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Japanese verb conjugation

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This section deals only with Japanese as written and spoken in the late 20th and 21st centuries.

Japanese school grammar (学校文法,gakkō bunpō) is based on an analysis of Classical Japanese texts written in the kana script. As the kana script is written without spaces, it represents morae as the smallest phonological unit, and due to differences between Classical Japanese and Modern Japanese, it is very different from the newer grammar designed to teach Japanese to foreign students (日本語教育文法Nihongo kyōiku bunpō).

Conjugational classes: From a morphological view, regular verbs in Modern Japanese can be roughly classified into two conjugational classes,consonant-stem andvowel-stem. The dictionary form of consonant-stem verbs is stem +-u, and of vowel-stem verbs is stem +-ru.

Japanese school grammar, however, uses a very different approach. Due to the moraic kana script, a consonant-stem verb such askak-u is segmented aska-ku since other endings cause a change to the kana for theku part (e.g.kak-anai,kak-imasu, etc.) In addition, only that kana is regarded as the ending in conjugation; the remaining part is considered as particles or auxiliary verbs.

It is easy to see that for any consonant-stem verb, the "ending" in Japanese school grammar is a kana whose consonant does not change (since it is from the true stem) and whose vowel can change to all five vowels in conjugation. In the fifty-sound table (五十音図gojūon-zu), the ending stays on the same row but can cover all five columns ("grades") in conjugation, so the conjugation of consonant-stem verbs are calledfive-grade conjugation (五段活用godan katsuyō).

Vowel-stem verbs are more complex. Since Japanese school grammar is designed for Classical Japanese, where most modern vowel-stem verbs such asoki-ru had alternation in the stem-final vowel (e.g.oki-ru used to conjugate tooki-zu,oki-ki,oku(ru),oku-reba, etc.), the unchanging part wasok- and the same reason with consonant-stem verbs caused them to be segmented likeo-kiru, even though theki part never change in Modern Japanese. In conjugation theru part is dropped or changed mainly to ensure the same set of particles or auxiliary verbs:

It's easy to see that the "ending" begins with a kana that does not change (since it is from the true stem) and therefore stays on one row and one column ("grade") of the fifty-sound table. Fori-stem verbs, that kana is on thei row, so the conjugation is calledupper-monograde conjugation (上一段活用kami-ichidan katsuyō). Fore-stem verbs, that kana is on thee row, so the conjugation is calledlower-monograde conjugation (下一段活用shimo-ichidan katsuyō). (The names are in reference to a vertically written fifty-sound table where the five rowsa, i, u, e, o becomes five columns and the "upper/lower monograde" refers to the column above or below the middle one,u).

The newer grammar designed to teach foreigners follows the morphological analysis and groups the verbs into three classes,Group I (consonant-stem),Group II (vowel-stem), andGroup III (irregular). The first two classes are also called-u verbs and-ru verbs, but the stem-ending boundary of consonant-stem verbs is not indicated because it may be blurred by sound changes (e.g.kak-u →kaita), making their kana-based segmentation (ka-ku) more advantageous.

Paradigm of verbs: In Japanese school grammar, verbs have only six conjugated forms (although some can have further sound changes) and any further conjugation is done by appending particles (助詞joshi) or auxiliary verbs (助動詞jodōshi).

The newer grammar designed for teaching foreigners Japanese, on the other hand, gives a set of key conjugated forms that may be immediately useful:

In traditional Japanese grammar, modern Japanese has five verbal conjugational classes:godan (five-grade),kami ichidan (upper monograde),shimo ichidan (lower monograde),ka-gyō henkaku (k- irregular), andsa-gyō henkaku (s- irregular). Some English-language resources simplify them to three: Group I (consonant stem, comprisinggodan), Group II (vowel stem, comprising theichidan’s), and Group III (irregular). The first two groups are also known as-u and-ru verbs, respectively, in reference to the dictionary form (i.e. the nonpast) endings.

Five-grade (五段godan) is the class of consonant stem verbs and is the largest verb class with native vocabulary. The stem-final consonants include-k,-g,-s,-t,-n,-b,-m,-r, and-w. The dictionary form is formed by attaching-u to the stem, makingく(ku),ぐ(gu),す(su),つ(tsu),ぬ(nu),ぶ(bu),む(mu),る(ru), andう(u). Traditionally, the stem-final consonant is considered as part of the inflecting suffix, so a verb like書く(kaku,“to write”,stemkak-) is segmented asか・く(ka-ku), with the inflecting part being-ku. Since the stem-final consonant play a role in some of the conjugation patterns, we include it in the paradigm below as well.

