます * mimasu | 止めます tomemasu | ||
| Dictionary (no conjugation) | む (mu) | 読む yomu | Dictionary | みる * miru | 止める tomeru | ||
| Potential | め (me) | 読める yomeru | Potential | みられる * mirareru | 止められる tomerareru | ||
| Volitional | も (mo) | 読もう yomō | Volitional | みよう * miyō | 止めよう tomeyō | ||
As can be seen above, the godan verb yomu (読む, to read) has a static verb stem, yo- (読〜), and a dynamic conjugational stem which changes depending on the purpose: yoma- (読ま〜; row 1), yomi- (読み〜; row 2), yomu (読む; row 3), yome- (読め〜; row 4) and yomo- (読も〜; row 5). Unlike godan verb stems, ichidan verb stems are also functional conjugational stems, with the final kana of the stem remaining static in all conjugations.
Conjugable words (verbs, i‑adjectives, and na‑adjectives) are traditionally considered to have six possible conjugational stems or bases ( 活用形 , katsuyōkei; literally "conjugation forms") . [3] However, as a result of the language evolving, [4] [5] historical sound shifts, [6] [7] and the post‑WWII spelling reforms, [8] three additional sub‑bases have emerged for verbs (seen in the table below as the Potential, Tentative, and Euphonic bases). Meanwhile, verbs no longer differentiate between the conclusive form (終止形, shūshikei; used to terminate a predicate) and the attributive form (連体形, rentaikei; used to modify a noun or noun phrase) bases (these bases are only distinguished for na‑adjectives in the modern language, see Japanese adjectives). [9] [10] Verb bases function as the necessary stem forms to which inflectional suffixes attach.
The "default" dictionary form, or lemma, of any conjugational morpheme, be it a verb, an adjective or an auxiliary, is its conclusive form, which is listed first in the table below. The verb group (godan, ichidan, or irregular) determines how to derive any given conjugation base for the verb. With godan verbs, the base is derived by shifting the final kana along the respective vowel row of the gojūon kana table. With ichidan verbs, the base is derived by removing or replacing the final ru (る) kana. [2]
The table below illustrates the various verb bases across the verb groups, with the patterns starting from the dictionary form. [11]
| Verb base | Aliases [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] | Godan | Ichidan | Irregular | Usage | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 言う ('to say') | 狩る ('to hunt') | 射る ('to shoot') | 得る ('to get') | する ('to do') | 来る ('to come') | ||||||
| Shūshikei ( 終止形 ) | conclusive, concluding form, final, predicative, dictionary form (辞書形, jishokei) | 言うyū [a] | 狩るkaru | 射るiru | 得るeru | するsuru | くるkuru | Imperfective form | |||
| Rentaikei ( 連体形 ) | attributive, adnominal, adjectival, substantival | ||||||||||
| Kateikei ( 仮定形 ) | provisional, conditional, hypothetical, izenkei ( 已然形 ), perfect, perfective, realis | Shift the 〜〇 kana to the え row | Conditional form | ||||||||
| 言えie [b] | 狩れkare | 射れire | 得れere | すれsure | くれkure | ||||||
| Meireikei ( 命令形 ) | imperative | Shift the 〜〇 kana to the え row | Replace る with ろ or よ | Imperative form | |||||||
| 言えie [b] | 狩れkare | 射ろiro 射よiyo | 得ろero 得よeyo | しろshiro せよseyo | こいkoi | ||||||
| Mizenkei ( 未然形 ) | imperfect, imperfective, irrealis, dubitative, future, a-stem, subjunctive, negative | Shift the 〜〇 kana to the あ row | Remove る | [c] | Negative form Passive form Causative form | ||||||
| 言わiwa/yuwa [d] | 狩らkara | 射i | 得e | さsa | しshi | せse | こko | ||||
| Ishikei ( 意志形 ) | hortative, volitional, suiryōkei (推量形), tentative, conjectural | Shift the 〜〇 kana to the お row | しshi | Volitional form | |||||||
| 言おio [b] | 狩ろkaro | ||||||||||
| Kanō dōshi ( 可能動詞 ) | kanōkei (可能形), [28] potential, passive potential | Remove ar from the passive ending areru | Optionally remove ra from the passive ending rareru | [e] | Potential form | ||||||
| 言えるieru [b] | 狩れるkareru | 射(ら)れるi(ra)reru | 得(ら)れるe(ra)reru | こ(ら)れるko(ra)reru | |||||||
| Ren'yōkei ( 連用形 ) | continuative, conjunctive, connective, adverbial, infinitive, chūshikei (中止形) [29] | Shift the 〜〇 kana to the い row | Remove る | Conjunctive form | |||||||
| 言いii [b] | 狩りkari | 射i | 得e | しshi | きki | ||||||
| Onbinkei ( 音便形 ) | Remove the 〜〇 kana, add っ, し, い or ん | Perfective form te form | |||||||||
| 言っit/yut [f] | 狩っkat | ||||||||||
Of the nine verb bases, the shūshikei/rentaikei, meireikei, and ren'yōkei bases can be considered fully conjugated forms without needing to append inflectional suffixes. In particular, the shūshikei/rentaikei and meireikei bases do not conjugate with any inflectional suffixes. By contrast, a verb cannot be considered fully conjugated in its kateikei, mizenkei, ishikei, kanōkei, or onbinkei base alone; a compatible inflectional suffix is required for that verb construction to be grammatical. [32]
Certain inflectional suffixes, in themselves, take on the form of verbs or i‑adjectives. These suffixes can then be further conjugated by adopting one of the verb bases, followed by the attachment of the appropriate suffix. The agglutinative nature of Japanese verb conjugation can thus make the final form of a given verb conjugation quite long. For example, the word 食べさせられたくなかった (tabesaseraretakunakatta) is broken down into its component morphemes below:
| 食べさせられたくなかった (tabesaseraretakunakatta, "did not want to be made to eat") | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 食べ (tabe) | させ (sase) | られ (rare) | たく (taku) | なかっ (naka'-) | た (ta) | ||
| Mizenkei base of 食べる (taberu) | Mizenkei base of the させる (saseru) causative suffix | Ren'yōkei base of the られる (rareru) passive suffix | Ren'yōkei base of the たい (tai) desiderative suffix | Past‑tense ren'yōkei base of the ない (nai) negation suffix | Inflectional suffix た (ta), marking past tense | ||
| "to eat" (Verb stem) | Causative voice: "to make someone do" | Passive voice: "to be done" | Desiderative mood: "wanting to do something" | Negation: "not", negates whatever came before | Perfective aspect: indicates completion or past tense | ||
There are three modern verb base forms that are considered to be derived from older forms. These are the potential, volitional, and euphonic sub‑bases, as shown in the Verb base formation table above.
As with all languages, the Japanese language has evolved to fulfil the contemporary needs of communication. The potential form of verbs is one such example. In Old Japanese and Early Middle Japanese, potential was expressed with the verb ending ゆ (yu), which was also used to express the passive voice ("to be done") and the spontaneous voice ("something happens on its own"). This evolved into the modern passive ending (ら)れる (-(ra)reru), which can similarly express potential and spontaneous senses. As usage patterns changed over time, different kinds of potential constructions emerged, such as the grammatical pattern of the rentaikei base + -koto ga dekiru (〜ことができる), and also via the kanōkei base. [4] The historical development of the kanōkei base is disputed, however the consensus is that it stemmed from a shift wherein transitive verbs developed an intransitive sense similar to the spontaneous, passive, and potential, and these intransitive forms conjugated in the 下二段活用 (shimo nidan katsuyō, lower bigrade conjugation pattern) of the Classical Japanese of the time. [5] The lower bigrade conjugation pattern evolved into the modern ichidan pattern in modern Japanese, and these stems for godan verbs have the same form as the hypothetical stems in the table above.
The mizenkei base that ends with -a was also used to express the volitional mood for yodan verbs (四段動詞, yodan-dōshi; "Class‑4 verbs") in Old Japanese and Middle Japanese,[ disambiguation needed ] in combination with volitional suffix む (-mu). Sound changes caused the resulting -amu ending to change: /-amu/ → /-ãu/ → /-au/ (like English "ow") → /-ɔː/ (like English "aw") → /-oː/. The post‑WWII spelling reforms updated spellings to reflect this and other sound changes, resulting in the addition of the ishikei or volitional base, ending with -o, for the volitional mood of yodan verbs. This also resulted in a reclassification of "yodan verbs" to "godan verbs" (五段動詞, godan-dōshi; "Class‑5 verbs"). [8] [33]
The ren'yōkei base also underwent various euphonic changes specific to the perfective and conjunctive (te) forms for certain verb stems, [34] [6] [7] giving rise to the onbinkei or euphonic base. [35] In the onbinkei base, the inflectional suffixes for godan verbs vary according to the last kana of the verb's ren'yōkei base. [2]
Unlike most verbs, suru and its derived compounds exhibit strong irregularity in their verb bases. In some cases, some variants are preferred over the others, and such preferences vary among speakers. Roughly speaking, there are three major groups that behave similarly: [36]
Across the following forms of suru within standard Japanese, an eastern dialect, while there is a dominance of the eastern vowel i as in shinai, [41] shiyō [42] and shiro, [43] the once prestigious western vowel e, as in sen(u) and seyo, still has currency especially in formal or literary Japanese. Such variants as senai and sanai (both of shinai); shin(u) (of sen(u)); shō (← seu), seyō and sō (all of shiyō); sero (of shiro); and shiyo, sē and sei (all of seyo), remain dialectal or obsolete. [44] [45] [46]
| suru (する) (A) | benkyō suru (勉強する) (A) | aisuru (愛する) (B) | tassuru (達する) (B & C) | sassuru (察する) (C) | shinzuru (信ずる) (C) | shinzuru (進ずる) (C & D) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrealis | se shi sa | benkyō se benkyō shi benkyō sa | aisa aise aishi | tasse tasshi tassa | sasse sasshi | shinji shinze | shinze shinji |
| Passive | sareru serareru shirareru | benkyō sareru benkyō serareru benkyō shirareru | aisareru aiserareru aishirareru | tasserareru tasshirareru tassareru | sasserareru sasshirareru | shinjirareru shinzerareru | shinzerareru shinjirareru |
| Potential [g] | (suru koto ga) dekiru | benkyō (suru koto ga) dekiru | aiseru aise(ra)reru aishi(ra)reru aisuru koto ga dekiru aisu koto ga dekiru | tasse(ra)reru tasshi(ra)reru tasseru tassuru koto ga dekiru tassu koto ga dekiru | sasse(ra)reru sasshi(ra)reru sassuru koto ga dekiru sasshiru koto ga dekiru | shinji(ra)reru shinze(ra)reru shinjiru koto ga dekiru shinzuru koto ga dekiru | shinze(ra)reru shinji(ra)reru shinzuru koto ga dekiru shinzeru koto ga dekiru shinjiru koto ga dekiru |
| Causative | saseru sesaseru shisaseru | benkyō saseru benkyō sesaseru benkyō shisaseru | aisaseru aisesaseru aishisaseru | tassesaseru tasshisaseru tassaseru | sassesaseru sasshisaseru | shinjisaseru shinzesaseru | shinzesaseru shinjisaseru |
| Negative | shinai senu | benkyō shinai benkyō senu | aisanai aishinai aisanu aisenu | tasshinai tassanai tassenu tassanu tasshinu | sasshinai sassenu sasshinu | shinjinai shinjinu shinzenu | shinjinai shinzenai shinzenu shinjinu |
| Volitional | shiyō | benkyō shiyō | aisō aishiyō | tasshiyō tassō | sasshiyō | shinjiyō | shinjiyō shinzeyō |
| Conjunctive | shi | benkyō shi | aishi | tasshi | sasshi | shinji | shinji shinze |
| Attributive/conclusive | suru | benkyō suru | aisuru aisu | tassuru tassu tasshiru | sassuru sasshiru | shinjiru shinzuru | shinzuru shinzeru shinjiru |
| Attributive/conclusive + beki [h] | su(ru) beki | benkyō su(ru) beki | aisu(ru) beki | tassu(ru) beki tasshiru beki | sassu(ru) beki sasshiru beki | shinjiru beki shinzu(ru) beki | shinzu(ru) beki shinzeru beki shinjiru beki |
| Conditional | sureba | benkyō sureba | aisureba aiseba | tassureba tasseba tasshireba | sassureba sasshireba | shinjireba shinzureba | shinzureba shinzereba shinjireba |
| Imperative | shiro seyo | benkyō shiro benkyō seyo | aise aishiro aiseyo | tasshiro tasseyo tasshiyo tasse | sasshiro sasseyo sasshiyo | shinjiro shinjiyo shinzeyo | shinjiro shinzero shinzeyo shinjiyo |
The copula or "to be" verb in Japanese is a special case. This comes in two basic forms, だ (da) in the plain form and です (desu) in the polite form. These are generally used to predicate sentences, equate one thing with another (i.e. "A is B."), or express a self‑directed thought (e.g. a sudden emotion or realization). [48]
| English | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|
| It is a book. | 本です (hon desu) | predicate |
| The weather was awful. | 天気が大変でした (tenki ga taihen deshita) | copula, A is B |
| Ah! A cockroach! | わっ!ゴキブリだ! (wa! gokiburi da!) | self‑directed |
The copulae of Japanese demonstrate suppletion, in that they combined different forms from different words into one word. The original copulae were all based on the verb ari (あり; 'to exist'), which evolved into the modern aru (ある). It needed to be preceded by one of the three particles, ni, ni te → de [49] [50] and to, which yielded three variants, ni ari/ni aru → nari/naru, [51] de ari/de aru → da [52] and to ari/to aru → tari/taru, the last of which fell out of use, but did phonetically coincide with te ari/te aru → tari/taru, [53] which in turn evolved into the modern past auxiliary ta. [54] It also combined with adjectival roots to expand their conjugation, for example akaku arō → akakarō (赤かろう), akaku atta → akakatta (赤かった), etc.
