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.
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"). [1] This article lists those from the negative base (未然形, mizenkei), as well as the tentative base (推量形/意思形, suiryoukei/ishikei) that was split off during the post‑WWII spelling reforms. [2]
The negative form is broadly equivalent to the English word "not". [3]
| English | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|
| I don't drink alcohol. | お酒は飲まない (osake wa nomanai) | assumption to continue inaction |
| I won't brush my teeth. | 歯を磨かない (ha o migakanai) | immediate inaction |
| I won't work tomorrow. | 明日働かない (ashita hatarakanai) | future inaction |
The negative form is created by using the mizenkei base, followed by the ‑nai (ない) suffix. This auxiliary arose in eastern dialects during Late Middle Japanese and displaced the western ‑n (see below) in standard Japanese, and while having been linked to another negative auxilary, ‑nau → ‑nō (なふ), it appears to be a grammaticalized version of the adjective nai (無い; 'be nonexistent'). [4] It is possible to have a double negative, as in shizuka ja naku nai n da ga (静かじゃなくないんだが; transl. it's not not (=it is) quiet all right, but), hanashitaku naku nai kedo (話したくなくないけど; transl. I don't not want (=I do want) to talk, but), ippan no dokusha ni totte tashō wakarinikui ten mo naku wa nai (一般の読者に取って多少分かりにくい点もなくはない; transl. there are not not (=there are) points that, for the general reader, are hard to understand), etc. [5]
The regular negative of aru would be aranai, but it is very rarely used, for example in Honma ni uso de wa aranai to yū no ja na (本間に嘘ではあらないというのじゃな), [6] Tosa to te oni no kuni de mo hebi no kuni de mo aranai mono o (土佐とて鬼の国でも蛇の国でもあらないものを), etc. [7] [8] In Murakami Haruki's 2017 novel Killing Commendatore , the character "Commendatore", who is characterized as having "an odd way of speaking" that is "not the way ordinary people would speak", [9] often, but not always, uses aranai in place of nai.
‑N (tsukuran (作らん; 'not make')) is a negative auxiliary that was reduced from the earlier western [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] and classical ‑nu (tsukuranu (作らぬ)), but was largely displaced by the eastern ‑nai (tsukuranai (作らない)) in standard Japanese. [16] [17] ‑N(u) is still found in modern Japanese and thought of as "shortened" from ‑nai, although as the fact that shin(u) (しん・しぬ) is strictly dialectal compared to the standard sen(u) (せん・せぬ) shows, [6] it is not really a "short" form. Some modern examples include tokoro ga, henji o yokosan no desu (ところが、返事を寄越さんのです; 'but they sent me no reply'), Boku wa benkai sen desu. Tada iwan koto o kakaretara komaru. (僕は弁解せんです。ただ言わん事を書かれたら困る; 'I don't make excuses. It's just that it is embarrassing to have things written as if I had said them when I haven't.'), sen de kudasai (せんでください; 'don't do it'). [6] ‑N(u)'s conjunctive form, ‑zu, is still used in writing. Ja nai (no) ka (じゃない(の)か; 'isn't it?') is indeed shortened to jan (じゃん) especially by young people. [18] ‑Nai and ‑nu can be used in the same sentence where ‑nai is treated as conclusive and ‑nu as attributive: Gaikōken o motanu Okinawa wa Amerika to kōshō suru koto mo dekinai (外交権を持たぬ沖縄はアメリカと交渉することもできない; 'Okinawa, which does not have diplomatic power, cannot negotiate with America'). [19]
The current negative of ‑masu is ‑masen. The unique shapes of ‑masen (rather than ‑mashinai) and the volitional ‑mashō (rather than *‑mashiyō) suggest their provenance in western polite speech. [20] Compare westernized hyper-polite adjectival expressions with gozaimasu. The easternized ‑mashinai was first recorded in its spoken form with vowel fusion as ‑mashinē in Edo Japanese; [21] it has been attested in dialog from modern literature, for example in the speech of peasant, servile or rural characters, even non-Japanese ones.
‑N also happens to be a reduced form of ‑mu (tsukuramu (作らむ; 'let's make; probably make')), whose other reduced form, ‑u, is still used to make volitional forms (tsukurō (作ろう)). [16] ‑Nu also happens to be an archaic perfective auxiliary, with a different conjugation from the negative ‑nu; it is equivalent to ‑ta/‑da in modern Japanese, [22] and it is sometimes used elevatedly, as in Kaze to Tomo ni Sarinu (=Satta) (風と共に去りぬ; 'Gone with the Wind').
The godan and ichidan-based negative endings ‑ranai, ‑rinai or ‑renai, specifically with the consonant r, can be reduced to ‑nnai and even ‑nnē in speech, as in wakaranai → wakannai (分かんない), naranai → nannē (なんねえ), kurenai → kunnai (呉んない). [23]
The expressions sumanai/suman/sumimasen (すまない・すまん・すみません; 'I'm sorry', lit. 'it isn't over') comes from a special use of the subsidiary verb sumu (済む; 'be over') (see te form: Grammatical compatibility for examples).
The verb shiru (知る), whose kanji represents the Chinese word for "know", is often translated as "know", but a more accurate translation would be "learn", "find out", [24] or "get to know". [25] [26] In order to say "I know", the construction shitte( i)ru (知って(い)る) is used instead [25] [24] (see te form: Grammatical compatibility for the usage of -te iru). This is because shiru is imbued with active recognization, which relates to the archaic meaning of taking physical command or possession of somebody or something, [27] reflected by the spellings 治る with the kanji for the Chinese word for "rule", "govern" or "control", and 領る for "lead". [28] To "know", therefore, is to take psychological command or possession of outside information, hence shiru ("I take command of this information"), and maintain it, hence shitte iru ("I took command of this information and it's still in my knowledge"). While "I know" ("I take command of it and still have it") is shitte iru, "I don't know" is actually shiranai (知らない; "I don't take command of it"), [29] which is morphologically the negative of shiru, but semantically the negative of both shitte iru and shiru. On the other hand, shitte inai (知っていない; "I didn't take command of it and still don't have it") implies perpetuation of ignorance, [30] for example in Ningen ga naze hito o korosu no ka […] sono konponteki na riyū ni tsuite, watashitachi wa mada nani mo shitte inai, to omowareru kara de aru (人間がなぜ人を殺すか[…]その根本的な理由について、私たちはまだ何も知っていない、と思われるからである; transl. Why does a human being kill another person? […] it seems that we still remain ignorant of the basic reasons for that). [31] There have been analyses on precise cases where shitte inai is interchangeable with or even preferable to shiranai, for example when paired with shitte iru in the same clause, [32] as in Doitsu-go o shitte ite mo shiranakute mo / shitte inakute mo saiyō shiken ni wa kankei nai. (ドイツ語を知っていても知らなくても・知っていなくても採用試験には関係ない。; transl. Whether you know German or not has nothing to do with the employment test.); or in cases involving the perfect aspect, only shitte inai, not shiranai, can be used, as in Shinbun o yomu made ni, Tarō wa jiken no shinsō o shitte inai. (新聞を読むまでに、太郎は事件の真相を知っていない。