Notes

1. For volitional forms such askakou, some versions of thekatsuyōkei system list thekako- part as an alternative 未然形mizenkei, and some list it as a seventhkatsuyōkei form. The-ou ending is spelt in historical kana orthography (歴史的仮名遣い) as-au (e.g.yasumou as やすまう), reflecting its historical derivation.
2. Historically, the-w ending for all such verbs was originally a-p, hence the historical kana spelling (歴史的仮名遣い) for, say, いう is いふ, with the sixkatsuyōkei forms いは, いひ, いふ, いふ, いへ, いへ.

Upper monograde (上一段kami ichidan) is the class of regular vowel stem verbs whose stems end in-i. The dictionary form is formed by attaching-ru to the stem, making anい段(i-dan,“i-row”) kana plusる(ru). Traditionally, the final syllable (Ci) of the stem is considered part of the inflecting suffix, so for example借りる(kariru,“to borrow”,stemkari-) is segmented asか・りる(ka-riru), with the inflecting part being-riru. (If there is only one syllable in the stem, the whole word becomes the inflecting part.) As the final syllable in the stem does not change or affect the conjugational patterns, we will leave it out in the paradigm below.

Notes

1. -ro is the spoken imperative and-yo is the written imperative.

Lower monograde (下一段shimo ichidan) is the class of regular vowel stem verbs whose stems end in-e. The dictionary form is formed by attaching-ru to the stem, making anえ段(e-dan,“e-row”) kana plusる(ru). Traditionally, the final syllable (Ce) of the stem is considered part of the inflecting suffix, so for example食べる(taberu,“to eat”,stemtabe-) is segmented asた・べる(ta-beru), with the inflecting part being-beru. (If there is only one syllable in the stem, the whole word becomes the inflecting part.) As the final syllable in the stem does not change or affect the conjugational patterns, we will leave it out in the paradigm below.

Notes

1. The imperatives-ro and-yo are as noted for upper monograde verbs. The verbくれるkureru “to give” has an irregular imperative formくれkure.

This class holds the only irregular verb来る(kuru,“to come”).

Notes

1. Unlike other verbs, the Classical Japanese imperative formsko andkoyo are very rarely used even when trying to sound formal, archaic or stylistic. Such situations are usually handled instead by the suppletiveきたれ(kitare), the imperative of the five-grade (godan)きたる(kitaru).

This class holds the irregular verbする(suru,“to do”). Note the suppletive potential formできる(dekiru,“to be able”). When used as a light verb, it is usually used to turn an non-inflecting word into a verb such as勉強する(benkyō suru,“to study”),びっくりする(bikkuri suru,“to be surprised”), in which case the conjugation is the same. However, a number of words which involvesuru (mostly single kanji +suru) conjugate differently: those withsuru after a /Q/, such as達する(tassuru), have different causative and passive forms; those withsuru voiced after a moraic nasal, such as論ずる(ronzuru), have a hybrid conjugation betweens- irregular-zuru andkami ichidan-jiru; and some withsuru afteri orku, such as愛する(aisuru), have a hybrid conjugation betweens- irregular-suru andgodan-su.^[2]

Notes

1. When used with older auxiliaries such as the negative ぬ-nu, the oldermizenkei,se- (ze- forzuru) is used.
2. The imperatives-ro and-yo are as noted for upper monograde verbs.

In traditional Japanese grammar, verbs have the six basic forms called 活用形katsuyōkei listed below, from which most of their inflected forms can be derived.

Notes: 未然形mizenkei “irrealis” is named after its use with-ba in Classical Japanese:kakaba “if one writes”, in contrast with the realiskakeba “as, when, because one writes”. It is a stem used to form the negative, passive, causative, and the volitional. 連用形ren'yōkei is named in reference to its use followed by 用言yōgen “inflecting words”. It is the infinitive as an inflected form, and also a stem used to form some inflected forms as well as compound verbs. 終止形shūshikei is the conclusive, and is also the “plain” or “dictionary form” in which verbs are generally cited. 連体形rentaikei is named in reference to its use followed by 体言taigen “non-inflecting words”. It is the adnominal, also used to conclude a clause modifying a noun. In modern Japanese theshūshikei always has the same shape as therentaikei, but in Classical Japanese it does not for some classes. 仮定形kateikei “hypothetical” is a stem only used with-ba to form the provisional conditional. 命令形meireikei is the imperative.