| Stems without aru | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uncontracted | Contracted | ||||
| Conjunctive | ni (に) | ||||
| de (で) | |||||
| te form | nite (にて) | de (で) | |||
| Attributive | no (の) | ||||
| Stems with aru | |||||
| Plain | Polite with -masu | ||||
| Uncontracted | Contracted | Uncontracted | Contracted | ||
| Irrealis | de (wa) ara- (で(は)あら~) [l] ja(a) ara- (じゃ(あ)あら~) | †dara- (だら~) [m] †jara- (じゃら~) [n] | de (wa) arimase- (で(は)ありませ~) [o] ja(a) arimase- (じゃ(あ)ありませ~) | †dese- (でせ~) [p] | |
| Conjunctive | de (wa) ari (で(は)あり) [77] [78] ja(a) ari (じゃ(あ)あり) | ||||
| te form | de (wa) atte (で(は)あって) [79] [80] ja(a) atte (じゃ(あ)あって) [81] | de (wa) arimashite (で(は)ありまして) [82] [83] [84] ja(a) arimashite (じゃ(あ)ありまして) [85] | deshite (でして) [86] [87] [88] | ||
| Conclusive | de (wa) aru (で(は)ある) ja(a) aru (じゃ(あ)ある) | da (だ) [89] [90] ja (じゃ) [91] [92] [93] | de (wa) arimasu(ru) (で(は)あります(る)) [94] [95] ja(a) arimasu(ru) (じゃ(あ)あります(る)) [96] | desu (です) | |
| Attributive | de (wa) aru (で(は)ある) ja(a) aru (じゃ(あ)ある) | de (wa) arimasu(ru) (で(は)あります(る)) [97] ja(a) arimasu(ru) (じゃ(あ)あります(る)) | desu (です) | ||
| †ni (wa) aru (に(は)ある) [q] | na(ru) (な(る)) [98] | ||||
| Negative | -nai (~ない) | de (wa) nai (で(は)ない) ja(a) nai (じゃ(あ)ない) | de (wa) nai de arimasu(ru) (で(は)ないであります(る)) [99] [100] ja(a) nai de arimasu(ru) (じゃ(あ)ないであります(る)) [101] | de (wa) nai desu (で(は)ないです) ja(a) nai desu (じゃ(あ)ないです) | |
| de (wa) naku arimasu(ru) (で(は)なくあります(る)) [102] [103] ja(a) naku arimasu(ru) (じゃ(あ)なくあります(る)) [104] | |||||
| de (wa) aranai (で(は)あらない) [105] [106] [107] [108] [109] [110] ja(a) aranai (じゃ(あ)あらない) [110] | de (wa) arimashinai (で(は)ありましない) [111] [112] [113] [114] ja(a) arimashinai (じゃ(あ)ありましない) [115] [116] [117] [112] [118] [119] [87] | ||||
| -n (~ん) | de (wa) aran (で(は)あらん) ja(a) aran (じゃ(あ)あらん) | de (wa) arimasen (で(は)ありません) ja(a) arimasen (じゃ(あ)ありません) | |||
| -nu (~ぬ) | de (wa) aranu (で(は)あらぬ) [120] [121] [122] [123] [124] ja(a) aranu (じゃ(あ)あらぬ) [125] [126] | de (wa) arimasenu (で(は)ありませぬ) [127] [128] ja(a) arimasenu (じゃ(あ)ありませぬ) [129] | |||
| -zu (~ず) | de (wa) arazu (で(は)あらず) [130] [131] [132] [133] [134] [135] ja(a) arazu (じゃ(あ)あらず) [135] | de (wa) arimasezu (で(は)ありませず) [136] ja(a) arimasezu (じゃ(あ)ありませず) [137] | |||
| Perfective | de (wa) atta (で(は)あった) ja(a) atta (じゃ(あ)あった) | datta (だった) jatta (じゃった) [138] | de (wa) arimashita (で(は)ありました) ja(a) arimashita (じゃ(あ)ありました) | deshita (でした) | |
| Perfective negative | -nakatta (~なかった) | de (wa) nakatta (で(は)なかった) ja(a) nakatta (じゃ(あ)なかった) | de (wa) nakatta de arimasu(ru) (で(は)なかったであります(る)) [139] [140] ja(a) nakatta de arimasu(ru) (じゃ(あ)なかったであります(る)) [141] | de (wa) nakatta desu (で(は)なかったです) ja(a) nakatta desu (じゃ(あ)なかったです) | |
| de (wa) naku arimashita (で(は)なかくありました) [142] [143] ja(a) naku arimashita (じゃ(あ)なくありました) [144] | |||||
| de (wa) aranakatta (で(は)あらなかった) [145] [146] ja(a) aranakatta (じゃ(あ)あらなかった) | de (wa) arimashinakatta (で(は)ありましなかった) ja(a) arimashinakatta (じゃ(あ)ありましなかった) | ||||
| -n deshita (~んでした) | de (wa) arimasen deshita (で(は)ありませんでした) ja(a) arimasen deshita (じゃ(あ)ありませんでした) | ||||
| -nu deshita (~ぬでした) | de (wa) arimasenu deshita (で(は)ありませぬでした) [147] ja(a) arimasenu deshita (じゃ(あ)ありませぬでした) | ||||
| -nanda (~なんだ) | de (wa) arananda (で(は)あらなんだ) [148] [149] [150] ja(a) arananda (じゃ(あ)あらなんだ) | de (wa) arimasenanda (で(は)ありませなんだ) [151] [152] [153] [154] ja(a) arimasenanda (じゃ(あ)ありませなんだ) [155] | |||
| Conditional | †ni (wa) ara(ba) (に(は)あら(ば)) [r] | nara(ba) (なら(ば)) | de (wa) arimaseba (で(は)ありませば) [156] ja(a) arimaseba (じゃ(あ)ありませば) | ||
| de (wa) areba (で(は)あれば) [157] [158] ja(a) areba (じゃ(あ)あれば) | de (wa) arimasureba (で(は)ありますれば) [159] [160] [161] ja(a) arimasureba (じゃ(あ)ありますれば) | ||||
| de (wa) aru nara(ba) (で(は)あるなら(ば)) [162] [163] [164] [165] ja(a) aru nara(ba) (じゃ(あ)あるなら(ば)) | de (wa) arimasu nara(ba) (で(は)ありますなら(ば)) [166] [167] ja(a) arimasu nara(ba) (じゃ(あ)ありますなら(ば)) | ||||
| Conjectural | de (wa) arō (で(は)あろう) [168] [169] [170] [171] ja(a) arō (じゃ(あ)あろう) [172] | darō (だろう) jarō (じゃろう) [138] | de (wa) arimashō (で(は)ありましょう) [173] [174] ja(a) arimashō (じゃ(あ)ありましょう) [175] | deshō (でしょう) | |
| de (wa) aru darō (で(は)あるだろう) [176] [177] ja(a) aru darō (じゃ(あ)あるだろう) [178] | de (wa) arimasu darō (で(は)ありますだろう) [179] ja(a) arimasu darō (じゃ(あ)ありますだろう) | ||||
| de (wa) aru de arō (で(は)あるであろう) [180] [181] ja(a) aru de arō (じゃ(あ)あるであろう) | |||||
| de (wa) aru deshō (で(は)あるでしょう) [182] [183] ja(a) aru deshō (じゃ(あ)あるでしょう) [184] | de (wa) arimasu deshō (で(は)ありますでしょう) [185] [186] ja(a) arimasu deshō (じゃ(あ)ありますでしょう) | ||||
| de (wa) aru de arimashō (で(は)あるでありましょう) [187] [188] ja(a) aru de arimashō (じゃ(あ)あるでありましょう) | |||||
| Imperative | de (wa) are (で(は)あれ) [189] [190] [191] [192] [193] [194] ja(a) are (じゃ(あ)あれ) | de (wa) arimase (で(は)ありませ) [195] ja(a) arimase (じゃ(あ)ありませ) | |||
Derived from aru and arimasu, the copulae can have all the forms that these verbs are capable of having. Certain affirmative conclusive and attributive forms have contracted, especially in speech, such as de aru → da/ja and de arimasu → desu; the negative forms remain uncontracted, meaning there is no such form as *daran or *desen. Furthermore, the perfective forms, だった (datta) and でした (deshita), are compatible with the ~tara conditional. [196]
The imperfective form (also known as the "non‑past", "plain form", "short form", "dictionary form" and the "attributive form") is broadly equivalent to the present and future tenses of English. In Japanese, the imperfective form is used as the headword or lemma. It is used to express actions that are assumed to continue into the future, habits or future intentions. [197]
| English | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|
| (Do you eat sushi?) Yes, I eat sushi. | (寿司を食べる?) (sushi o taberu?) うん、寿司を食べる (un, sushi o taberu) | assumption to continue action |
| I go shopping every weekend. | 毎週末買い物する (mai shūmatsu kaimono suru) | habit / reoccurring action |
| I will study tomorrow. | 明日勉強する (ashita benkyō suru) | future intention |
The imperfective form cannot be used to make a progressive continuous statement, such as in the English sentence "I am shopping". To do so, the verb must first be conjugated into its te form and attached to the いる (iru) auxiliary verb .
