Japanese Verbs : What is the dictionary form?

What is the dictionary form of verbs?

Japanese verbs have five basic conjugations, which can be called the u form, the i form, the a form, the e form and the o form.

The Japanese form of verbs that ends with the sound u is called the u form. This is the most basic form a verb can take. This is also called the dictionary form, because it is the form of verbs that you will see in the dictionary.

Every verb in Japanese has the dictionary form.

Let's have a look at some verbs.

EnglishJapanese
the base formthe dictionary form
the u/う form
1to buykau / かう / 買う
2to sitsuwaru / すわる / 座る
3to selluru / うる / 売る
4to get onnoru / のる / 乗る
5to waitmatsu / まつ / 待つ
6to listenkiku / きく / 聴く
7to speakhanasu / はなす / 話す
8to playasobu / あそぶ / 遊ぶ
9to readyomu / よむ / 読む
10to swimoyogu / およぐ / 泳ぐ
11to seemiru / みる / 見る
12to eattaberu / たべる / 食べる
13to comekuru / くる / 来る
14to dosuru / する

Here, all verbs end with the sound u. That is, they are the dictionary form / the u form.

You may also like

https://jpgrammar.com/verbforms/

おすすめの記事