; transl. By the time he reads the newspaper, Tarō won't have learnt of the incident.), Tarō wa ima made ichido mo jibun no genkai o shitte inai. (太郎は今まで一度も自分の限界を知っていない。; transl. Tarō hasn't learnt of his own limitations, even once until now.) [33] Nevertheless, the question remains as to why shiranai is uniquely more common than shitte inai as the negative of shitte iru to begin with, a phenomenon not yet observable in other verbs. [34] A recorded conversation with a young child shows that shiranai is not inherently intuitive in and of itself: when his father asked him a question with papa […] shiranai ("I don't know […]"), he mirrored his prompt with shiranai ("I don't know"); yet, when his father asked him with shitteru deshō ("you know, don't you?"), he erroneously responded with *shitteru nai ("I don't know", or more "accurately", shittenai, though the expected response was still shiranai). [35] In western dialects, there are shitte oru → shittoru (知っておる→知っとる; ≈ shitte iru → shitteru), shitte oran → shittoran (知っておらん→知っとらん; ≈ shitte inai → shittenai), [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] and shiran (知らん; ≈ shiranai). [41] [42] [43] [44]
| Dictionary form | Pattern [45] | Negative form | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Godan verbs | ||||
| 結う(yuu, fasten) | 結う | 結わ | ない ん ぬ ず | 結わない(yuwanai, not fasten) 結わん(yuwan) 結わぬ(yuwanu) 結わず(yuwazu) |
| 言う(yū, say) | ゆう | いわ ゆわ | ない ん ぬ ず | 言わない (iwanai/yuwanai, not say) 言わん (iwan/yuwan) 言わぬ (iwanu/yuwanu) 言わず (iwazu/yuwazu) |
| 勝つ (katsu, win) | 勝つ | 勝た | ない ん ぬ ず | 勝たない (katanai, not win) 勝たん (katan) 勝たぬ (katanu) 勝たず (katazu) |
| 狩る (karu, hunt) | 狩る | 狩ら | ない ん ぬ ず | 狩らない (karanai, not hunt) 狩らん (karan) 狩らぬ (karanu) 狩らず (karazu) |
| 貸す (kasu, lend) | 貸す | 貸さ | ない ん ぬ ず | 貸さない (kasanai, not lend) 貸さん (kasan) 貸さぬ (kasanu) 貸さず (kasazu) |
| 愛す (aisu, love) | 愛す | 愛さ | ない ん ぬ ず | 愛さない (aisanai, not love) [46] 愛さん (aisan) 愛さぬ (aisanu) [47] [48] 愛さず (aisazu) [49] |
| 達す (tassu, reach) | 達す | 達さ | ない ん ぬ ず | 達さない (tassanai, not reach) [50] 達さん (tassan) 達さぬ (tassanu) 達さず (tassazu) |
| 書く (kaku, write) | 書く | 書か | ない ん ぬ ず | 書かない (kakanai, not write) 書かん (kakan) 書かぬ (kakanu) 書かず (kakazu) |
| 嗅ぐ (kagu, smell) | 嗅ぐ | 嗅が | ない ん ぬ ず | 嗅がない (kaganai, not smell) 嗅がん (kagan) 嗅がぬ (kaganu) 嗅がず (kagazu) |
| 呼ぶ(yobu, call) | 呼ぶ | 呼ば | ない ん ぬ ず | 呼ばない(yobanai, not call) 呼ばん(yoban) 呼ばぬ(yobanu) 呼ばず(yobazu) |
| 読む(yomu, read) | 読む | 読ま | ない ん ぬ ず | 読まない(yomanai, not read) 読まん(yoman) 読まぬ(yomanu) 読まず(yomazu) |
| 死ぬ (shinu, die) | 死ぬ | 死な | ない ん ぬ ず | 死なない (shinanai, not die) 死なん (shinan) 死なぬ (shinanu) 死なず (shinazu) |
| Irregular godan verbs | ||||
| 有る (aru, exist) | ある | ない | 無い (nai, be nonexistent) | |
| あら | ない ん ぬ ず | 有らない (aranai, not exist) [51] [52] [53] 有らん (aran) 有らぬ (aranu) [a] [56] [57] [58] [59] 有らず (arazu) [b] [61] [62] [63] [64] | ||
| Ichidan verbs | ||||
| 射る (iru, shoot) | 射る | 射 | ない ん ぬ ず | 射ない (inai, not shoot) 射ん (in) 射ぬ (inu) 射ず (izu) |
| 達しる (tasshiru, reach) | 達しる | 達し | ない ん ぬ ず | 達しない (tasshinai, not reach) 達しん (tasshin) 達しぬ (tasshinu) 達しず (tasshizu) |
| 達せ | ん ぬ ず | 達せん (tassen) 達せぬ (tassenu) 達せず (tassezu) | ||
| 察しる (sasshiru, guess) | 察しる | 察し | ない ん ぬ ず | 察しない (sasshinai, not guess) [65] [66] 察しん (sasshin) 察しぬ (sasshinu) [65] 察しず (sasshizu) [67] |
| 察せ | ん ぬ ず | 察せん (sassen) 察せぬ (sassenu) [68] 察せず (sassezu) [69] | ||
| 信じる (shinjiru, believe) | 信じる | 信じ | ない ん ぬ ず | 信じない (shinjinai, not believe) [70] [71] 信じん (shinjin) 信じぬ (shinjinu) [71] 信じず (shinjizu) [72] |
| 信ぜ | ん ぬ ず | 信ぜん (shinzen) 信ぜぬ (shinzenu) [73] 信ぜず (shinzezu) [74] [75] [76] | ||
| 進じる (shinjiru, give) | 進じる | 進じ | ない ん ぬ ず | 進じない (shinjinai, not give) 進じん (shinjin) 進じぬ (shinjinu) 進じず (shinjizu) |
| 進ぜ | ん ぬ ず | 進ぜん (shinzen) 進ぜぬ (shinzenu) 進ぜず (shinzezu) | ||
| 進ぜる (shinzeru, give) | 進ぜる | 進ぜ | ない ん ぬ ず | 進ぜない (shinzenai, not give) [77] 進ぜん (shinzen) 進ぜぬ (shinzenu) [78] 進ぜず (shinzezu) [79] |
| 得る (eru, get) | 得る | 得 | ない ん ぬ ず | 得ない (enai, not get) 得ん (en) 得ぬ (enu) 得ず (ezu) |
| Irregular verbs | ||||
| する (suru, do) | する | し | ない | しない (shinai, not do) |
| せ | ん ぬ ず | せん (sen) せぬ (senu) せず (sezu) | ||
| 勉強する (benkyō suru, study) | 勉強する | 勉強し | ない | 勉強しない (benkyō shinai, not study) |
| 勉強せ | ん ぬ ず | 勉強せん (benkyō sen) 勉強せぬ (benkyō senu) 勉強せず (benkyō sezu) | ||
| 愛する (aisuru, love) | 愛する | 愛さ | ない ん ぬ ず | 愛さない (aisanai, not love) [46] [80] 愛さん (aisan) 愛さぬ (aisanu) [81] 愛さず (aisazu) [82] |
| 愛し | ない | 愛しない (aishinai) [83] [84] [85] [86] | ||
| 愛せ | ん ぬ ず | 愛せん (aisen) [c] 愛せぬ (aisenu) 愛せず (aisezu) | ||
| 達する (tassuru, reach) | 達する | 達さ 達し | ない ん ぬ ず | 達さない (tassanai, not reach) [87] 達しない (tasshinai) [88] 達さん (tassan) 達しん (tasshin) 達さぬ (tassanu) [89] 達しぬ (tasshinu) 達さず (tassazu) [90] 達しず (tasshizu) |
| 達せ | ん ぬ ず | 達せん (tassen) [d] 達せぬ (tassenu) 達せず (tassezu) | ||
| 察する (sassuru, guess) | 察する | 察し | ない ん ぬ ず | 察しない (sasshinai, not guess) [92] 察しん (sasshin) 察しぬ (sasshinu) [93] 察しず (sasshizu) [94] |
| 察せ | ん ぬ ず | 察せん (sassen) 察せぬ (sassenu) 察せず (sassezu) | ||
| 信ずる (shinzuru, believe) | 信ずる | 信じ | ない ん ぬ ず | 信じない (shinjinai, not believe) [95] 信じん (shinjin) 信じぬ (shinjinu) [96] [97] 信じず (shinjizu) [98] |
| 信ぜ | ん ぬ ず | 信ぜん (shinzen) 信ぜぬ (shinzenu) [99] 信ぜず (shinzezu) [75] [100] | ||
| 進ずる (shinzuru, give) | 進ずる | 進じ 進ぜ | ない ん ぬ ず | 進じない (shinjinai, not give) 進ぜない (shinzenai) 進ぜん (shinzen) 進じん (shinjin) 進ぜぬ (shinzenu) [101] 進じぬ (shinjinu) 進ぜず (shinzezu) [102] 進じず (shinjizu) |
| 来る (kuru, come) [e] | くる | こ | ない ん ぬ ず | 来ない (konai, not come) 来ん (kon) 来ぬ (konu) 来ず (kozu) |
| Verbal auxiliaries | ||||
| 〜ます(る) (‑masu(ru)) | ます(る) | ませ | ん ぬ ず | 〜ません (‑masen, not) 〜ませぬ (‑masenu) [101] [103] [104] [105] [106] [107] 〜ませず (‑masezu) [104] [108] [109] |
| まし | ない | 〜ましない (‑mashinai) [f] | ||
| Adjectives and adjectival auxiliaries | ||||
| 無い (nai, be nonexistent) | 無い | 無く | ない | 無くない (naku nai, not be nonexistent → be existent) [130] [131] |
| 無から | ん ぬ ず | 無からん (nakaran) 無からぬ (nakaranu) [132] 無からず (nakarazu) | ||
| 少ない (sukunai, be scarce) | 少ない | 少なく | ない | 少なくない (sukunaku nai, not be scarce) |
| 少なから | ん ぬ ず | 少なからん (sukunakaran) 少なからぬ (sukunakaranu) [133] [134] [135] 少なからず (sukunakarazu) [136] [137] [138] | ||
| 良い (ii/yoi, be good) | いい よい | よく | ない | 良くない(yoku nai, not be good) |
| よから | ん ぬ ず | 良からん(yokaran) 良からぬ(yokaranu) [139] [140] 良からず(yokarazu) [141] | ||
| 可く (beku, having to) | 可く | 可から | ず | 可からず (bekarazu, not having to) |
| 可き (beki, having to) | 可き | 可から | ざる | 可からざる (bekarazaru, not having to) |
The negative form is compatible with the ~で (-de) particle for additional functions, such as requesting someone to cease/desist or joining a subordinate clause. It is also compatible with i‑adjective inflections, since the ~ない (-nai) suffix ends with ~い (-i). なくて (-nakute) is also used.