Certain ‑suru or ‑zuru verbs and their godan and ichidan equivalents are interchangeable (or at least sensitive to specifically what follows them) and even used in the same text, although it has been claimed that, at least for the conclusive/attributive form, the more classical/literary (文語, bungo)/western ‑zuru variants are more "formal" and "basically a written form", [198] compared to the more modern/colloquial (口語, kōgo)/eastern ‑jiru variants. [199] The ‑su variants are highly inconsistent across verbs, and even for highly "godan‑ized" verbs like aisuru (愛する), whose other forms are predominantly godan, the conclusive/attributive aisuru and conditional aisureba in particular are still preferred to the fully godan variants aisu and aiseba. [36] In some cases it is not clear whether aisu is godan or actually pseudo-classical, for example in aisu beki (愛すべき) where all ‑suru verbs can optionally lose the ru. In classical or pseudo-classical literature, aisu is more likely to be conclusive and aisuru is more likely to be attributive or nominalized.
The politeness auxiliary ‑masuru is characterized as "pseudo-literary" [200] or faux archaic. [201] It was used in parliamentary speech during the 20th century, but usage drastically declined into the 21st century. [202] Some examples include Wakayama ni orimasuru haha (和歌山に居りまする母; 'my mother who is in Wakayama'), Taku e de mo maitte iru yō ni itasō ka to zonjimasuru no de gozaimasu (宅へでも参っているように痛そうかと存じまするのでございます; 'I am wondering whether I should decide to come and stay perhaps at your house'), Sore ni gisei no tame o omotte mimasuru to, geshuku ni okimasu no wa ikaga de gozaimashō (それに犠牲の為を思って見ますると、下宿に置きますのはいかがでございましょう; 'And thinking of the victims' welfare, how about putting them in a boarding house?'). The conjugational similarity between ‑masu and suru suggests an etymological link. [203]
The sound sequence /Vi/, with /V/ being a vowel, is often colloquially and masculinely fused into a long vowel. Since all adjectival conclusive/attributive forms have this sound sequence, they are liable to such fusion. Most adjectives of this kind remain distinctly masculine, and their phonetic spellings are found in written dialog for masculine characters in fiction, such as nai → nē (ねえ・ねー; 'nonexistent'), urusai → urusē → ussē (うるせえ・うるせー・うっせえ・うっせー; 'noisy; pesky'), hayai → ha(y)ē (はええ・はえー; 'quick'), sugoi → sugē (すげえ・すげー; 'superb'), tsuyoi → tsu(y)ē (つええ・つえー; 'strong'), warui → warī (わりい・わりー; 'bad'), yasui → yashī (やしい・やしー; 'easy; cheap'), mazui → majī (まじい・まじー; 'unpalatable'), atsui → achī (あちい・あちー; 'thick; hot'), kayui → kaī (かいい・かいー; 'itchy'), etc. Non-masculine examples include yoi → (y)ē → ī (いい・いー; 'good'), [204] and kawayui → kawaī (かわいい・かわいー; 'adorable'). See Japanese phonology § Vowel fusion for further citations.
The classical conclusives nashi and yoshi in particular are now more of cliches rather than catch-all representatives of adjectives in general. Nashi is often used as a nominal suffix meaning "without", "‑less" or "‑free", as in satō nashi no jōzai (砂糖なしの錠剤; 'sugar-free tablet'). Yoshi is often used as an interjection meaning "Good!" or "Alright!". The classical onaji has evolved into an adjectival noun (onaji da/de aru/desu, onaji (na), etc), and despite being originally conclusive, it is now prevalently attributive. Other examples of classical conclusives for cliched, proverbial and elevated uses include Tenki wa yoshi, kaze wa nashi, buratsuku no ni motte koi no hi da (天気はよし、風はなし、ぶらつくのに持ってこいの日だ; transl. The weather's nice, there's no wind, it's the perfect day to stroll), Genkin fuyō jidai, chikashi de aru (現金不要時代、まさに近しである; transl. The cashless era is nigh), Eyasuki mono wa ushinaiyasushi (得やすきものは失いやすし; transl. Easy come, easy go), Kyū kābu Jiko ōshi (急カーブ 事故多し; transl. Sudden curve: Many accidents), [205] etc.
The classical attributive ending ‑ki, the ancestor of the modern attributive/conclusive ending ‑i, is still used in elevated cliches and titles for books and fictional characters, such as jinkaku naki shadan (人格無き社団; 'unincorporated association'), [206] Osorenaki Tansasha, Akiri (恐れなき探査者、アキリ; 'Akiri, Fearless Voyager'), [207] furuki yoki jidai (古き良き時代; 'the good old days'), [206] yoki Samariya‑bito/‑jin / hitsujikai ( 善きサマリヤ人・羊飼い; 'the good Samaritan / shepherd'), Utsukushiku Aoki Donau ( 美しく青きドナウ ; ' The Beautiful Blue Danube '), Aoki Me no Otome (青き眼の乙女; transl. Maiden with Eyes of Blue), [208] Akaki Ryū (赤き竜; transl. Crimson Dragon), [209] Atarashiki Mura ( 新しき村 ; lit. 'New Village'), Imawashiki Tsurīfōku (忌まわしきツリーフォーク; 'Ambominable Treefolk'), [210] etc.
The attributive ending ‑karu, a fusion of the infinitive ending ‑ku and the verb aru, is uncommon in modern Tokyo Japanese. It has been found in such constructions with ‑beki as tanoshikaru beki (楽しかるべき; transl. that ought/is supposed to be joyful; that is otherwise happy). [211] In Kyushu, ‑karu was reduced further to ‑ka, [212] and yoka is used instead of either yoi or yoshi. [213] [s]
The classical adjectival extenders beshi, gotoshi and maji are still used in elevated language. Their attributives retain the ‑ki ending as in beki, gotoki, majiki, although the ‑i ending as in bei, majii has historically and dialectally occurred. [214] [215] For beshi in particular, its attributive beki can be used conclusively in the phrase beki da/de aru/desu. For more examples, see #Imperfective: Grammatical compatibility below.
| Conclusive form | Attributive form | Interchangeable counterpart |
|---|---|---|
| Godan verbs | ||
| 結う(yuu, fasten) | ||
| 言う(yū, say) | ||
| 勝つ (katsu, win) | ||
| 狩る (karu, hunt) | ||
| 貸す (kasu, lend) | ||
| 愛す (aisu, love) | 愛する (aisuru) [216] [217] [218] [219] [220] [221] | |
| 達す (tassu, reach) | 達する (tassuru) | |
| 書く (kaku, write) | ||
| 嗅ぐ (kagu, smell) | ||
| 呼ぶ(yobu, call) | ||
| 読む(yomu, read) | ||
| 死ぬ (shinu, die) | ||
| Ichidan verbs | ||
| 射る (iru, shoot) | ||
| 達しる (tasshiru, reach) | 達する (tassuru) | |
| 察しる (sasshiru, guess) | 察する (sassuru) [222] | |
| 信じる (shinjiru, believe) | 信ずる (shinzuru) [223] [224] [225] [217] [226] [227] | |
| 進じる・進ぜる (shinjiru/shinzeru, give) | 進ずる (shinzuru, give) | |
| 得る (eru, get) | ||
| Irregular verbs | ||
| する (suru, do) | ||
| 愛する (aisuru, love) | 愛す (aisu) [216] [217] [218] [219] [220] [221] | |
| 達する (tassuru, reach) | 達す・達しる (tassu/tasshiru) | |
| 察する (sassuru, guess) | 察しる (sasshiru, guess) [222] | |
| 信ずる (shinzuru, believe) | 信じる (shinjiru) [223] [224] [225] [217] [226] [227] | |
| 進ずる (shinzuru, give) | 進ぜる・進じる (shinzeru/shinjiru) | |
| 来る (kuru, come) | ||
| Verbal auxiliaries | ||
| 〜ます(る) (‑masu(ru)) [228] [229] [230] [231] [232] [233] | ||
| Adjectives and adjectival auxiliaries | ||
| 無い (nai, be nonexistent) | ||
| 無し (nashi, be nonexistent) | 無き (naki, being nonexistent) [234] [235] | |
| 無かる (nakaru, being nonexistent) [236] [237] [89] [238] | ||
| 良い (ii/yoi, be good) | ||
| 良し(yoshi, be good) | 良き(yoki, being good) [239] | |
| 良かる(yokaru, being good) [240] [241] | ||
| 同じい (onajii, be the same) | ||
| 同じ (onaji, be the same) | 同じき (onajiki, being the same) [242] | |
| 同じかる (onajikaru, being the same) [243] | ||
| 可し (beshi, ought/have to) | 可き (beki, having to) | |
| 可かる (bekaru, having to) [244] | ||
| 可い (bei/bē, ought/have to) | ||
| 如し (gotoshi, be like) | 如き (gotoki, being like) | |
| 如かる (gotokaru, being like) [245] [246] [247] | ||
| まい (mai, probably not/let's not) [248] | ||
| まじ (maji, probably not/let's not) | まじき (majiki, not meant to) | |
| まじかる (majikaru, not meant to) | ||
| まじい (majii, probably not/let's not) | ||
| Special auxiliaries | ||
| 〜ん・〜ぬ (‑n(u), not) | ||
| 〜ず (‑zu, without) | 〜ざる (‑zaru, without) | |
The imperfective conclusive/attributive form can be followed by various extenders. [249]
Of these extenders, beshi, beki, beku, etc are capable of reviving classical conclusive forms such as the irregular su (す; 'do') and ku (来; 'come'), and the nidan (二段)u (得; 'get'), tabu (食ぶ; 'eat'), kazō (数ふ; 'count'), otsu (落つ; 'fall'), etc. These can be substituted with the modern irregular suru (する) and kuru (来る), and the ichidaneru (得る), taberu (食べる), kazoeru (数える), ochiru (落ちる), etc. With the classical irregular conclusive ari (あり; 'exist') and its derivatives, however, the attributive is used instead, as in aru beshi (あるべし; 'ought to be'), yokaru beshi (良かるべし; 'ought to be good'), etc rather than *ari beshi, *yokari beshi, etc, and such exceptions coincide with the modern godan conclusive aru of the same verbs. [250] [251] [204]