There are a large number of suffixes that can follow verbs to express grammatical categories in Japanese, and this section deals with suffixes that are not verbs themselves. Note that a verb can be conjugated several times by chaining auxiliaries, e.g.食べる(taberu,“to eat”) to the causative食べさせる(tabesaseru,“to make (someone) eat”) then to the polite form食べさせます(tabesasemasu) and finally to the negative食べさせません(tabesasemasen,“does not make (someone) eat”). As such, the actual number of inflected forms of a verb can be very large. The most common, one-level inflected forms of verbs are listed below:

Note

• 行く(iku,“to go”,stemik-) has the irregularonbin stemiQ-, hence the past isいった(itta), the conjunctive isいって(itte), etc. Otherwise, it is a regulargodan verb with-k stem.

Notes

1. The honorific verbsいらっしゃる(irassharu),仰る(ossharu),下さる(kudasaru),なさる(nasaru),ござる(gozaru) have irregular imperative forms andren'yōkei stems used with the auxiliary verbます(-masu), formed by changing the-r to-i (rather than the regularren'yōkei-ri or imperative-re). Otherwise, they are regulargodan verbs with-r stems.
2. The verbある(aru,“to be, to exist”) has the suppletive negative formない(nai,“non-existent, not”), which is an adjective. Otherwise, it is a regulargodan verb with-r stem.
3. The verbs問う(tou) and請う(kou) have irregularonbin stems formed by changing the-w to a lengthening mora, hence the past isとうた(tōta),こうた(kōta), the conjunctive isとうて(tōte),こうて(kōte), etc. Otherwise, they are regulargodan verb with-w stems.

Note

The verbくれる(kureru,“to give (me or someone of lower rank)”) has the irregular imperative formくれ(kure). Otherwise, it is a regularshimo ichidan verb.

Note

Unlike other verbs, the Classical Japanese formsko andkoyo are never used for the imperative even when trying to sound formal, archaic or stylistic. Such situations are instead handled by the suppletivekitare きたれ, the imperative of the five-grade (godan) verbkitaru きたる.

When there are several auxiliaries following a verb, they generally occur in this order:

• Causative-seru ~-saseru
• Passive/spontaneous/honorific(/potential)-reru ~-rareru (~-eru)
• Desiderative-tai (if this suffix is present, further inflection becomesi-adjective like)
• Polite-masu
• Negative-nai,-nu ~-n
• Evidential-sō (if this suffix is present, further inflection becomesna-adjective like; not used with-masu)
• Suffixes expressing obligatory categories

The causative and passive auxiliaries haveshimo ichidan conjugation. The desiderative auxiliary-tai have adjectival inflection. The evidential-sō behaves like a nominal. The other two non-final auxiliaries, polite-masu and negative-nai, have the following paradigms:

Note

• Compared withない(nai),ぬ(nu) is more old-fashioned whileん(n)n can be colloquial, old-fashioned or dialectal (except that it is mandatory afterます(masu)).
• The conjunctive formなくて(nakute) andないで(naide) have different uses: when linking verbs, the former simply joins two clauses while the latter means "without", equivalent toずに(zu ni). The former is used with the conditional particleは(wa) and the concessive particleも(mo), while the latter is used with auxiliary verbs likeもらい(morai),ください(kudasai),ほしい(hoshii), e.g.言わなくてもいい(iwanakute mo ii,“it's ok if you don't say it”),言わないでください(iwanaide kudasai,“please don't say it”).
• As withi-adjectives, the volitionalなかろう(nakarō) is now largely replaced byない(nai) +だろう(darō).

Here are the first set of inflected forms commonly taught in textbooks.

Plain forms

Polite forms

Note: The verbaru ある “to be, to exist” does not have the negative formed in this way. The plain negative is the adjectivenai ない “nonexistent, not be”, and the polite negative isnai desu ないです orarimasen ありません.

All these forms can occur in the predicate position of a sentence (i.e. at the end, where the plain form is considered to be in theshūshikei form).

アリスは毎(まい)日(にち)コーヒーを飲(の)む /飲(の)みます。 ―Arisu wa mainichi kōhī onomu /nomimasu. ―Alicedrinks coffee every day.