| English | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Please don't eat it. | 食べないで下さい (tabenai de kudasai) | request to cease/desist |
| Without eating, I went to bed. | 食べないで、寝た (tabenai de, neta) | add a subordinate clause |
| I didn't talk. | 話さなかった (hanasanakatta) | i‑adjective inflection (example: negative past tense) |
The negative continuous form is created by using the mizenkei base, followed by the 〜ず (zu) suffix; equivalent to replacing 〜ない (-nai) with 〜ず (-zu) in the table above. An exception is する (suru, to do), which instead conjugates as せず (sezu, not doing). In this form, the negative continuous cannot terminate a sentence. The verb has the "negative continuous tense" unless followed by the に (ni) particle, where its meaning changes to "without". The -zuni form (〜ずに, without doing) is semantically interchangeable with -naide (〜ないで, without doing). However, -zuni is only used in written Japanese or formal speech. [142] [143]
| English | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|
| While not eating breakfast, I went to work. | 朝ごはんを食べず、仕事へ行った (asa gohan o tabezu, shigoto e itta) | negative continuous |
| I went to work without eating breakfast. | 朝ごはんを食べずに仕事へ行った (asa gohan o tabezu ni shigoto e itta) | without doing |
The passive form ( 受身形 , ukemikei) or passive-potential [144] refocuses the verb as the target objective of a sentence; it emphasizes the action as the detail of importance. Although a sentence can include a specific subject enacting the passive verb, the subject is not required. [145] The pure passive simply expresses what act is done to the subject, as in B ga A ni yobareru (BがAに呼ばれる; 'B is called by A'). The adversative or "victimizing" passive can further express how the subject suffers from the act being done to an object, as in B ga A ni C o yobareru (BがAにCを呼ばれる; 'B suffers because A calls C'). The passive can also have no passive meaning, but is merely a more honorific way to exalt the subject. [146] [147] [148] Actual sentences may lack one of the said components (A, B or C) and therefore can become ambiguous (purely passive, adversatively passive or honorific) without additional context, for example kekkonshiki ni yobareru (結婚式に呼ばれる; 'one gets invited to weddings; one suffers because someone else's invited to weddings; those honoroble invite others to weddings'). [146] Intransitive verbs, such as korareru (来られる) and arareru (あられる), do not have the pure passive meaning, only the other two, as in B ga A ni korareru (BがAに来られる; 'B suffers because A comes') and B ga A de arareru (BがAであられる; 'B is (honorably) A'). [149]
Note that historically and dialectally, the "passive" construction also had or has potential use. See #Potential for more.
| English | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|
| This TV was made by Toshiba. | このテレビは東芝によって作られた (kono terebi wa Toshiba ni yotte tsukurareta) | neutrality |
| My beer was drunk by a friend. | 私は友達にビールを飲まれた (watashi wa tomodachi ni biiru o nomareta) | regrettable action |
| Where are you going? | どちらへ行かれますか (dochira e ikaremasu ka) | honorific language |
The passive form is created by using the mizenkei base, followed by the reru/rareru (れる・られる) suffix. For ichidan verbs and kuru (来る), the passive form and the potential form have an identical conjugation pattern with the same rareru (られる) suffix. This makes it impossible to distinguish whether an ichidan verb adopts a passive or potential function without contextual information.
| Dictionary form | Pattern [45] | Passive form | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Godan verbs | ||||
| 結う(yuu, fasten) | 結う | 結わ | れる | 結われる(yuwareru, be fastened/suffer because one fastens/(can) fasten) |
| 言う(yū, say) | ゆう | いわ ゆわ | れる | 言われる (iwareru/yuwareru, be said/suffer because one says/(can) say) |
| 勝つ (katsu, win) | 勝つ | 勝た | れる | 勝たれる (katareru, suffer because one wins/(can) win) |
| 狩る (karu, hunt) | 狩る | 狩ら | れる | 狩られる (karareru, be hunted/suffer because one hunts/(can) hunt) |
| 有る (aru, exist) | 有る | 有ら | れる | 有られる (arareru, suffer because one exists/(can) exist) [g] [153] [154] [155] |
| 為さる (nasaru, do) | 為さる | 為さら | れる | 為さられる (nasarareru, be done/suffer because one does/(can) do) [156] [157] [158] [h] |
| 貸す (kasu, lend) | 貸す | 貸さ | れる | 貸される (kasareru, be lent/suffer because one lends/(can) lend) |
| 愛す (aisu, love) | 愛す | 愛さ | れる | 愛される (aisareru, be loved/(can) love) |
| 達す (tassu, reach) | 達す | 達さ | れる | 達される (tassareru, be reached/suffer because one reaches/(can) reach) |
| 書く (kaku, write) | 書く | 書か | れる | 書かれる (kakareru, be written/suffer because one writes/(can) write) |
| 嗅ぐ (kagu, smell) | 嗅ぐ | 嗅が | れる | 嗅される (kagareru, be smelled/suffer because one smells/(can) smell) |
| 呼ぶ(yobu, call) | 呼ぶ | 呼ば | れる | 呼ばれる(yobareru, be called/suffer because one calls/(can) call) |
| 読む(yomu, read) | 読む | 読ま | れる | 読まれる(yomareru, be read/suffer because one reads/(can) read) |
| 死ぬ (shinu, die) | 死ぬ | 死な | れる | 死なれる (shinareru, suffer because one dies/(can) die) |
| Ichidan verbs | ||||
| 射る (iru, shoot) | 射る | 射 | られる | 射られる (irareru, be shot/suffer because one shoots/(can) shoot) |
| 達しる (tasshiru, reach) | 達しる | 達し 達せ | られる | 達しられる (tasshirareru, be reached/suffer because one reaches/(can) reach) 達せられる (tasserareru) |
| 察しる (sasshiru, guess) | 察しる | 察し 察せ | られる | 察しられる (sasshirareru, be guessed/suffer because one guesses/(can) guess) [167] 察せられる (sasserareru) [167] |
| 信じる (shinjiru, believe) | 信じる | 信じ 信ぜ | られる | 信じられる (shinjirareru, be believed/suffer because one believes/(can) believe) [168] [169] 信ぜられる (shinzerareru) [170] [171] |
| 進ぜる (shinzeru, give) | 進ぜる | 進ぜ | られる | 進ぜられる (shinzerareru, be given/suffer because one gives/(can) give) [172] |
| 得る (eru, get) | 得る | 得 | られる | 得られる (erareru, be gotten/suffer because one gets/(can) get) |
| Irregular verbs | ||||
| する (suru, do) | する | さ | れる | される (sareru, be done/suffer because one does/(can) do) [i] |
| せ し | られる | せられる (serareru) [174] しられる (shirareru) [j] | ||
| 勉強する (benkyō suru, study) | 勉強する | 勉強さ | れる | 勉強される (benkyō sareru, be studied/suffer because one studies/(can) study) [176] [177] |
| 勉強せ 勉強し | られる | 勉強せられる (benkyō serareru) [178] [179] 勉強しられる (benkyō shirareru) [180] | ||
| 愛する (aisuru, love) | 愛する | 愛さ | れる | 愛される (aisareru, be loved/suffer because one loves/(can) love) [176] [181] |
| 愛せ 愛し | られる | 愛せられる (aiserareru) [176] [182] [183] [184] 愛しられる (aishirareru) [182] [183] | ||
| 達する (tassuru, reach) | 達する | 達さ | れる | 達される (tassareru, be reached/suffer because one reaches/(can) reach) [185] [186] |
| 達せ 達し | られる | 達せられる (tasserareru) [187] [188] 達しられる (tasshirareru) [189] [190] | ||
| 察する (sassuru, guess) | 察する | 察せ 察し | られる | 察せられる (sasserareru, be guessed/suffer because one guesses/(can) guess) [191] 察しられる (sasshirareru) [192] |
| 信ずる (shinzuru, believe) | 信ずる | 信ぜ 信じ | られる | 信ぜられる (shinzerareru, be believed/suffer because one believes/(can) believe) [193] [176] [194] 信じられる (shinjirareru) [193] [176] [195] |
| 進ずる (shinzuru, give) | 進ずる | 進ぜ 進じ | られる | 進ぜられる (shinzerareru, be given/suffer because one gives/(can) give) [196] 進じられる (shinjirareru) [197] [198] [199] |
| 来る (kuru, come) | くる | こ | られる | 来られる (korareru, suffer because one comes/(can) come) |