| Extender | English | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| な (na) | Don't be mad. | そう怒るなよ (Sō okoru na yo) | plain negative command |
| Being told not to look just makes you want to see even more. | 見るなと言われると余計見たくなるものだ (Miru na to iwareru to yokei mitaku naru mono da) | quoted negative command | |
| なかれ (nakare) | Never speak ill of others. | 人を誹謗するなかれ (Hito o hibō suru nakare) | same as na; more elevated |
| まい (mai) [t] | If this keeps up, it probably won't rain today. | この分なら今日は降るまい (Kono bun nara kyō wa furu mai) | negative tentative |
| I'd rather not tell you the rest. | その先はまあ話しますまい (Sono saki wa mā hanashimasu mai) | negative hortative | |
| Whether I go or not is up to me. | 行こうと行くまいと俺の勝手だ (Ikō to iku mai to ore no katte da) | ||
| まじき (majiki) | impermissible discriminatory conduct | 許すまじき差別行為(yurusu majiki sabetsu kōi) | that something ought not to, is not supposed to, must necessarily not, or is impossible to happen |
| Such conduct is unbecoming to a student. [u] | 学生にあるまじき行為だ (Gakusei ni aru majiki kōi da) | ||
| べし (beshi) | It must be a mistake. | 誤りなるべし (Ayamari naru beshi) | that something ought to, is supposed to, has necessarily to, or is possible to happen |
| Folks like those will surely go to hell. | さようの者どもは地獄に堕つべし (Sayō no monodomo wa jigoku ni otsu beshi) | ||
| a job that must be done | やるべき仕事(yaru beki shigoto) | ||
| I saw all I needed to see. | 見るべきものは見た (Miru beki mono wa mita) | ||
| available heat | 利用し得べき熱量 (riyō shiu beki netsuryō) | ||
| Word of its development had been passed from mouth to mouth, casting a gloom over the otherwise joyous family supper. | 処刑の模様は口から口へと伝えられ、楽しかるべき家族の食卓を暗くしていた。 [252] (Shokei no moyō wa kuchi kara kuchi e to tsutaerare, tanoshikaru beki kazoku no shokutaku o kuraku shite ita.) | ||
| […] Nicholas, who […] had spent that otherwise joyful day in inactivity, felt as though his chest tightened even more. | […]この楽しかるべき日を無為のうちにすごしてしまったニコライの胸は、なお一層締めつけられるような思いがした。 [253] ([…] kono tanoshikaru beki hi o mui no uchi ni sugoshite shimatta Nikorai no mune wa, nao issō shimetsukerareru yō na omoi ga shita.) | ||
| Children ought to care for their parents. | 子供は親を大切にす(る)べきだ (Kodomo wa oya o taisetsu ni su(ru) beki da) | ||
| You should teach your children what's wrong is wrong. | 子供には悪いことは悪いと教えるべきだ (Kodomo ni wa warui koto wa warui to oshieru beki da) | ||
| “To be, or not to be, that is the question. […]” | 「在るべきか、なかるべきか、それが問題だ。[…]」 [89] (“Aru beki ka, nakaru beki ka, sore ga mondai da. […]”) | ||
| The party started the preparation necessary to take back power in the next election. | その党は次の選挙で政権を奪還す(る)べく準備を開始した (Sono tō wa tsugi no senkyo de seiken o dakkan su(ru) beku junbi o kaishi shita) | ||
| Do this, if possible! | 為し得べくはこれを為せ (Nashiu beku wa kore o nase) | ||
| Get in touch as soon as possible. | なるべく早く連絡してくれ (Naru beku hayaku renraku shite kure) | ||
| べからず (bekarazu) | No smoking on school premises | 校内にて喫煙すべからず (Kōnai ni te kitsuen su bekarazu) | that something ought not to, is not supposed to, must necessarily not, or is impossible to happen |
| A word against his action was called for. [v] | 彼の行動に対して一言なかるべからずであった (Kare no kōdō hitokoto nakaru bekarazu de atta) | ||
| Yoshitsura was known as Sahara Jūrō, with an imposing stature, brains and brawn, and far too many exploits to count, […] [w] | 義連はいわゆる佐原十郞で、容貌魁偉、膽略あり、戦功挙げて数うべからず、[…] [254] (Yoshitsura wa iwayuru Sahara Jūrō de, yōbō kaii, tanryaku ari, senkō agete kazō bekarazu, […]) | ||
| the don'ts [x] | べからず集 (bekarazu shū) | ||
| There are things beyond human comprehension. [y] | 人智に理解し得べからざることがある (Jinchi ni rikai shiu bekarazaru koto ga aru) | ||
| an unpardonable crime | 許すべからざる犯罪(yurusu bekarazaru hanzai) |
The imperative form functions as firm instructions do in English. It is used to give orders to subordinates (such as within military ranks, or towards pet animals) and to give direct instructions within intimate relationships (for example, within family or close friends). When directed towards a collective rather than an individual, the imperative form is used for mandatory action or motivational speech. [255] The imperative form is also used in reported speech .
| English | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|
| "Class started! Sit down, you dogs!" | "Jugyō o hajimeru ze. Suware! Inudomo!" (「授業を始めるぜ。座れ! 犬ども!」 [256] ) | plain command |
| ‘Fly, you fools!’ he cried, and was gone. | “Nigero, bakamonodomo!” to, kare wa sakende, mienaku narimashita. (「逃げろ、ばか者ども!」と、かれは叫んで、見えなくなりました。 [257] ) | |
| Fly, you fools! | Yuke, bakamono! (行け、馬鹿者! [258] ) | |
| “O wind, blow, rage! Blow!” | “Kaze yo, fuke, areyo! Fuke yo!”―― (「風よ、吹け、荒れよ! 吹けよ!」―― [259] ) | |
| "Wreck that mountain castle! Make it rain! Make the wind blow!" | "Ano yama no shiro o kuzushite shimae! Ame yo fure. Kaze yo fuke." (「あの山の城をくずしてしまへ! 雨よ降れ。風よ吹け。」 [260] ) | |
| All you bastards that crushed her‼ Die, die, just die‼ Bomba‼ Kill them‼ All of them‼ | Sensei o oshitsubushita yatsura‼ Minna shine Shine Shinjimaeh Bonba‼ Yatsura o koroseh Hitori nokorazu korosu n da‼ (先生をおしつぶしたやつら‼みんな死ね 死ね 死んじまえっ ボンバ‼やつらを殺せっ ひとリのこらず殺すんだ‼ [261] ) | |
| Drop dead, Kenneth! You die too, Doctor‼ | Kenesu shine Sensei mo shinjae‼ (ケネス死ね 先生も死んじゃえ‼ [262] ) | |
| Don’t make fun of gossip shows. Don’t jeer at the “voyeur’s spirit”. | Waido shō o baka ni suru nakare. “Yajiuma seishin” o warau nakare, de aru. (ワイドショーをバカにするなかれ。「やじうま精神」を笑うなかれ、である。 [263] ) | |
| Signage:STOP | tomare (止まれ) | instructional command |
| Signage:USE SAFETY BELT | anzentai o shiyō seyo (安全帯を使用せよ) | |
| "Look at the person's outside," right? That is, their outer part, what they do. | Sono hito no sotogawa o miyo to, ne? Gaibu oyobi, kōdō desu ne. (その人の外側を視よと、ね?外部及び、行動ですよね。 [264] ) | |
| Read the following passage and answer the questions. | Tsugi no bun o yonde toi ni kotaeyo. (次の文を読んで問いに答えよ。 [265] ) | |
| See Section 23.2 | Dai nijū santen ni setsu o sanshō seyo / miyo (第 23.2 節を参照せよ・見よ) | |
| […] ⑦ Thou shalt not engage in road rage. ⑧ Show proper decorum to thy fellow drivers. […] | […] ⑦ Okoru nakare. ⑧ Untensha dōshi reigi tadashiku are. […] ([…]⑦怒るなかれ.⑧運転者同士礼義正しくあれ.[…] [266] ) | |
| New PR member, do your best! | Kōhō shin-menbā ganbare! (広報新メンバー頑張れ! [267] ) | motivational command |
| I won't let you die‼………… Live, for me‼ | Shinu koto wa yurusan‼………… Ore no tame ni ikiro‼ (死ぬことは許さん‼…………俺のために生きろ‼ [268] ) | |
| Stay hungry! Stay foolish! [z] | Hangurī de are! Oroka de are! (ハングリーであれ!愚かであれ!) | |
| If you're strong, stay strong till the end! If you're weak, stay weak till the end! | Tsuyokereba, aku made mo tsuyoku are! Yowakereba, aku made mo yowaku are! (强ければ、あくまでも强くあれ! 弱ければ、飽くまでも弱くあれ! [269] ) | |
| […] Be just! Be strong! Be good! Show strength! | […] Tadashikare Tsuyokare Yokare Chikara are ([…]正しかれ 強かれ 善かれ 力あれ [270] ) | |
| Sometimes in French as « Sois belle, sois triste », sometimes just as plain as “Be beautiful, be sad”. | Aru toki wa Furansu-go de, « Sois belle, Sois triste » to, ――mata aru toki wa onaji kotoba o “Utsukushikare, kanashikare” to.―― (或る時はフランス語で、〈Sois belle, Sois triste〉と、――又或る時は同じ言葉を「美しかれ、悲しかれ」と。―― [271] ) | |
| Let it rain‼ […] Rain, storm……‼ One more time………… Keep pouring for just one more time, please‼ | Ame yo fure‼ […] Ame yo arashi yo……‼ Mō ichido………… Semete mō ichido furitsuzuite okure‼ (雨よ降れ‼[…]雨よ 嵐よ……‼もう一度…………せめてもう一度降り続いておくれ‼ [272] ) | literary wish |
| God said, "Let there be a great void between the waters, let it separate water from water." | Kami wa iwareta. "Mizu no naka ni ōzora are. Mizu to mizu o wakeyo." (神は言われた。「水の中に大空あれ。水と水を分けよ。」 [273] ) | |
| Peace, peace be unto thee. Peace be unto those who help thee. | Heian are, anata ni heian are. Anata o tasukeru mono ni heian are. (平安あれ、あなたに平安あれ。 あなたを助ける者に平安あれ。 [274] ) | |