アリスの電(でん)話(わ)番(ばん)号(ごう)を知(し)らない /知(し)りません。 ―Arisu no denwabangō oshiranai /shirimasen. ―Idon't know Alice's telephone number.

昨日(きのう)、友(とも)達(だち)が家(いえ)に来(き)た /来(き)ました。 ―Kinō, tomodachi ga ie nikita /kimashita. ―Friendscame to my house yesterday.

先(せん)週(しゅう)働(はたら)かなかった /働(はたら)きませんでしたか。 ―Senshūhatarakanakatta /hatarakimasen deshita ka. ―Youdidn't work in the last week?

The plain forms can also be used to modify a noun, or in the predicate position of a clause modifying a noun, when occurring before it (here the plain form is to be considered in therentaikei form in traditional grammar):

私(わたし)が明日(あした)乗(の)る飛(ひ)行(こう)機(き) ―watashi ga ashitanoru hikōki ―the planethat I'lltake tomorrow (lit.the-tomorrow-taken-by-me plane.)

子(こ)供(ども)のいない夫(ふう)婦(ふ) ―kodomo noinai fūfu ―a couplewho have no child (lit.the children-lacking couple.)

トムが昨日(きのう)買(か)ったパソコン ―tomu ga kinōkatta pasokon ―the computerthat Tombought yesterday (lit.the yesterday-bought-by-Tom computer.)

トップ10に入(はい)らなかった言(こと)葉(ば) ―toppu 10 nihairanakatta kotoba ―wordsthat didn't enter the top 10 (lit.thenon-entered-to-top-10 words.)

The infinitive (ren'yōkei), apart from deriving nouns or used in the construction of compound verbs, can be used for the non-final predicates when linking several predicates together in a sentence.

君(きみ)が歌(うた)い、僕(ぼく)は踊(おど)る ―kimi gautai, boku wa odoru ―yousing; I dance

This is called連用中止ren'yō chūshi and it is mainly used in written language. The non-final predicates do not conjugate for tense or politeness.Iru いる “to be” in these positions are usually replaced by its humble formoru おる and put inren'yōkei asori おり.

Another use of the infinitive is in the grammar pattern verb/clause +ni + motion verb.

遊(あそ)びに来(き)たぜ。 ―asobi ni kita ze. ―I came toplay

午(ご)後(ご)、荷(に)物(もつ)を取(と)りに行(い)きます。 ―Gogo, nimotsu otori ni ikimasu. ―I will go tofetch my luggage this afternoon.

Certain kinds of compound verbs are produced by attaching a word to the continuative form of a verb; for example:〜やすい(-yasui,“easy to do”),〜方(-kata,“way of doing something”),〜返す(-kaesu,“to do something over again”). Other constructions include〜たい(-tai,“to want to do something”),〜ながら(-nagara,“while doing something”),〜なさい(-nasai,“please do something”) (used only between friends or to someone of a lower rank),〜そうだ(-sō da,“to seem likely to do something”).

The conjunctive orte form is spinoff of the continuative form by attaching the particleて to it. Forgodan (five-grade) verbs, the same kinds of sound changes with ～た applies. The particleて can be used to link several predicates together, as illustrated below:

アリスは毎(まい)晩家(ばんいえ)へ帰(かえ)って、テレビを見(み)ます。 ―Arisu wa maiban ie ekaette, terebi omimasu. ―Alicereturns home andwatches TV every night.

昨日(きのう)図(と)書(しょ)館(かん)へ行(い)って、勉(べん)強(きょう)しました。 ―Kinō toshokan eitte, benkyōshimashita. ―Iwent to the library andstudied yesterday.

When used at the end of a sentence it makes a light command:

助(たす)けて！ ―tasukete! ―Help!

ゆっくりしていってね！ ―Yukkuri shiteitte ne! ―Take it easy!

More often, this form is part of certain kinds of expressions:〜てから (after doing something),〜ても(いい) (it's OK to do something),〜てはだめ/いけない/ならない (it's not ok to do something),〜て下さい (please do something),〜ている (to be doing something),〜てある (to be in the state of ...),〜てばかり (to be always doing something),〜てあげる (to do something to others),〜てくれる (to do something for me),〜てもらう (to receive the favor of doing something),〜ておく (to do something in preparation),〜てしまう (to do something completely or accidentally),〜てみる (to try doing something), etc. When followed by motion verbs likeいく andくる as a set expression, the basic meaning is to do something towards a direction (e.g.帰る is "return",帰っていく is "go back", while帰ってくる is "come back"), and the notion of the direction can be abstract (towards the future, up to the present, come to the state, etc.)