After conjugating into the passive form, the verbs become ichidan verbs. They can therefore be further conjugated according to any ichidan pattern. For instance, a passive verb (e.g. 言われる (iwareru, be said)) can conjugate using the ichidan pattern for the te form (て形, te kei) to join sequential statements (言われて (iwarete)), or the conjunctive form to append the polite -masu (〜ます) auxiliary verb (言われます (iwaremasu)).
Potentiality (可能, kanō) describes the possibility for an action to happen, whether it involves an intentional acting agent or not: [200]
The target of an action is customarily marked with the nominative particle ga (rather than the accusative o), [201] which has the same appearance as the passive voice:
It is not impossible to use A ni/ga B o taberareru (Aに・がBを食べられる) instead in the passive potential above, but it is less preferable in this case. However, o is more preferable to ga in the presence of a motion verb (whose pure passive does not naturally occur):
The rise of the particle ga as a marker of the target of the action can be attributed to the "spontaneous (or natural) passive (or potential)" ( 自発 , jihatsu), whereby the target or the action simply comes about, seemingly in a vacuum, without a voluntary or intentional agent acting on it. [202] This may also relate to the verb dekiru (出来る) (see the phrase koto ga dekiru mentioned below) which means "come about; come into existence; materialize; form; take shape; be done/made/born/produced → be doable/feasible/possible", [203] as in kome ga dekita (米ができた; transl. the rice was produced), kutsu ga dekita (靴ができた; transl. the shoes were made), kodomo ga dekita (子供ができた; transl. a child was born), etc. [204] Thus, such phrase as shōsetsu ga kaketa (小説が書けた), spoken in the past tense by an author who does not want to mention themself as an agent, can be translated as "the novel wrote itself" (= the novel came about in written form), rather than "I was able to write the novel". [205] Other examples without voluntary agents include shizen ni waraete kita (自然に笑えてきた; transl. I was seized by laughter = laughter spontaneously occurred to me), hontō no yō ni omoette kita (本当のように思えてきた; transl. it began to appear true = the thought of it being true occurred to me), [204] nakete kichatta (泣けてきちゃった; transl. I couldn't help crying = crying unfortunately occurred to me), tsureta (釣れた; transl. I've got one = a fish's caught itself on my line), [206] etc.
| English | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|
| I can read Japanese. | あなたが来られることを彼女はとても喜んでいます (Anata ga korareru koto o kanojo wa) | capability |
| Can you buy some coffee? | コーヒーが買える? (kōhii ga kaeru?) | requesting favors |
Potential verbs are unique to godan-based passive potential verbs, [207] [208] which have been said to have been shortened by removing ar from areru: yomareru (読まれる; 'be read; can read') → yomeru (読める; 'can read'); kakareru (書かれる; 'be written; can write') → kakeru (書ける; 'can write'). [209] Other hypotheses of derivation include contractions from conjunctives followed by eru (得る; 'get', see #Conjunctive: Grammatical compatibility), presumably as in kakieru (書きえる; 'can write') → kakeru; or conversions of nidan attributives into ichidan potentials, such as kiruru → kireru (切るる→切れる), shiruru → shireru (知るる→知れる). [210] Short potential verbs of this type are conventional in Tokyo Japanese, while long verbs have become largely obsolescent or non-Tokyo. [211]
The hypothetical passive potential verb *wakareru (分かれる; 'can make sense') is not used. The adversative passive wakarareru (分かられる; 'suffer because it makes sense') and causative wakaraseru (分からせる; 'cause it to make sense') are acceptable, however. [212]
Non-godan-based verbs such as taberareru (食べられる; 'can eat; be eaten') remain ambiguous. Such ambiguity can be resolved, at least colloquially, by a process dubbed ra‑nuki kotoba ( ら抜き言葉 ; lit. 'ra‑less word'), [213] thus distinguishing the short taberareru → tabereru (食べられる→食べれる; 'can eat') for the potential and the long taberareru (食べられる; 'be eaten') for the passive. This process was originally dialectal, but has been increasingly adopted by Tokyo speakers. [214] Preference polls have shown that even among ra‑nuki kotoba users, the likelihood of usage significantly decreases as the mora count in the verb stem exceeds two; in other words, mi.re.ru (見れる; one-mora stem) and ta.be.re.ru (食べれる; two-mora stem) are highly likely, but shi.n.ji.re.ru (信じれる; three-mora stem), ka.n.ga.e.re.ru (考えれる; four-mora stem), o.to.shi.i.re.re.ru (陥れれる; five-mora stem) are much less likely. [215]
Shortening passive verbs for potential uses is not universal among dialects, which may only use long verbs instead. [216]
Apart from the dedicated potential verbs, the less ambiguous but more circumlocutory phrase koto ga dekiru (ことができる) can be used, as in iku koto ga dekiru (行くことができる; 'can go'), yameru koto ga dekiru (止めることができる; 'can stop'), etc. Depending on usage, a particle such as wa, mo or no can be used instead of ga. [217] [218]
Most contemporary ‑suru verbs do not really have underlying potential verbs and must use suru koto ga dekiru, which can be shortened to dekiru only for Group-A verbs, as in yasuku (suru koto ga) dekiru (安く(することが)できる; 'can make cheap'), benkyō (suru koto ga) dekiru (勉強(することが)できる; 'can study'), onegai (suru koto ga) dekiru (お願い(することが)できる; 'can request'); but nessuru koto ga dekiru (熱することができる; 'can heat'), kyōsuru koto ga dekiru (供することができる; 'can offer'), etc. In premodern times, the passive potential sareru, [219] serareru [220] [221] [222] and shirareru [223] were seldom used for Group-A verbs, but they were supplanted by (suru koto ga) dekiru, which figured in a trend towards disambiguating the polysemous passive potential during the Meiji era. [224] Non-Group-A verbs, which have become more like godan (partially or completely), do have potential verbs, such as aiseru (愛せる; 'can love') (short)/aisareru (愛される; 'can love; be loved') (long), nakuseru (無くせる; 'can lose')/nakusareru (無くされる; 'can lose; be lost'), etc; or more like ichidan, although probably without ra-nuki kotoba, as in ōjirareru/ōzerareru (応じられる・応ぜられる; 'can respond'), [225] or with it, as in shinjireru (信じれる; 'can believe'). [214]
Writers can make use of various ways to convey potentiality, such as when Natsume Sōseki used a short potential verb (aisezu), a long passive potential verb (irarenai), koto + particle + dekiru (hirogete dakishimeru koto no dekinai) and eru/uru (aishiuru) in the same sentence in the novel Kokoro : Ningen o aishiuru hito, aisezu ni wa irarenai hito, sore de ite jibun no futokoro ni irō to suru mono o, te o hirogete dakishimeru koto no dekinai hito,――kore ga sensei de atta. (人間を愛し得る人、愛せずにはゐられない人、それでゐて自分の懷に入らうとするものを、手をひろげて抱き締める事の出來ない人、――是が先生であつた。 [226] ; lit. 'A person who could love, a person who could not be without being able to love, yet a person who was incapable of opening his arms and embracing someone trying to get into his heart,――that was Sensei.', transl. A man capable of love, or I should say rather a man who was by nature incapable of not loving; but a man who could not wholeheartedly accept the love of another—such a one was Sensei. [227] ).