| A plaything let woman be, pure and fine like the precious stone, illumined with the virtues of a world not yet come. [275] | Josei wa omocha de are, kiyoku utsukushiku are. Mada sonzai shinai sekai no toku ni yotte terasareta hōseki ni hitoshiku are! (女性はおもちゃであれ、清く美しくあれ。まだ存在しない世界の徳によって照らされた宝石にひとしくあれ! [276] ) | |
| May the victims' souls rest in eternal peace. | Giseisha no mitama yo, eikyū ni yasukare. (犠牲者の御霊よ、永久に安かれ。 [277] ) | |
| Lest Darkness Fall ; lit. 'Darkness, Don't Fall' | Yami yo ochiru nakare (闇よ落ちるなかれ) | |
| believe it or not; would you believe it; lo and behold; wait for it; get this; lit. 'don't be surprised' | odoroku nakare (驚くなかれ [206] ) | |
| Direct speech: "Please begin." I was told to begin. | chokusetsu wahō: "hajimete kudasai" (直接話法:「始めて下さい」) hajimero to iwareta (始めろと言われた) | quoted command |
| Sakurauchi had already ordered that anyone who resisted, except Kumematsu, be put to the sword. | Sakurauchi wa senkoku, Kumematsu igai wa, hamukaeba zansatsu seyo to meijite ita. (桜内は先刻、粂松以外は、刃向かえば斬殺せよと命じていた。 [278] ) | |
| bedtime bell, lit. 'bell that tells you to go to bed' | neyo to no kane (寝よとの鐘 [279] ) | |
| They were poised to form the Japan Federation of Managers' Associations, a national organization that would push employers' functions to the forefront with the slogan "Managers, be strong and just!", but […] | Karera wa "Keieisha yo, tsuyoku tadashikare!" to shiyōsha kinō o zenmen ni oshidashita zenkokuteki soshiki de aru Nippon Keieisha Dantai Renmei no kessei o kishite ita ga, […] (彼らは「経営者よ、強く正しかれ!」と使用者機能を前面に押し出した全国的組織である日本経営者団体連盟の結成を期していたが、[…] [280] ) | |
| She was told it was ladylike to be beautiful, so she dressed up. | Shukujo taru mono, utsukushiku are to iwarete kikazari. (淑女たるもの、美しくあれと言われて着飾り。 [281] ) | quoted wish |
| It was a longstanding convention that women must be beautiful. | Onna yo, utsukushikare to no mukashi no hito no shikitari de atta. (女よ、美しかれとの昔の人のしきたりであつた。 [282] ) | |
| The Emperor is a key figure who spiritually ensures that our land and people be at peace. | Tennō wa, kuni yasukare, tami yasukare to inoru gosonzai desu. (天皇は、国安かれ、民安かれと祈る御存在です。 [283] ) | |
| It also means to wish your partner as well as you would wish yourself. | Mata, jibun o yokare to omou no to onaji ōkisa de aite o yokare to negau kokoro de aru. (また、自分を良かれと思うのと同じ大きさで相手を良かれと願う心である。 [284] ) | |
| The way of life of someone who has gone all the way through with anything, be it good or bad, is beautiful. | Yoi ni shiro, warui ni shiro, nani ka o kanryō shita ningen no ikikata wa, utsukushii. (善いにしろ、惡いにしろ、何かを完了した人間の活き方は、美しい。 [269] ) | concession |
| Whether it's the "ability to not miss the moment nature smiles" or "serendipity", I'd say a state of heightened sensitivity when it happens is essential. | Kono "shizen ga hohoemu toki o minogasanai chikara" ni seyo, "serendipiti" ni seyo, sono toki no kansei ga takamatte iru to yū jōtai ga jūyō da to omotte imasu. (この「自然が微笑むときを見逃さない力」にせよ、「セレンディピティ」にせよ、その時の感性が高まっているという状態が重要だと思っています。 [285] ) | |
| in any event/case; anyway | izure ni shiro/seyo (いずれにしろ・せよ) | |
| Obviously, you're free to pamper and dote on your own pet however you want to, whether it's a dog, a cat or any other animal. | Mochiron, inu de are neko de are sono ta no dōbutsu de are, jibun no petto o muyami yatara ni amayakashite kawaigaru no wa, sono hito no jiyū de aru. (もちろん、犬であれ猫であれその他の動物であれ、自分のペットをむやみやたらに甘やかしてかわいがるのは、その人の自由である。 [286] ) | |
| […] knowing full well that whatever they are, be they the Vietnam War or a homicide, won’t just come flying out at you from that convex glass screen that is as warm as a hand warmer if you touch it a little bit, […] | […] soshite Betonamu Sensō de gozare, hitogoroshi de gozare, ano chotto te o fureru to kairo hodo ni atsui totsumen garasu yori kochira e wa, zettai ni tobidashite kuru koto wa nai to shitte shimaeba, […] ([…]そしてベトナム戰爭でござれ、人殺しでござれ、あのちよつと手を觸れると懷爐ほどに熱い凸面ガラスよりこちらへは、絕對に飛び出してくることはないと知つてしまへば、[…] [287] ) | |
| His elder brothers leave their village with their circles for new settlements, be they far or near. | Anitachi wa nakamatachi to issho ni, tōkare chikakare, mura o hanarete arata na tochi de seikatsu o suru. (兄たちは仲間たちと一緒に,遠かれ近かれ,村を離れて新たな土地で生活をする。 [288] ) | |
| Come rain or wind, as Beethoven roamed the outskirts of Vienna without a care about the weather, […] | Ame yo fure, kaze mo fuke, Wīn no kōgai o, otenki kamawazu ni hōkō shita Bētōven wa, […] (雨よ降れ、風も吹け、ウィーンの郊外を、お天氣構はずに彷徨したベートーヴェンは、[…] [289] ) |
However, the imperative form is perceived as confrontational or aggressive when used for commands; instead, it is more common to use the te form (with or without the please do (〜下さい, ‑kudasai) suffix), or the conjunctive form's polite imperative suffix, ‑nasai (〜なさい). [255]
The honorific godan verbs are originally おっしゃれ (osshare), 下され (kudasare), 為され (nasare), 御座れ (gozare), just like other godan/四段(yodan) verbs, though *いらっしゃれ (irasshare) was not found. These forms are obsolescent and only used for special effect, such as in advertisements. [290] Historically, honorific verbs were 二段 (nidan) rather than godan/yodan, and western imperative forms like いらせられよ (iraserareyo; → irasshai), 仰せられよ (ōserareyo; → osshai), 下されよ・下されい (kudasareyo/kudasarei; → kudasai), 為されよ (nasareyo; → nasai) are attested. From these nidan verbs, apart from the godan offshoots, there still exist ichidan equivalents. Some rural eastern dialects still have 為さろ (nasaro). [291] [292]
With non-godan verbs, there are two imperative forms, one ending in ‑ro (〜ろ) and one in ‑yo (〜よ). ‑Ro has been characterized as used for speech, while ‑yo as used for writing. [293] In actuality, this corresponds to a difference between modern Japanese (口語, kōgo; lit. 'oral language') based on the eastern Tokyo Japanese dialect, [aa] and Classical Japanese (文語, bungo; lit. 'literary language'), various literary stages of premodern Japanese based on western dialects. [295] [296] [297] Both ‑ro and ‑yo were interjectional particles in Old Japanese, [298] [ab] [299] [300] and were sometimes optional, sometimes obligatory with non-godan verbs. ‑Yo became obligatory with non-godan verbs toward Early Middle Japanese, and its reduced variant ‑i arose during Late Middle Japanese. [301] [ac] Historically and dialectically, mi-yo/mi-i/mi-ro/mi (見よ・見い・見ろ・見; 'look!'), oki-yo/oki-i/oki-ro/oki (起きよ・起きい・起きろ・起き; 'get up!'), ke-yo/ke-i/ke-ro/ke (蹴よ・蹴い・蹴ろ・蹴; 'kick!'), [ad] ake-yo/ake-i/ake-ro/ake (開けよ・開けい・開けろ・開け; 'open!') (all ichidan), se-yo/shi-yo/se-i/shi-i/se-ro/shi-ro/se/shi (せよ・しよ・せい・しい・せろ・しろ・せ
し; suru, 'do!') and ko-yo/ki-yo/ko-i/ki-i/ko-ro/ki-ro/ko/ki (来よ・来い・来ろ・来; kuru, 'come!') were all possible, [302] [303] [304] with ‑yo and ‑i being the western forms, and ‑ro being the eastern form. [305] [306] [307] [308] The division between western ‑yo/‑i and eastern ‑ro still exists today. [309] [310] According to a 1991 survey:
In modern Tokyo Japanese (eastern, specifically Yamanote Japanese), ‑yo largely displaced ‑ro in non-imperative contexts. ‑Yo can be optionally added to modern imperative forms with no historical ‑yo, as in kake yo (書けよ; 'write!'), miro yo (見ろよ), shiro yo (しろよ), koi yo (来いよ); ‑ro can no longer be used this way, although historically it used to occasionally be, as with yodan imperatives like oke ro (置けろ; 'put!') or yome ro (読めろ; 'read!'). [300] Although ‑yo imperative forms already contain ‑yo and are primarily "written", it is not impossible for them to be followed by another colloquial ‑yo, as in Kura o akeyo yo (倉を開けよよ; 'Open the storehouse, would you?') [319] or Mō neyo yo (もう寝よよ; 'Just sleep already, would you?'). [320] Apart from the difference between eastern and western dialects, there exists a register difference ‑yo and ‑ro within standard Japanese. [308] ‑Yo, as the more prestigious classical form of the former western capitals (Nara, Kyoto and Osaka), is still used in formal instructions, such as on test forms, [321] in academic questions, [322] on signage, in formal or polite quoted commands [294] or concessive clauses (spoken [323] [324] [325] [326] or written [327] [328] [329] ), etc. On the other hand, ‑ro, as the more colloquially common form, has a connotation of rudeness. [308] [ae]