The imperative form (命令形) is often irregular in honorific speech; in other cases it can be rude in everyday conversation except when quoted or used inと-clauses. With a spoken/written register denotion where present, they are conjugated in the following fashion:

• godan verbs: change the-u to-e. For example,読む becomes読め.
• ichidan verbs: change the-ru to-ro/-yo. For example,見る becomes見ろ/見よ.
• irregular verbs:kuru becomeskoi/koyo,suru becomesshiro/seyo.

The volitional form carries the meaning of "let's do something". It has the same meaning when used alone and means "try to do" when followed byとする. It also means "I want to do something", but a less direct way to say this is to follow it byと思う. The conjugation is:

• godan verbs: change the-u to-ō. For example,読む becomes読もう.
• ichidan verbs: change the-ru to-yō. For example,見る becomes見よう.
• irregular verbs:kuru becomeskoyō,suru becomesshiyō.

One way to say "if" is to attachば to the仮定形 of a verb, which is formed by changing the final vowelu (whether in-u,-ru,kuru,suru) to ane. "AばB" implies that A is a condition for B to happen.

• godan verbs: change the-u to-eru. For example,読む becomes読める.
• ichidan verbs: change the-ru to-rareru. For example,見る becomes見られる.
• irregular verbs:kuru becomeskorareru,suru becomesdekiru.

The result can be further conjugated like an ichidan verb; for example,信じられない (unbelievable). Informally, thera can be left out (a practice calledら抜き言葉).

• godan verbs: change the-u to-a (but-wa if it has no consonant) and attachseru. For example,読む becomes読ませる.
• ichidan verbs: change the-ru to-saseru. For example,見る becomes見させる.
• irregular verbs:kuru becomeskosaseru,suru becomessaseru.

The result can be further conjugated like an ichidan verb. Sometimes the せる is abbreviated as a single す and conjugates as godan verbs. The object is usually introduced withを, but when there is another object withを (such as "A made B sing a song"),に is used instead.

• godan verbs: change the-u to-a (but-wa if it has no consonant) and attachreru. For example,読む becomes読まれる.
• ichidan verbs: change the-ru to-rareru. For example,見る becomes見られる.
• irregular verbs:kuru becomeskorareru,suru becomessareru.

The result can be further conjugated like an ichidan verb. Aside from the passive voice (where the performer of the verb is introduced withに orによって), the form is also used to show politeness in which case the sentence structure does not change. In casual speech, the せる can be abbreviated as a single す and conjugates as godan verbs. Sometimes, in a phenomenon called the 'suffering passive', the passive form is used, particularly with intransitive verbs, to express that the thing done was somehow regrettable for the speaker; for example,兎に逃げられた is not "[I] was run away by the rabbit", but "the rabbit ran away, unfortunately [for me]". One may compare this to the similarly functioning structure within expressions such as 'died on me', 'ran out on me'.

• godan verbs: change the-u to-a (but-wa if it has no consonant) and attachserareru. For example,読む becomes読ませられる.
• ichidan verbs: change the-ru to-saserareru. For example,見る becomes見させられる.
• irregular verbs:kuru becomeskosaserareru,suru becomessaserareru.

In godan verbs, except those that end inす, the middle part of the causative passive would frequently contract. For example,読ませられる would contract to読まされる. Likewise, the result can be further conjugated as an ichidan verb.

• The imperative form ofくれる is くれ.
• The imperative form of some godan verbs have theru replaced withi:

はがきを５枚(ごまい)ください。

Hagaki o gomaikudasai.

Please give me five postcards.

Thei-ending imperative forms are identical to the continuative verb stem (theren'yōkei). As such, these may be followed by the-mase imperative form of polite suffix-masu. This results in a polite command, and for the appropriate verbs, this makes a greeting more polite:

いらっしゃいませ！

Irasshaimase!

Welcome!

• Similarly,ございます comes fromござる, which is a humble form ofある.

Japanese transitive and intransitive verbs are called他動詞(tadōshi) and自動詞(jidōshi) in Japanese respectively. Intransitive verbs usually only take a subject marked withが(ga) orは(wa), while transitive verbs can also take an object marked withを(o).