| Dictionary form | Pattern [45] | Potential form | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Godan verbs | ||||
| 結う(yuu, fasten) | 結う | 結え | る | 結える(yueru, can fasten) |
| 言う(yū, say) | ゆう | いえ | る | 言える (ieru, can say) |
| 勝つ (katsu, win) | 勝つ | 勝て | る | 勝てる (kateru, can win) |
| 狩る (karu, hunt) | 狩る | 狩れ | る | 狩れる (kareru, can hunt) |
| 貸す (kasu, lend) | 貸す | 貸せ | る | 貸せる (kaseru, can lend) |
| 愛す (aisu, love) | 愛す | 愛せ | る | 愛せる (aiseru, can love) [228] [229] |
| 達す (tassu, reach) | 達す | 達せ | る | 達せる (tasseru, can reach) [230] [231] |
| 書く (kaku, write) | 書く | 書け | る | 書ける (kakeru, can write) |
| 嗅ぐ (kagu, smell) | 嗅ぐ | 嗅げ | る | 嗅げる (kageru, can smell) |
| 呼ぶ(yobu, call) | 呼ぶ | 呼べ | る | 呼べる(yoberu, can call) |
| 読む(yomu, read) | 読む | 読め | る | 読める(yomeru, can read) |
| 死ぬ (shinu, die) | 死ぬ | 死ね | る | 死ねる (shineru, can die) |
| Ichidan verbs | ||||
| 射る (iru, shoot) | 射る | 射 | (ら)れる | 射(ら)れる (i(ra)reru, can shoot) |
| 達しる (tasshiru, reach) | 達しる | 達し 達せ | (ら)れる | 達し(ら)れる (tasshi(ra)reru, can reach) 達せ(ら)れる (tasse(ra)reru) |
| 察しる (sasshiru, guess) | 察しる | 察し 察せ | (ら)れる | 察し(ら)れる (sasshi(ra)reru, can guess) 察せ(ら)れる (sasse(ra)reru) |
| 信じる (shinjiru, believe) | 信じる | 信じ 信ぜ | (ら)れる | 信じ(ら)れる (shinji(ra)reru, can believe) 信ぜ(ら)れる (shinze(ra)reru) |
| 進ぜる (shinzeru, give) | 進ぜる | 進ぜ | (ら)れる | 進ぜ(ら)れる (shinze(ra)reru, can give) |
| 得る (eru, get) | 得る | 得 | (ら)れる | 得(ら)れる (e(ra)reru, can get) |
| Irregular verbs | ||||
| 愛する (aisuru, love) | 愛する | 愛せ | る | 愛せる (aiseru, can love) [232] |
| 達する (tassuru, reach) | 達する | 達せ | る | 達せる (tasseru, can reach) [233] |
| 達せ 達し | (ら)れる | 達せ(ら)れる (tasse(ra)reru) 達し(ら)れる (tasshi(ra)reru) | ||
| 察する (sassuru, guess) | 察する | 察せ 察し | (ら)れる | 察せ(ら)れる (sasse(ra)reru, can guess) 察し(ら)れる (sasshi(ra)reru) |
| 信ずる (shinzuru, believe) | 信ずる | 信ぜ 信じ | (ら)れる | 信ぜ(ら)れる (shinze(ra)reru, can believe) 信じ(ら)れる (shinji(ra)reru) |
| 進ずる (shinzuru, give) | 進ずる | 進ぜ 進じ | (ら)れる | 進ぜ(ら)れる (shinze(ra)reru, can give) 進じ(ら)れる (shinji(ra)reru) |
| 来る (kuru, come) | くる | こ | (ら)れる | 来(ら)れる (ko(ra)reru, can come) |
After conjugating into the potential form, the verbs become ichidan verbs. They can therefore be further conjugated according to any ichidan pattern. For instance, a potential verb (e.g. 言える (ieru, can say)) can conjugate using the ichidan pattern for the te form (て形, te kei) to join sequential statements (言えて (iete)), or the conjunctive form to append the polite -masu (〜ます) auxiliary verb (言えます (iemasu)).
The causative form ( 使役形 , shiekikei) is used to express that a subject was forced or allowed to do something. [234]
| English | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|
| I make them work hard. | 頑張らせる (ganbaraseru) | forced to |
| I let them play outside. | 外で遊ばせる (soto de asobaseru) | allowed to |
| The baseball coach made the players exercise. | 野球のコーチは選手達に練習させた(yakyū no kōchi wa senshu tachi ni renshū saseta) [k] | forced to by |
The causative form is created by using the mizenkei base, followed by the ‑seru/‑saseru (せる・させる; ichidan) suffix. Colloquially, the shorter ‑su/‑sasu (す・さす; godan) can be used, which may cause some verbs to take the same form, such as ugokasu (動かす; 'cause it to move; move it') and ugokaseru (動かせる; 'can cause it to move; can move it'). [235] ‑Su/‑sasu was the nidan ancestor of the modern ichidan‑seru/‑saseru; it became yodan sometime during Late Middle Japanese. [18] A survey found that respondents were more likely to use -(sa)su, which is now godan, over -(sa)seru, if the original verb was already godan. [236]
The causatives of honorific verbs do not seem to occur, [150] although at least one author has artificially used nasaraseta (なさらせた) in their literal translations of Amdo Tibetan honorific causatives. [237]
| Dictionary form | Pattern [45] | Causative form | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Godan verbs | ||||
| 結う(yuu, fasten) | 結う | 結わ | せる す | 結わせる(yuwaseru, cause to fasten) 結わす(yuwasu) |
| 言う(yū, say) | ゆう | いわ ゆわ | せる す | 言わせる (iwaseru/yuwaseru, cause to say) 言わす (iwasu/yuwasu) |
| 勝つ (katsu, win) | 勝つ | 勝た | せる す | 勝たせる (kataseru, cause to win) 勝たす (katasu) |
| 狩る (karu, hunt) | 狩る | 狩ら | せる す | 狩らせる (karaseru, cause to hunt) 狩らす (karasu) |
| 有る (aru, exist) | 有る | 有ら | せる す | 有らせる (araseru, cause to exist) [l] [242] [243] [244] [245] [246] 有らす (arasu) |
| 貸す (kasu, lend) | 貸す | 貸さ | せる す | 貸させる (kasaseru, cause to lend) 貸さす (kasasu) |
| 愛す (aisu, love) | 愛す | 愛さ | せる す | 愛させる (aisaseru, cause to love) 愛さす (aisasu) |
| 達す (tassu, reach) | 達す | 達さ | せる す | 達させる (tassaseru, cause to reach) 達さす (tassasu) |