Despite originally having the same conjugation as suru, [330] the imperative form of ‑masu(ru) is not *‑mashiro. However, there used to be ‑masei, with ‑i being the western reduced form of ‑yo. [331] ‑Mase yo exists, though not mandatorily like seyo, but only as ‑mase optionally followed by ‑yo. ‑Mashi is a later variant, characteristic of Shitamachi. [200] It used to be common during the Meiji era, but now has a connotation of unrefined speech. ‑Mase and ‑mashi are meant to be used with honorific verbs, as in irasshaimase (いらっしゃいませ), nasaimase (為さいませ), asobashimase (遊ばしませ), meshiagarimase (召し上がりませ), etc, and not with ordinary verbs like *kakimase (書きませ) or *arukimase (歩きませ). [201]
Are and de (wa) are have limited use in formal contexts, for example Kami mo shōran are (神も照覧あれ; 'may God be my witness'), [294] hikari are ( 光あれ ; ' let there be light '), Ito takaki tokoro ni wa eikō, Kami ni are, chi ni wa heiwa, mikokoro ni kanau hito ni are. (いと高きところには栄光、神にあれ、地には平和、御心に適う人にあれ。; 'In the highest realm, glory be unto God, on earth, peace be unto those who earn his grace.'), [332] itsumo Kami ni shitagatte are. (いつも神に従ってあれ。; 'always be obedient to God.'), [333] shōjiki de are (正直であれ; 'be honest'). [294] De (wa) are also has a concessive use, as in Riyū wa nan de are, bōryoku wa yoku nai yo. (理由は何であれ,暴力はよくないよ。; 'No matter the reason, violence is not good.'), [334] Nan no heya de are, mō koko ni tomete morau hoka wa nai (何の部屋であれ、もうここに泊めてもらうほかはない; 'Whatever the room may be, we have no choice but to stay here.'). [335] This has been linked to a probable contraction from the identically sounding conditional base, de are, preceding the concessive particle ‑do, as in de aredo. [335] However, unambiguously imperative bases in ni seyo and ni shiro also have concessive uses, as in Sanka suru ni seyo, shinai ni seyo, toriaezu renraku o kudasai. (参加するにせよ,しないにせよ,とりあえず連絡を下さい。; 'Whether you partake or not, please get in touch soon.') and Soba ni shiro, udon ni shiro, menrui nara nan de mo ii n da. (そばにしろ,うどんにしろ,麺類なら何でもいいんだ。; 'Soba, udon, whatever, any kind of noodles will do.') [334]
Unlike are, adjectival imperative forms derived from fusions with it (‑ku are → ‑kare), seem to be used mostly for concession, as in ōkare sukunakare (多かれ少なかれ; 'be there more or less'), takakare yasukare (高かれ安かれ; 'be it expensive or cheap'), tsuyokare yowakare (強かれ弱かれ; 'be it strong or weak'), osokare hayakare (遅かれ早かれ; 'be it later or sooner'), yokare ashikare (良かれ悪しかれ; 'be it good or bad'), [336] tōkare chikakare (遠かれ近かれ; 'be it far or near'), etc and occasionally for elevated wishes, as in Yasukare (安かれ; transl. May you be at peace) [206] [af] or Sachi ōkare (幸多かれ; transl. Best of luck to you). [338] The exceptional nakare ("let there not be") expresses elevated and/or motivational negative commands or wishes, as in Ogoru nakare! Jimintō (驕るなかれ!自民党; transl. Do not be prideful! O, Liberal Democratic Party), Taka ga benpi to yū nakare (高が便秘と言うなかれ; transl. Don't say it's just constipation), etc. The phrase koto nakare (事なかれ; lit. 'let there be no incident') is used in koto nakare shugi (事なかれ主義; 'principle of not rocking the boat'). [206] Nakare behaves syntactically like the negative imperative particle na, which is similarly placed after an attributive/conclusive verb, thus ogoru na (驕るな; 'don't be prideful'), yū na (言うな; 'don't say'), etc. [339] Unfused ‑ku are forms have also been found, as in kiyoku are (清くあれ; 'be pure!'). [340]
| Dictionary form | Pattern [2] | Imperative form | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Godan verbs | ||||
| 結う(yuu, fasten) | 結う | 結え | 結え(yue, fasten!/may one fasten) | |
| 言う(yū, say) | ゆう | いえ | 言え (ie, say!/may one say) | |
| 勝つ (katsu, win) | 勝つ | 勝て | 勝て (kate, win!/may one win) | |
| 狩る (karu, hunt) | 狩る | 狩れ | 狩れ (kare, hunt!/may one hunt) | |
| 有る (aru, exist) | 有る | 有れ | 有れ (are, may there be) | |
| 貸す (kasu, lend) | 貸す | 貸せ | 貸せ (kase, lend!/may one lend) | |
| 愛す (aisu, love) | 愛す | 愛せ | 愛せ (aise, love!/may one love) | |
| 達す (tassu, reach) | 達す | 達せ | 達せ (tasse, reach!/may one reach) | |
| 書く (kaku, write) | 書く | 書け | 書け (kake, write!/may one write) | |
| 嗅ぐ (kagu, smell) | 嗅ぐ | 嗅げ | 嗅げ (kage, smell!/may one smell) | |
| 呼ぶ(yobu, call) | 呼ぶ | 呼べ | 呼べ(yobe, call!/may one call) | |
| 読む(yomu, read) | 読む | 読め | 読め(yome, read!/may one read) | |
| 死ぬ (shinu, die) | 死ぬ | 死ね | 死ね (shine, die!/may one die) | |
| Honorific godan verbs | ||||
| 御座る (gozaru, exist) | 御座る | 御座い 御座れ | 御座い [341] ・御座れ [342] (gozai/gozare, come!/may one come/may there be) [ag] | |
| 下さる (kudasaru, give) | 下さる | 下さい 下され | 下さい・下され (kudasai/kudasare, give!/may one give) [344] [345] | |
| Ichidan verbs | ||||
| 射る (iru, shoot) | 射る | 射 | ろ よ | 射ろ・射よ (iro/iyo, shoot!/may one shoot) |
| 達しる (tasshiru, reach) | 達しる | 達し | ろ | 達しろ (tasshiro, reach!/may one reach) |
| 達し 達せ | よ | 達しよ・達せよ (tasshiyo/tasseyo, reach!/may one reach) | ||
| 察しる (sasshiru, guess) | 察しる | 察し | ろ | 察しろ (sasshiro, guess!/may one guess) [346] |
| 察し 察せ | よ | 察しよ [347] ・察せよ [348] (sasshiyo/sasseyo, guess!/may one guess) | ||
| 信じる (shinjiru, believe) | 信じる | 信じ | ろ | 信じろ (shinjiro, believe!/may one believe) [349] [350] |
| 信じ 信ぜ | よ | 信じよ [349] [351] [352] [353] [354] [355] [356] ・信ぜよ [357] [358] [359] [360] [361] [362] (shinjiyo/shinzeyo, believe!/may one believe) | ||
| 進じる (shinjiru, give) | 進じる | 進じ | ろ | 進じろ (shinjiro, give!/may one give) |
| 進じ 進ぜ | よ | 進じよ・進ぜよ (shinjiyo/shinzeyo, give!/may one give) | ||
| 進ぜる (shinzeru, give) | 進ぜる | 進ぜ | ろ よ | 進ぜろ [363] [364] [365] ・進ぜよ [363] [366] (shinzero/shinzeyo, give!/may one give) |
| 得る (eru, get) | 得る | 得 | ろ よ | 得ろ・得よ (ero/eyo, get!/may one get) |
| Irregular ichidan verbs | ||||
| 呉れる (kureru, give) | 呉れる | 呉れ | (ろ) | 呉れ(ろ) (kure(ro), give!/may one give) [ah] [370] [371] [372] [373] [374] [375] [376] [377] [272] |
| Irregular verbs | ||||
| する (suru, do) | する | し | ろ | しろ (shiro, do!/may one do) |
| せ | よ | せよ (seyo, do!/may one do) | ||
| 勉強する (benkyō suru, study) | 勉強する | 勉強し | ろ | 勉強しろ (benkyō shiro, study!/may one study) |
| 勉強せ | よ | 勉強せよ (benkyō seyo, study!/may one study) | ||
| 愛する (suru, love) | 愛する | 愛せ | 愛せ (aise, love!/may one love) [378] | |
| 愛し | ろ | 愛しろ (aishiro, love!/may one love) [379] | ||
| 愛せ | よ | 愛せよ (aiseyo, love!/may one love) [380] | ||
| 達する (tassuru, reach) | 達する | 達せ | 達せ (tasse, reach!/may one reach) | |
| 達し | ろ | 達しろ (tasshiro, reach!/may one reach) [381] | ||
| 達せ 達し | よ | 達せよ [382] ・達しよ (tasseyo/tasshiyo, reach!/may one reach) | ||
| 察する (sassuru, guess) | 察する | 察し | ろ | 察しろ (sasshiro, guess!/may one guess) [383] |
| 察せ 察し | よ | 察せよ・察しよ (sasseyo/sasshiyo, guess!/may one guess) | ||
| 信ずる (shinzuru, believe) | 信ずる | 信じ | ろ | 信じろ (shinjiro, believe!/may one believe) [384] |
| 信ぜ 信じ | よ | 信ぜよ [349] [385] [386] ・信じよ [387] [388] (shinzeyo/shinjiyo, believe!/may one believe) | ||
| 進ずる (shinzuru, give) | 進ずる | 進じ 進ぜ | ろ よ | 進じろ・進ぜろ [364] ・進ぜよ・進じよ (shinjiro/shinzero/shinzeyo/shinjiyo, give!/may one give) |
| 来る (kuru, come) | くる | こ | い | 来い (koi, come!/may one come) |
| Verbal auxiliaries | ||||
| 〜ます(る) (‑masu(ru)) | ます(る) | ませ まし | 〜ませ・〜まし (‑mase/‑mashi) [389] [229] | |
| Adjectives and adjectival auxiliaries | ||||
| 無い (nai, be nonexistent) | 無い | 無かれ | 無かれ・勿れ (nakare, don't!/may there not be) [390] [391] [392] | |
| 無く | あれ | 無くあれ (naku are, don't!/may there not be) [393] [394] | ||
| 良い (ii/yoi, be good) | いい よい | よかれ | 良かれ(yokare, be good!/may one be good) | |
| よく | あれ | 良くあれ(yoku are, be good!/may one be good) [189] [395] [396] | ||
The conditional form (also known as the "hypothetical form", "provisional form" and the "provisional conditional eba form") is broadly equivalent to the English conditionals "if..." or "when...". It describes a condition that provides a specific result, with emphasis on the condition. [397] The conditional form is used to describe hypothetical scenarios or general truths. [398]
| English | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|
| If you see it, you'll understand. | 見れば分かる (mireba wakaru) | hypothetical |
| When you multiply 3 by 4, it becomes 12. | 3に4を掛ければ12になる (san ni yon o kakereba jūni ni naru) | general truths |
The conditional form is created by using the kateikei base, followed by a conditional particle, usually the hypothetical/provisional ba (ば), and occasionally with the elevated concessive do (mo) (ど(も)).