| 書く (kaku, write) | 書く | 書か | せる す | 書かせる (kakaseru, cause to write) 書かす (kakasu) |
| 嗅ぐ (kagu, smell) | 嗅ぐ | 嗅が | せる す | 嗅がせる (kagaseru, cause to smell) 嗅がす (kagasu) |
| 呼ぶ(yobu, call) | 呼ぶ | 呼ば | せる す | 呼ばせる(yobaseru, cause to call) 呼ばす(yobasu) |
| 読む(yomu, read) | 読む | 読ま | せる す | 読ませる(yomaseru, cause to read) 読ます(yomasu) |
| 死ぬ (shinu, die) | 死ぬ | 死な | せる す | 死なせる (shinaseru, cause to die) 死なす (shinasu) |
| Ichidan verbs | ||||
| 射る (iru, shoot) | 射る | 射 | させる さす | 射させる (isaseru, cause to shoot) 射さす (isasu) |
| 達しる (tasshiru, reach) | 達しる | 達し 達せ | させる さす | 達しさせる (tasshisaseru, cause to reach) 達せさせる (tassesaseru) 達しさす (tasshisasu) 達せさす (tassesasu) |
| 察しる (sasshiru, guess) | 察しる | 察し 察せ | させる さす | 察しさせる (sasshisaseru, cause to guess) [247] 察せさせる (sassesaseru) 察しさす (sasshisasu) 察せさす (sassesasu) |
| 感じる (kanjiru, feel) | 感じる | 感じ 感ぜ | させる さす | 感じさせる (kanjisaseru, cause to feel) [248] 感ぜさせる (kanzesaseru) [249] 感じさす (kanjisasu) 感ぜさす (kanzesasu) |
| 進ぜる (shinzeru, give) | 進ぜる | 進ぜ | させる さす | 進ぜさせる (shinzesaseru, cause to give) 進ぜさす (shinzesasu) |
| 得る (eru, get) | 得る | 得 | させる さす | 得させる (esaseru, cause to get) 得さす (esasu) |
| Irregular verbs | ||||
| する (suru, do) | する | さ | せる す | させる (saseru, cause to do) [m] さす (sasu) |
| せ し | させる さす | せさせる (sesaseru) [250] しさせる (shisaseru) [251] せさす (sesasu) しさす (shisasu) | ||
| 変化する (henka suru, transform) | 変化する | 変化さ | せる す | 変化させる (henka saseru, cause to transform) 変化さす (henka sasu) |
| 変化せ 変化し | させる さす | 変化せさせる (henka sesaseru) [252] [253] 変化しさせる (henka shisaseru) [254] [255] [256] [257] 変化せさす (henka sesasu) 変化しさす (henka shisasu) | ||
| 愛する (aisuru, love) | 愛する | 愛さ | せる す | 愛させる (aisaseru, cause to love) [176] [258] 愛さす (aisasu) |
| 愛せ 愛し | させる さす | 愛せさせる (aisesaseru) [259] 愛しさせる (aishisaseru) [260] 愛せさす (aisesasu) 愛しさす (aishisasu) | ||
| 達する (tassuru, reach) | 達する | 達さ | せる す | 達させる (tassaseru, cause to reach) [261] 達さす (tassasu) |
| 達せ 達し | させる さす | 達せさせる (tassesaseru) [176] [262] 達しさせる (tasshisaseru) [176] [263] 達せさす (tassesasu) 達しさす (tasshisasu) | ||
| 察する (sassuru, guess) | 察する | 察せ 察し | させる さす | 察せさせる (sassesaseru, cause to guess) [264] 察しさせる (sasshisaseru) [265] [266] 察せさす (sassesasu) 察しさす (sasshisasu) |
| 感ずる (kanzuru, feel) | 感ずる | 感ぜ 感じ | させる さす | 感ぜさせる (kanzesaseru, cause to feel) [176] [267] 感じさせる (kanjisaseru) [176] [268] 感ぜさす (kanzesasu) 感じさす (kanjisasu) |
| 進ずる (shinzuru, give) | 進ずる | 進ぜ 進じ | させる さす | 進ぜさせる (shinzesaseru, cause to give) [269] 進じさせる (shinjisaseru) [270] 進ぜさす (shinzesasu) 進じさす (shinjisasu) |
| 来る (kuru, come) | くる | こ | させる さす | 来させる (kosaseru, cause to come) 来さす (kosasu) |
The pseudo-classical causative makes use of -shimeru (~しめる) instead of -(sa)seru as shown above. It has ichidan conjugation, and it is meant to emulate the true classical causative with -shimu which has nidan conjugation. As a pseudo-classical auxiliary, -shimeru combines only with classical irrealis forms, which in most cases are not different from modern ones; but in the case of suru which has three irrealis forms, only the classical se- is used as in seshimeru, not *sashimeru nor *shishimeru. [271]
After conjugating into the causative form, the verbs become ichidan verbs. They can therefore be further conjugated according to any ichidan pattern. For instance, a causative verb (e.g. 言わせる (iwaseru, caused to say)) can conjugate using the ichidan pattern for the te form (て形, te kei) to join sequential statements (言わせて (iwasete)), or the conjunctive form to append the polite -masu (〜ます) auxiliary verb (言わせます (iwasemasu)).
The causative passive form expresses that a reluctant subject was positioned (or forced) into doing something they would rather avoid. The causative passive form is obtained by conjugating a verb into its causative form and further conjugating it into the passive form. However, because words such as 待たせられる (mataserareru) are considered difficult to pronounce, the conjugational suffix is often contracted in colloquial speech. Specific to godan verbs only, the せら〜 (sera-; from せられる) contracts into さ〜 (sa-). [272]
| English | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|
| I'm made to study by my parents. | 両親に勉強させられる (ryōshin ni benkyō saserareru) | formal |
| I'm made to wait. | 待たされる (matasareru) | colloquial present |
| I was made to buy something. | 買わされた (kawasareta) | colloquial past |
The volitional form (also known as the "conjectural form", "tentative form", "presumptive form" and the "hortative form") is used to express speaker's will or intention (volitional), make an inclusive command or invitation (hortative or persuasive) [273] or to make a guess or supposition (presumptive).
| English | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|
| I will put off this task for later. | その仕事は後回しにしよう (sono shigoto wa atomawashi ni shiyō) [274] | personal volition |
| Let's go home! | 帰ろう! (kaerō!) | inclusive command |
| Shall we eat outside? | 外で食べようか? (soto de tabeyō ka?) | inclusive invitation |
| There will probably be many objections at the meeting. | 会議では多くの反論が出されよう (kaigi de wa ōku no hanron ga dasareyō) [274] | making a guess or supposition |
The so-called "volitional form" is actually a combination of the mizenkei and the auxiliary う, which underwent systemic historical sound changes that affected all the examples below. These sound changes motivated the term godan ("five grade"), which replaced yodan ("four grade"). See Japanese godan and ichidan verbs § Godan vs yodan. For non-godan verbs, during the final stage as shown in the table below, the vowels of the original mizenkei, i, e and o, [275] were reintroduced in some dialects, especially eastern ones, which yielded the suffix -yō, as in iyō, eyō and koyō. Other dialects, especially western ones, did not undergo this development. [276] [277] [278] [279] For suru in particular, the eastern vowel i is used rather than the western e, hence shiyō rather than seyō, the latter of which is found in some Chūbu dialects. [280] The unique shapes of -mashō (rather than *-mashiyō), deshō (rather than *deshiyō) and the negative -masen suggest their provenance in western polite speech. [20]
Most verbs have volitional meanings, as in shiyō/shimashō (しよう・しましょう; 'let's do it'), although this can be interpreted as self-tentative ("I'll probably do it"). To express tentativity unambiguously, darō, (d(e)) arō or deshō, which is unambiguously tentative, is added, as in suru darō / suru deshō / shimasu deshō (するだろう・するでしょう・しますでしょう; 'he'll probably do it'). In some cases where the subject lacks human agency, the tentative meaning is more plausible, for example, kumorō/kumorimashō (曇ろう・曇りましょう) means "it'll probably be cloudy" tentatively, not *"let's be cloudy" volitionally; ame ga furō / ame ga furimashō (雨が降ろう・雨が降りましょう) means "it'll probably rain", not *"let's rain"; dekiyō/dekimashō (できよう・できましょう) means "probably can" not *"let's be able". These have been increasingly replaced by kumoru darō / kumoru deshō / kumorimasu deshō (曇るだろう・曇るでしょう・曇りますでしょう), ame ga furu darō / ame ga furu deshō / ame ga furimasu deshō (雨が降るだろう・雨が降るでしょう・雨が降りますでしょう) and dekiru darō / dekiru deshō / dekimasu deshō (できるだろう・できるでしょう・できますでしょう). Most adjectives have tentative meanings, as in akakarō (赤かろう; 'it's probably red') with a built-in arō, or increasingly, akai darō/deshō (赤いだろう・でしょう). [281] Arō (tentative) may be substituted with aru darō in writing, and with arimashō for more politeness; [282] and de arō with darō in writing, and with de arimashō for more politeness. [18] The past tentative ‑ta/‑da darō is preferred to ‑tarō/‑darō, [283] deshita deshō to deshitarō, and ‑mashita deshō to ‑mashitarō. For the negative, such forms of the types of 呼ばなかろう(yobanakarō; probably not read), [284] 大きくなかろう (ōkiku nakarō) and 本で・じゃなかろう (hon de/ja nakarō; probably not a book) are common in writing but not quite in speech, where 〜ないだろう・でしょう (nai darō/deshō) are preferred. [285]
| Dictionary form | Pattern [45] | Volitional form | Historical evolution [286] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Godan verbs | |||||
| 結う(yuu, fasten) | 結う | 結お | う | 結おう(yuō, let's/probably fasten) | /amu→aũ→ɔː→oː/ |
| 言う(yū, say) | ゆう | いお | う | 言おう (iō, let's/probably say) | |
| 通う (kayou, commute) | 通う | 通お | う | 通おう (kayoō, let's/probably commute) | |
| 拾う (hirou, pick up) | 拾う | 拾お | う | 拾おう (hiroō, let's/probably pick up) | |
| 勝つ (katsu, win) | 勝つ | 勝と | う | 勝とう (katō, let's/probably win) | |
| 狩る (karu, hunt) | 狩る | 狩ろ | う | 狩ろう (karō, let's/probably hunt) | |
| 有る (aru, exist) | 有る | 有ろ | う | 有ろう (arō, probably exist) [287] [288] [289] [290] [291] | |
| 下さる (kudasaru, give) | 下さる | 下さろ | う | 下さろう (kudasarō, let's/probably give) [292] [293] [294] [295] [296] | |
| 貸す (kasu, lend) | 貸す | 貸そ | う | 貸そう (kasō, let's/probably lend) | |
| 愛す (aisu, love) | 愛す | 愛そ | う | 愛そう (aisō, let's/probably love) [297] | |
| 達す (tassu, reach) | 達す | 達そ | う | 達そう (tassō, let's/probably reach) [230] [298] | |
| 書く (kaku, write) | 書く | 書こ | う | 書こう (kakō, let's/probably write) | |
| 嗅ぐ (kagu, smell) | 嗅ぐ | 嗅ご | う | 嗅ごう (kagō, let's/probably smell) | |
| 呼ぶ(yobu, call) | 呼ぶ | 呼ぼ | う | 呼ぼう(yobō, let's/probably call) | |
| 読む(yomu, read) | 読む | 読も | う | 読もう(yomō, let's/probably read) | |
| 死ぬ (shinu, die) | 死ぬ | 死の | う | 死のう (shinō, let's/probably die) | |
| Ichidan verbs | |||||
| 射る (iru, shoot) | 射る | 射 | よう | 射よう (iyō, let's/probably shoot) | /imu→iũ→juː→ijoː/ |
| 達しる (tasshiru, reach) | 達しる | 達し | よう | 達しよう (tasshiyō, let's/probably reach) | |
| 察しる (sasshiru, guess) | 察しる | 察し | よう | 察しよう (sasshiyō, let's/probably guess) [299] | |
| 信じる (shinjiru, believe) | 信じる | 信じ | よう | 信じよう (shinjiyō, let's/probably believe) [300] | |
| 進ぜる (shinzeru, give) | 進ぜる | 進ぜ | よう | 進ぜよう (shinzeyō, let's/probably give) [301] [302] [303] | /emu→eũ→joː→ejoː/ |
| 得る (eru, get) | 得る | 得 | よう | 得よう (eyō, let's/probably get) | |
| Irregular verbs | |||||
| する (suru, do) | する | し | よう | しよう (shiyō, let's/probably do) | /semu→seũ→sjoː→sijoː/ |
| 勉強する (benkyō suru, study) | 勉強する | 勉強し | よう | 勉強しよう (benkyō shiyō, let's/probably study) | |
| 愛する (aisuru, love) | 愛する | 愛そ | う | 愛そう (aisō, let's/probably love) [304] | |
| 愛し | よう | 愛しよう (aishiyō, let's/probably love) [260] [305] | |||
| 達する (tassuru, reach) | 達する | 達そ | う | 達そう (tassō, let's/probably reach) [306] | |
| 達し | よう | 達しよう (tasshiyō, let's/probably reach) [307] | |||
| 察する (sassuru, guess) | 察する | 察し | よう | 察しよう (sasshiyō, let's/probably guess) [308] | |
| 信ずる (shinzuru, believe) | 信ずる | 信じ | よう | 信じよう (shinjiyō, let's/probably believe) [97] | |
| 進ずる (shinzuru, give) | 進ずる | 進じ 進ぜ | よう | 進じよう (shinjiyō, let's/probably give) [301] 進ぜよう (shinzeyō) [301] [309] | |
| 来る (kuru, come) | くる | こ | よう | 来よう (koyō, let's/probably come) | /komu→koũ→koː→kojoː/ |
| Verbal auxiliaries | |||||
| 〜ます(る) (‑masu(ru)) | ます(る) | ましょ | う | 〜ましょう (‑mashō, let's/probably …) | /semu→seũ→sjoː/ |
| です (desu, be) | です | でしょ | う | でしょう (deshō, probably be) | |
| だ (da, be) じゃ(ja) | だ じゃ | だ じゃ | ろう | だろう (darō, probably be) じゃろう(jarō) | /nitearamu→deaɾamu→d(j)aɾamu→d(j)aɾaũ→d(j)aɾɔː→d(j)aɾoː/ |
| 〜た (‑ta) 〜だ (‑da) | た だ | た だ | ろう | 〜たろう (‑tarō) 〜だろう (‑darō) | /teaɾamu→taɾamu→taɾaũ/daɾaũ→taɾɔː/daɾɔː→taɾoː/daɾoː/ |
| Adjective and adjectival auxiliaries | |||||
| 無い (nai, be nonexistent) | 無い | 無かろ | う | 無かろう (nakarō, be probably nonexistent) | /kuaɾamu→kaɾamu→kaɾaũ→kaɾɔː→kaɾoː/ |
| 良い (ii/yoi, be good) | いい よい | よかろ | う | 良かろう(yokarō, be probably good) | |
| Special auxiliaries | |||||
| 〜ません (‑masen, not) 〜ませぬ (‑masenu) | ません ませぬ | ません ませぬ | でしょう | 〜ませんでしょう (‑masen deshō, let's/probably not) 〜ませぬでしょう (‑masenu deshō) | |
The volitional form is also used to describe intention 〜と思う (-to omou) [310] an attempt 〜とする (-to suru) or an imminent action 〜としている (-to shite iru). [311]
| English | Japanese | Function |
|---|---|---|
| I think I'm going to make a salad. | サラダを作ろうと思う (sarada o tsukurō to omou) | intention |
| I'll try to go to bed early. | 早く寝ようとする (hayaku neyō to suru) | attempt |
| The dog is about to bark. | 犬が吠えようとしている (inu ga hoeyō to shite iru) | imminent action |
Even with this new information, I remained silent. No words came. My first thought was, Oh, so he can talk? My next thought was that he sure had an odd way of speaking. It was not the way ordinary people would speak. But then again, the little two-foot Commendatore was in no way ordinary. So whatever his manner of speech, it shouldn't be surprising.