The ‑eba ending can be colloquially reduced to ‑ya(a), where the consonant b is so weakened to the point complete omission, as in ieba → *iewa → iya(a) (言えば; 'provided that one says'), ikeba → *ikewa → ikya(a) (行けば; 'provided that one goes'), mireba → *mirewa → mirya(a) (見れば; 'provided that one looks'), etc. In cases like mateba → *matewa → matya(a) (待てば; 'provided that one waits'), hanaseba → *hanasewa → hanasya(a) (話せば; 'provided that one speaks'), etc, the consonants ty and sy may be used rather than ch and sh. [399] The adjectival ending ‑kereba → ‑kerya(a) in particular can be further reduced to ‑kya(a), as in akakereba → *akakerewa → akakerya(a) → akakya(a) (赤ければ; 'provided that one's red'). In western dialects where ‑n is used instead of ‑nai, there are ‑nkerya(a) and ‑nkya(a) (from ‑nkereba), and ‑nya (from ‑neba). [400] These colloquial reductions are analogous to how ‑te wa/‑de wa are reduced to ‑tya(a)/‑dya(a), ‑te aru/‑de aru/‑te yaru/‑de yaru to ‑ty(a)aru/‑dy(a)aru, de wa to dya(a) to ja(a), and de atte to dy(a)atte to j(a)atte, etc, although some of these reductions may be more dialectal than the others. [401]
| Dictionary form | Pattern [2] | Conditional form | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Godan verbs | ||||
| 結う(yuu, fasten) | 結う | 結え | ば | 結えば(yueba, provided that one fastens) |
| 言う(yū, say) | ゆう | いえ | ば | 言えば (ieba, provided that one says) |
| 勝つ (katsu, win) | 勝つ | 勝て | ば | 勝てば (kateba, provided that one wins) |
| 狩る (karu, hunt) | 狩る | 狩れ | ば | 狩れば (kareba, provided that one hunts) |
| 貸す (kasu, lend) | 貸す | 貸せ | ば | 貸せば (kaseba, provided that one lends) |
| 愛す (aisu, love) | 愛す | 愛せ | ば | 愛せば (aiseba, provided that one loves) [217] |
| 達す (tassu, reach) | 達す | 達せ | ば | 達せば (tasseba, provided that one reaches) [402] |
| 書く (kaku, write) | 書く | 書け | ば | 書けば (kakeba, provided that one writes) |
| 嗅ぐ (kagu, smell) | 嗅ぐ | 嗅げ | ば | 嗅げば (kageba, provided that one smells) |
| 呼ぶ(yobu, call) | 呼ぶ | 呼べ | ば | 呼べば(yobeba, provided that one calls) |
| 読む(yomu, read) | 読む | 読め | ば | 読めば(yomeba, provided that one reads) |
| 死ぬ (shinu, die) | 死ぬ | 死ね | ば | 死ねば (shineba, provided that one dies) |
| Ichidan verbs | ||||
| 射る (iru, shoot) | 射る | 射れ | ば | 射れば (ireba, provided that one shoots) |
| 達しる (tasshiru, reach) | 達しる | 達しれ 達すれ | ば | 達しれば (tasshireba, provided that one reaches) |
| 察しる (sasshiru, guess) | 察しる | 察しれ 察すれ | ば | 察しれば・察すれば (sasshireba/sassureba, provided that one guesss) |
| 信じる (shinjiru, believe) | 信じる | 信じれ 信ずれ | ば | 信じれば [403] [404] [405] ・信ずれば [406] [407] [408] (shinjireba/shinzureba, provided that one believes) |
| 進じる (shinjiru, give) | 進じる | 進じれ 進ずれ | ば | 進じれば・進ずれば (shinjireba/shinzureba, provided that one gives) |
| 進ぜる (shinzeru, give) | 進ぜる | 進ぜれ 進ずれ | ば | 進ぜれば [409] ・進ずれば [410] (shinzereba/shinzureba, provided that one gives) |
| 得る (eru, get) | 得る | 得れ | ば | 得れば (ereba, provided that one gets) |
| Irregular verbs | ||||
| する (suru, do) | する | すれ | ば | すれば (sureba, provided that one does) |
| 勉強する (benkyō suru, study) | 勉強する | 勉強すれ | ば | 勉強すれば (benkyō sureba, provided that one studies) |
| 愛する (aisuru, love) | 愛する | 愛すれ 愛せ | ば | 愛すれば [411] [412] ・愛せば [413] [217] [414] (aisureba/aiseba, provided that one loves) |
| 達する (tassuru, reach) | 達する | 達すれ 達せ 達しれ | ば | 達すれば [415] [416] ・達せば [417] [418] ・達しれば [419] (tassureba/tasseba/tasshireba, provided that one reaches) |
| 察する (sassuru, guess) | 察する | 察すれ 察しれ | ば | 察すれば・察しれば (sassureba/sasshireba, provided that one guesss) |
| 信ずる (shinzuru, believe) | 信ずる | 信ずれ 信じれ | ば | 信ずれば [420] [421] [422] [423] ・信じれば [424] [425] [426] [427] (shinzureba/shinjireba, provided that one believes) |
| 進ずる (shinzuru, give) | 進ずる | 進ずれ 進ぜれ 進じれ | ば | 進ずれば・進ぜれば・進じれば (shinzureba/shinzereba/shinjireba, provided that one gives) |
| 来る (kuru, come) | 来る | 来れ | ば | 来れば (kureba, provided that one comes) |
| Verbal auxiliaries | ||||
| 〜ます(る) (‑masu(ru)) | ます(る) | ますれ ませ | ば | 〜ますれば [428] [429] [430] ・〜ませば [431] (‑masureba/‑maseba) [432] [433] [ai] |
| 〜た・〜だ (‑ta/‑da, were/did) | た だ | た だ | ら(ば) | 〜たら(ば)・〜だら(ば) (‑tara(ba)/‑dara(ba), when one were/did) |
| Adjectives and adjectival auxiliaries | ||||
| 無い (nai, be nonexistent) | 無い | 無けれ | ば | 無ければ (nakereba, provided that one is nonexistent) |
| 良い (ii/yoi, be good) | いい よい | よけれ | ば | 良ければ(yokereba, provided that one is good) |
| Special auxiliaries | ||||
| 〜ん・〜ぬ (‑n(u), not) | ん ぬ | ね | ば | 〜ねば (‑neba, if not) [aj] [438] |
| 〜ず (‑z(u), without) [439] | ず | ざれ | ば | 〜ざれば (‑zareba, if not) |
| ず | (ん)ば | 〜ず(ん)ば (‑zu(n)ba, if not) | ||
In classical Japanese, there was a distinction between the provisionalizenkei (已然形) base, which expresses a prerequisite condition ("provided that one is/does"), and the hypotheticalmizenkei (未然形) base, which expresses a contingent condition ("if one happens to be/do"). Furthermore, when these constructions are used in perfect clauses, they express temporal conditions ("when/because one had been/done"). [440] Modern Japanese replaced the classical hypothetical base with the classical perfect hypothetical (which is dubbed the conditional by Martin (2004 :564–566)), although the classical hypothetical lingers on in cliched phrases. The only exception is nara(ba), which became provisional. In the following table, the examples are given for kaku (書く; 'write'), suru (する; 'do'), da/de aru (だ・である; 'be') and yoi (良い; 'be good').
The idiom tatoeba (例えば; lit. 'if one happens to make a simile ', 'for example') was the hypothetical form of the nidan verb tatō (例ふ; 'to make a simile'). [441] The phrase sayō nara (左様なら; 'farewell') came from an archaic hypothetical phrase that literally meant "if it happens to be like that". [442] [443] [444]
| Classical | Modern | Gloss | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Without wa | With wa | Without wa | With wa | ||||
| Prerequisite condition | Imperfect provisional | kakeba | kaki wa sureba | Imperfect provisional | kakeba kaku nara(ba) | kaki wa sureba | "provided that one writes" |
| kakaneba kakazareba | kaki wa seneba kaki wa sezareba | kakanakereba kakanai nara(ba) | kaki wa shinakereba | "provided that one doesn't write" | |||
| sureba | shi wa sureba | sureba suru nara(ba) | shi wa sureba | "provided that one does" | |||
| seneba sezareba | shi wa seneba shi wa sezareba | shinakereba shinai nara(ba) | shi wa shinakereba | "provided that one doesn't do" | |||
| nareba | ni wa areba | de areba (de aru) nara(ba) | de wa areba | "provided that one is" | |||
| naraneba narazareba | ni wa araneba ni wa arazareba | de nakereba de nai nara(ba) | de wa nakereba | "provided that one isn't" | |||
| yokereba | yoku wa areba | yokereba yoi nara(ba) | yoku wa areba | "provided that one is good" | |||
| yokarazareba | yoku wa arazareba | yoku nakereba yoku nai nara(ba) | yoku wa nakereba | "provided that one isn't good" | |||
| Contingent condition Imperfect temporal condition | Imperfect hypothetical | kakaba | kaki wa seba | Perfect hypothetical | kaitara(ba) kaita nara(ba) | kaki wa shitara(ba) | "if one happens to write" "when one writes" |
| kakazu(n)ba | kaki wa sezu(n)ba | kakanakattara(ba) kakanakatta nara(ba) | kaki wa shinakattara(ba) | "if one doesn't happen to write" "when one doesn't write" | |||
| seba | shi wa seba | shitara(ba) shita nara(ba) | shi wa shitara(ba) | "if one happens to do" "when one does" | |||
| sezu(n)ba | shi wa sezu(n)ba | shinakattara(ba) shinakatta nara(ba) | shi wa shinakattara(ba) | "if one doesn't happen to do" "when one doesn't do" | |||
| naraba | ni wa araba | de attara(ba) → dattara(ba) de atta nara(ba) → datta nara(ba) | de wa attara(ba) | "if one happens to be" "when one is" | |||
| narazu(n)ba | ni wa arazu(n)ba | de nakattara(ba) de nakatta nara(ba) | de wa nakattara(ba) | "if one doesn't happen to be" "when one isn't" | |||
| yokuba | yoku wa araba | yokattara(ba) yokatta nara(ba) | yoku wa attara(ba) | "if one happens to be good" "when one is good" | |||
| yokarazu(n)ba | yoku wa arazu(n)ba | yoku nakattara(ba) yoku nakatta nara(ba) | yoku wa nakattara(ba) | "if one doesn't happen to be good" "when one isn't good" | |||
| Perfect temporal condition | Perfect hypothetical | kakitaraba | kaki wa shitaraba | kaitara(ba) kaita nara(ba) | kaki wa shitara(ba) | "when one wrote" | |
| kakazaritaraba | kaki wa sezaritaraba | kakanakattara(ba) kakanakatta nara(ba) | kaki wa shinakattara(ba) | "when one didn't write" | |||
| shitaraba | shi wa shitaraba | shitara(ba) shita nara(ba) | shi wa shitara(ba) | "when one did" | |||
| sezaritaraba | shi wa sezaritaraba | shinakattara(ba) shinakatta nara(ba) | shi wa shinakattara(ba) | "when one didn't do" | |||
| naritaraba | ni wa aritaraba | de attara(ba) → dattara(ba) de atta nara(ba) → datta nara(ba) | de wa attara(ba) | "when one was" | |||
| narazaritaraba | ni wa arazaritaraba | de nakattara(ba) de nakatta nara(ba) | de wa nakattara(ba) | "when one wasn't" | |||
| yokaritaraba | yoku wa aritaraba | yokattara(ba) yokatta nara(ba) | yoku wa attara(ba) | "when one was good" | |||
| yokarazaritaraba | yoku wa arazaritaraba | yoku nakattara(ba) yoku nakatta nara(ba) | yoku wa nakattara(ba) | "when one wasn't good" | |||
| Perfect provisional | kakitareba | kaki wa shitareba | "when one wrote" | ||||
| kakazaritareba | kaki wa sezaritareba | "when one didn't write" | |||||
| shitareba | shi wa shitareba | "when one did" | |||||
| sezaritareba | shi wa sezaritareba | "when one didn't do" | |||||
| naritareba | ni wa aritareba | "when one was" | |||||
| narazaritareba | ni wa arazaritareba | "when one wasn't" | |||||
| yokaritareba | yoku wa aritareba | "when one was good" | |||||
| yokazaritareba | yoku wa arazaritareba | "when one wasn't good" | |||||
In its negative conjugation (〜なければ, -nakereba), the conditional form can express obligation or insistence by attaching to 〜ならない (-naranai, to not happen) or 〜なりません (-narimasen, to not happen (polite)). This pattern of grammar is a double negative which loosely translates to "to avoid that action, will not happen". Semantically cancelling out the negation becomes "to do that action, will happen" ; however the true meaning is "I must do that action". [445] [446]
| English | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|
| I have to help. | 手伝わなければならない (tetsudawanakereba naranai) | obligation |
| I must go to the dentist. | 歯医者に行かなければならない (haisha ni ikanakereba naranai) | insistence |
| Your self‑introduction has to be in Japanese. | 自己紹介は日本語でなければならないよ(jiko shoukai wa nihongo denakereba naranai yo) | obligation / insistence |
In earlier stages of Japanese, the particle -do (ど) was used in place of -ba (ば) for what is known as the concessive, which was used in premodern Edo Japanese. [447] In the modern paradigm, combinations of the gerund and the particle mo (も), or of the infinitive and the particle nagara (ながら), are preferred, [448] [449] while the older concessive is used only in cliches or elevated writing.
The auxilaries desu and -masu, and the verb gozaru can be used to enhance politeness. In general, the more verbose forms with -masu and even gozaimasu are more polite. [450] [451]
In principle, desu, de arimasu and de gozaimasu can be mere politeness enhancers and can attach to anything, even in such cases as -masu desu, -mashita desu, -masu de gozaimasu [450] or (de) gozaimasu de gozaimasu. [453] [454] [455]
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
— Нет, не сюда… Мне за Алексеевкой места известны… многим лучше здешних для тетеревов!「いんえ、ここへぢやありましねえ……。アレクセーエフカの向ふに知つてる所があるんです……、松鷄にや、ここよりあ、ずゐぶん好いんでして!」[“No, not here…… I know some places beyond Alexeyevka……, much better for black grouse than here!”]