Poručík Dub podíval se rozzlobené do bezstarostného obličeje dobrého vojáka Švejka a otázal se ho zlostně: „Znáte mne?"何の屈託も無さそうな――上官を眼中に置かないような――シュベイクの顔をつらつら眺めていたドウプ少尉は立腹して訊いた――「お前はわしを知っとるか?」
„Znám vás, pane lajtnant."
Poručík Dub zakoulel očima a zadupal: „Já vám povídám, že mě ještě neznáte."
Švejk odpověděl opět s tím bezstarostným klidem, jako když hlásí raport: „Znám vás, pane lajtnant, jste, poslušně hlásím, od našeho maršbataliónu."
„Vy mě ještě neznáte," křičel poznovu poručík Dub, „vy mne znáte možná z té dobré stránky, ale až mne poznáte z té špatné stránky. Já jsem zlý, nemyslete si, já každého přinutím až k pláči. Tak znáte mne, nebo mne neznáte?"
„Znám, pane lajtnant "
„Já vám naposled říkám, že mne neznáte, vy osle. Máte nějaké bratry?"
—I just wanted to say, […]. Ireland, they say, has the honour of being the only country which never persecuted the jews. Do you know that? No. And do you know why?「ちょっと言っておきたいことがあってな。…..アイルランドは、名誉なことに、ユダヤ人を迫害せぬ唯一の国になっとるそうだ。知っとるかね?知っとらん。では、なぜだかわかるかね?あいつらを絶対に国の中に入れぬからだよ。」
[…]
—Because she never let them in,
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)"According to what you say," said the Inspector bitterly, "you don't know any of the really important things. I thought you had something."「お前の言うことを聞いとると」と、警視は苦々しく「本当に重要なことはなにも知らんようだな。なにか知っとるとわしは睨んどったが」
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)— Ah ! monsieur le maire, si vous ne l'avez pas sauvé, Dieu voulait sans doute le rappeler à lui.――あゝ! 村長樣、あなたがお助けになりましなかつたけれど、きつと神樣があいつ奴をお呼びになつてゐらしたんでございますよ。[― Ah! Mister Mayor, if you did not save him, no doubt God called him to Himself.]
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。[…]
'But, honey, you kain do dat!'「でも、お嬢さま、そりゃできましねえだ」
[…] Lots of gentlemens might a' bought me but they wouldn't a' bought my Prissy, too, jes' to keep me frum grievin' and I thanks you. […] 'Ah ain' gwine stand by an' have eve'ybody at de pahty sayin' how you ain' fotched up right. Ah has tole you an' tole you dat you kin allus tell a lady by dat she eat lak a bird. […]'
[…]
'You keep yo' shawl on yo' shoulders w'en you is in de sun, an' doan you go takin' off yo' hat w'en you is wahm,' she commanded. […]
'No, you ain',' said Mammy grimly. […]
'Dis Miss Scarlett, ain' it? Dis hyah Peter, Miss Pitty's coachman. Doan step down in dat mud,' he ordered severely, as Scarlett gathered up her skirts preparatory to descending. […] No'm, Ah ain' sho whut kine of furriners dey is. Miss Pitty, she say dey is Inlish but kain nobody unnerstan a' wud dey says. Yas'm 'tis pow'ful smoky an' de soot jes' ruinin' Miss Pitty's silk cuttins. It' frum de foun'ry an' de rollin' mills. An' de noise dey meks at night! Kain nobody sleep. […]
'Ah doan know.'
— Et tu n'as pas soupé ?――じゃ、晩のご飯は食べていないね?
— Dame ! non, mademoiselle, je n'ai pas eu le temps.
— On va te donner à souper. Ton oncle a-t-il du pain encore ?
— Peu, mademoiselle ; mais c'est de la poudre surtout qui lui manque. Voilà les châtaignes venues, et maintenant il n'a plus besoin que de poudre.
— Je vais te donner un pain pour lui et de la poudre. Dis-lui qu'il la ménage, elle est chère.
'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.
Чем знакомее лица, тем труднее являются они, тем неяснее их впечатление; их помнишь, а не видишь… а своего собственного лица никак и не представишь… Малейшая отдельная черта известна, а целого образа не составляется.面相を見識つてゐれば居るほど、浮び難くて、其印象が判然しない、憶出せても目に見えない……自分の顏などは到底も想像せられないもので、細い局部は明亮するが、全體が成立たない。[The more familiar the faces, the more difficult they are to picture, the less clear their impression; you cannot see them even if you can recall them…… It is impossible to visualize even your own face; the most minute feature is clear, but the whole image will not come together.]
Быть художником… Без горького, постоянного труда не бывает художников… а трудиться, думал я, глядя на его мягкие черты, слушая его неспешную речь — нет! трудиться ты не будешь, сдаться ты не сумеешь. Но не полюбить его не было возможности: сердце так и влеклось к нему.美術家になる……と自分では云つてゐるが、身を責めて倦まずに勉めなければ、美術家にはなれぬものである。けれども勉めるといふことは如何であらうかと思つて、密にガギンの擧動を窺へば、面相も優しく、言語も優雅である。いや、此男には勉められない、奮發せられない、と斷念ました。けれども之を愛せずには居られません。魂が如何も引寄せられるやうである。[Being an artist…… I thought to myself, being an artist is not without taking yourself to task and toiling tirelessly. But when I thought about what it would be like to toil, sneaking a look at Gagin’s countenance, all I saw was his delicate features and magnanimous manner. No, this man could not toil, he could never exert himself, I thought with resignation. But I cannot help but love him. It was almost as though my soul was drawn to him.]
Чем знакомее лица, тем труднее являются они, тем неяснее их впечатление; их помнишь, а не видишь… а своего собственного лица никак и не представишь… Малейшая отдельная черта известна, а целого образа не составляется.面貌を見識ツてゐればゐるほど、浮びにくゝて、其印象が判然しない、憶出せても目に見えない……自身の顏などは到底想像しられないもので……瑣末な一局部は明亮にわかるが、全體が成立たない。[The more familiar the faces, the more difficult they are to picture, the less clear their impression; you cannot see them even if you can recall them…… It is impossible to visualize even your own face…… The most minute feature is clearly known, but the whole image will not come together.]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)He was a penniless man, some accounts say he was a bankrupt, and his only way of securing a ship was to get someone to entrust him with a command. He went first to King John II of Portugal, who listened to him, made difficulties, and then arranged for an expedition to start without his knowledge, a purely Portuguese expedition. This highly diplomatic attempt to steal a march on an original man failed, as it deserved to fail; the crew became mutinous, the captain lost heart and returned (1483). Columbus then went to the Court of Spain.コロㇺブスは、文無しの素寒貧である、破產者だと云ふ記錄さへある。其處で船を手に入れる方法は、誰かの許に行つて指揮權を委託して貰ふ外に道はない。そこでまづ葡萄牙國王ジョン二世に詣つた。王はコロㇺブスに耳を傾けたが樣々に難癖をつけて置いて、一方裏に廻つてコロㇺブスに知らせずに純粹の葡萄牙人の探檢隊を組織して出航の凖備をせさせた。倂しコロㇺブスの如き天才を出し拔かうと云ふ樣な大それた騙し打駈引きの企てなぞは成る筈がない、當然、氣味善くも失敗に歸した、船員が叛き出し船長は勇氣を喪つて歸つて來たのである。(一四八三年)。コロㇺブスはついで西班牙宮廷に詣つた。
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[…] non quod eas amem, sed ut amem te, deus meus. […] amemus, curramus.それは私がそんなものを愛するが爲めではなく、私の神よ、貴下を愛しようといふのだからで厶います。[…]我々に愛しさせて下さい、我々に驅けさせて下さい。[It is not for I love them, but for I may love Thee, my God. […] Let us love, let us run.]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)