"To be, or not to be, that is the question. […]"「在るべきか、なかるべきか、それが問題だ。[…]」
To be, or not to be, that is the question.生か死か、問題はそれだ。
"To be, or not to be, that is the question. […]"「生きてゐるか、ゐないか、それが問題じや。[…]」
'You cannot pass,' he said. The orcs stood still, and a dead silence fell. 'I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass.'「きさまは渡ることはできぬ。」と、かれはいいました。オークどもはじっと立ちつくし、死の静けさがあたりをみたしました。「わしは神秘の火に仕える者、アノールの焰の使い手じゃ。きさまは渡ることはできぬ。暗き火、ウドゥンの焰はきさまの助けとはならぬ。常つ闇に戻るがよい! きさまは渡れぬぞ。」
[…]
'You cannot pass!' he said.
You cannot pass!この先は通さん!
Gandalf!
I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn! Go back to the Shadow. You shall not pass!
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Dɑs liebe Herʒ ſchlɑ̈gt nicht mehr vor Ungeduld, Sie ʒu ſehen, nicht etwɑ in einer benɑchbɑrten Kɑmmer wɑrtet ſie ɑuf den Ausgɑng meiner Erʒɑ̈hlung, oder meines Mɑ̈rchens; […] Ich hɑbe Ihnen weiter nichts ʒu ſɑgen,あのいとしい心もな、もうあんた樣に逢ひ度え逢ひ度えと云つて、どきどきしてもゐましねえ。其邊の室にでも忍んでゐて、私の話の終るのを、お伽噺の終るのを、待つてるんでもありましねえ。[…]
— Le fermier de la Lande en avait dans son panier, je les lui ai demandés, et il me les a donnés pour m'être agréable, le mignon.「ランドの小作人が籠に卵を入れておきましたから、それを下さいと賴んだら、私の機嫌をとるために吳れましたゞ。まあいゝ人ぢやありましねえか。」
[…]
— Sainte Vierge, mademoiselle, vous avez les yeux à la perdition de votre âme ! Ne regardez donc pas le monde comme ça.
— Да ведь, Павел Иванович, нужно будет лошадей ковать.「だけんど、パーウェル・イワーノヸッチ、馬に蹄鐵をうたなきやなりましねえでがせう。」
— Ах ты чушка! чурбан! а прежде зачем об этом не сказал? Не было разве времени?
— Да время-то было… Да вот и колесо тоже, Павел Иванович, шину нужно будет совсем перетянуть, потому что теперь дорога ухабиста, шибень такой везде пошел… Да если позволите доложить: перед у брички совсем расшатался, так что она, может быть, и двух станций не сделает.
(Дразнит.) Ничаво… Я тебе задам — ничаво!(口眞似する)何でもありましねえだと……何がなんでもありましねえんだか、後でうんと敎へてくれるぞ![(Mockingly) “Nuthin’ at all”…… You better let me know what’s nuthin’ at all later!]
Их господские мысли мне, мужику, неведомы. Что сам я делаю — я знаю, а чего они хотят — это мне неизвестно. Тысячу лет люди аккуратно господами были, с мужика шкуру драли, а вдруг — проснулись и давай мужику глаза протирать. Я, брат, до сказок не охотник, а это — вроде сказки. От меня всякие господа далеко.旦那衆の考へと言ふものは、私のやうな百姓にはわからんもんでさあ、私は自分でやることは――分つてますが、あの連中のしたがることは――知れませんわい。長い間念入りに旦那面をして、百姓の皮をひんむいて置きながら、不意に――眼が覺めたと言つて百姓に眼をこすらせようと言ふんでさ。私はお伽話といふ奴が好きぢやありましねえ、がこれと來ちや――全くお伽話でさあ。私にやどんな旦那も緣遠いものです。[The gentlemen’s thought is beyond a peasant like me. What I do myself――I know, what they want――I don’t get. For a long time, they put on their preening gentleman front, while flaying the peasant’s skin, then all of a sudden――they say they’ve woken up and they want to rub the peasant’s eyes. I don’t care for fairy tales, and that there――sounds mighty like a fairy tale. I’m a long way away from any gentleman.]
'Yes, it would. You were beginning to fade,' answered Gandalf. 'The wound was overcoming you at last. A few more hours and you would have been beyond our aid. But you have some strength in you, my dear hobbit! As you showed in the Barrow. That was touch and go: perhaps the most dangerous moment of all. I wish you could have held out at Weathertop.'「そうじゃろ。あんたは気が遠くなりかけておった。」と、ガンダルフは答えました。「あやうくあの傷に滅されるところじゃったのよ。もう数時間おそければ、わしらの救助も及ばなかったはずじゃ。ところが、わがホビット君よ、たしかにあんたの中には力がひそんでおる!塚山で示したようにな。間一髪じゃった。きっともっとも危ない瞬間じゃったろうなあ。風見が丘で踏み止まることができればよかったがのう。」
No fueron tan vanas nuestras oraciones que no fuesen oídas del cielo; [...] Duro se nos hizo de creer la continencia del mozo,私たちの祈りは天に屆かぬほどに效ないものではありませなんだ。[...]私たちに取つてはその若者の節慾を信ずることは容易でありませなんだ。[Our prayers were not so in vain as not to reach Heaven. [...] It was not easy for us to credit the young man's continence.]
Cumque ſæpe in hac vita majora vitiis, quam virtutibus præmia proponantur, pauci rectum utili præferrent, ſi nec Deum timerent, nec aliam vitam expectarent:そしてこの世においてはしばしば徳よりも悖徳に一層大きな報酬が供せられるのでありますから、もし神を畏れず、また來世を期待しないならば、利よりも正を好む者は少數であるでありませう。[And since often in this life there are greater rewards for the vices than for the virtues, few will prefer what is right to what is useful, if they neither fear God nor expect an afterlife.]
Itaque si te, quidquid es, id est substantiam tuam, qua es, incorruptibilem dicerent, falsa esse illa omnia et exsecrabilia;それで若し彼等が爾は何でありませ、爾が由て以て存在しますその本體は朽つべきでないとするならば、卽ち此等の所言皆僞で又詛ふべきである。[So then, should they assume Thy Substance whereby Thou art, whatsoever Thou be, to be incorruptible, then all these statements are false and execrable.]
Shinjiru信じる has another version, shinzuru信ずる, but this latter is more formal and is basically a written form.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Ты чего смеешься-то? Не веришь, атеист. А ты почем знаешь? Да и то соврал, если уж подслушал меня: я не просто за одну графиню Дюбарри молился; я причитал так: «Упокой, господи, душу великой грешницы графини Дюбарри и всех ей подобных», а уж это совсем другое; ибо много таковых грешниц великих, и образцов перемены фортуны, и вытерпевших, которые там теперь мятутся, и стонут, и ждут;貴様、何を笑っていやがるんだ? 貴様にゃ信じられないんだな、不信仰ものめ。貴様にわかってたまるもんか! それに本当にぬすみ聞きしたのなら、貴様は嘘をついている。おれはな、デュバルリ伯爵夫人ひとりのためにお祈りをあげたんじゃないんだ、『気高き罪びと、デュバルリ伯爵夫人と、それに同じきあまたの罪びとの魂に安息を垂れたまえ』と言ってお祈りしたんだぞ。これとあれじゃ、すっかり事情が違うからなあ。なぜって、そんな風なえらい罪びとや、運命の手ひどい変化に会った人や、不幸に苦しみぬいてきた人などが数多くあの世で、いまうめいたりして安息を待ちのぞんでいるんだぞ。[What the hell are ya laughin’ at? Ya believe nothin’, heathen! Ya don’t even get it straight, and if ya really did hear me right, that’s a lie yer tellin’! I didn’t pray for the Comtesse du Barry alone, I actually prayed, “May the Lord grant refuge to the souls of the Comtesse du Barry the noble sinner, and of countless sinners like herself.” That’s somethin’ else entirely. Because there are many such great sinners, those who met with brutal turns of fate, those who have suffered through misfortunes, they’re groanin’ now while awaitin’ refuge in the afterlife.]
La nuit venait de descendre sur la ville frémissante encore du bruit de ce supplice, dont les détails couraient de bouche en bouche assombrir dans chaque maison l'heure joyeuse du souper de famille.処刑の興奮さめやらぬパリの町に夜の帳がおりていった。処刑の模様は口から口へと伝えられ、楽しかるべき家族の食卓を暗くしていた。[The curtain of night had fallen upon the city of Paris, still reeling from the frenzy of the execution. Word of its development had been passed from mouth to mouth, casting a gloom over the otherwise joyous family supper.]
Толкова по-болезнено се свиваше сърцето на Николай, изтърпял напразно всичкия страх, който обзема човек пред сражение, и прекарал целия този весел ден в бездействие.それだけに、戦闘に先立つ恐怖にいたずらに悩んで、この楽しかるべき日を無為のうちにすごしてしまったニコライの胸は、なお一層締めつけられるような思いがした。[And Nicholas, who had vainly suffered all the dread that precedes a battle and had spent that otherwise joyful day in inactivity, felt as though his chest tightened even more.]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Ein Spielzeug sei das Weib, rein und fein, dem Edelsteine gleich, bestrahlt von den Tugenden einer Welt, welche noch nicht da ist.女性はおもちゃであれ、清く美しくあれ。まだ存在しない世界の徳によって照らされた宝石にひとしくあれ!
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Never trust the artist. Trust the tale.「芸術家を信じるな、作品を信じよ」
Never trust the artist. Trust the tale. The proper function of a critic is to save the tale from the artist [...] saving the American tale from the American artist.「作家を信じるな。作品を信ぜよ。批評家の正当な仕事は......作家から作品を救出することだ。......アメリカ作家からアメリカ小説を救出することだ」
Repent and believe the gospel. Believe on the Lord Jesus, and ye shall yet be saved「悔い改めて福音を信ぜよ。主イエスを信じるならばあなたは救われるだろう。」
[...]'What is it you see[...]「何を見てるんだい、
From up there always—for I want to know.'
[...]
'I will find out now—you must tell me, dear.'
[...]
'Amy! Don't go to someone else this time.
Listen to me. I won't come down the stairs.'
[...]
'Help me, then.'
Orlando. Fair youth, I would I could make thee believe I love.オーランド ねえ君、僕が戀してることを、ほんとに君に信じてもらいたいよ。
Rosalind. Me believe it! you may as soon make her that you love believe it; which I warrant she is apter to do than to confess she does;
Достигнув речки Мизы, дорога круто заворачивала влево. Здесь был мост, построенный наискось через реку, и против него городские ворота. […]道路はミザ川に達すると、急に左へ曲つて、こゝには一つの橋が斜ひに川に懸かつてゐてその眞向ひが町の城門であつた。[…]
- Предательстве? - остановил его Макиавелли. - Когда дело, мессере, идет о спасении отечества, не может быть речи о предательстве и верности, о зле и добре, о милосердии и жестокости, - но все средства равны, только бы цель была достигнута.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)