先(せん)生(せい)が授(じゅ)業(ぎょう)を始(はじ)める。 ―sensei ga jugyō o hajimeru. ―The teacher starts the class.

授(じゅ)業(ぎょう)が始(はじ)まる。 ―jugyō ga hajimaru. ―The class starts.

Intransitive verbs may also take a noun phrase that would be considered an "object" in English. This is mostly marked byに(ni), similar to an indirect object.

弾(だん)丸(がん)が私(わたし)に当(あ)たった ―dangan ga watashi ni atatta ―The bullet hit me.

Motion verbs can also be used with the object particleを(o) (adding the meaning of 'through'), despite their intransitive status in Japanese.

橋(はし)を渡(わた)る ―hashi o wataru ―to cross a bridge

When a transitive verb is affixed with〜たい(tai) to express desire (becoming an adjective), or in the potential form (becoming intransitive), it would then usually be marked withが(ga), withを(o) seeing occasional use despite proscription.

水(みず)が飲(の)みたい。 ―mizu ga nomitai. ―I want to drink water.

Passive forms〜（ら）れる(-(ra)reru) usually become intransitive and causative forms〜（さ）せる(-(sa)seru) usually become transitive.〜てある(-tearu) forms usually become intransitive.

窓(まど)が開(あ)けてある。 ―mado ga akete aru. ―The window is opened.

A Japanese verb pair consists of a transitive verb and an intransitive verb sharing the same root, with the former serving as the causative/active voice, and the latter as the mediopassive voice.

値(ね)段(だん)を上(あ)げる ―nedan o ageru ―(A subject) raises the price.

値(ね)段(だん)が上(あ)がる ―nedan ga agaru ―The price rises.

• Transitivity counterpart constructed on the same root with下二段活用 inflection (modern下一段活用).

• 下二段活用 inflection as transitive:

Verb pair	Transitivity	Old Japanese	Modern Japanese
to attach	trans.	付(つ)く(tuku,下二段活用)	付(つ)ける(tsukeru)
	intrans.	付(つ)く(tuku,四段活用)	付(つ)く(tsuku)
to lengthen	trans.	伸(の)ぶ(nobu,下二段活用)	伸(の)べる(noberu)
	intrans.	伸(の)ぶ(nobu,上二段活用)	伸(の)びる(nobiru)

• 下二段活用 inflection as intransitive:

Verb pair	Transitivity	Old Japanese	Modern Japanese
to burn	trans.	焼(や)く(yaku,四段活用)	焼(や)く(yaku)
	intrans.	焼(や)く(yaku,下二段活用)	焼(や)ける(yakeru)

• Transitives may be constructed by attaching Old Japanese auxiliary verbす, and intransitives constructed by attaching Old Japanese auxiliary verbる (or rarelyゆ), them being equivalent to modernせる(seru),れる(reru), andえる(eru), respectively.

• Withす:

Verb pair	Transitivity	Old Japanese	Modern Japanese
to decrease	trans.	減(へ)らす(ferasu,四段活用)	減(へ)らす(herasu)
	intrans.	減(へ)る(feru,四段活用)	減(へ)る(heru)
to wake	trans.	覚(さ)ます(samasu,四段活用)	覚(さ)ます(samasu)
	intrans.	覚(さ)む(samu,下二段活用)	覚(さ)める(sameru)
to fill	trans.	満(み)たす(mitasu,四段活用)	満(み)たす(mitasu)
	intrans.	満(み)つ(mitu,上二段活用)	満(み)ちる(michiru)

• Withる orゆ:

Verb pair	Transitivity	Old Japanese	Modern Japanese
to sting/to be stung	trans.	刺(さ)す(sasu,四段活用)	刺(さ)す(sasu)
	intrans.	刺(さ)さる(sasaru,四段活用)	刺(さ)さる(sasaru)
to raise/to rise	trans.	上(あ)ぐ(agu,下二段活用)	上(あ)げる(ageru)
	intrans.	上(あ)がる(agaru,四段活用)	上(あ)がる(agaru)
to see/to seem	trans.	見(み)る(miru,上一段活用)	見(み)る(miru)
	intrans.	見(み)ゆ(miyu,下二段活用)	見(み)える(mieru)

• With both:

Verb pair	Transitivity	Old Japanese	Modern Japanese
to transfer	trans.	移(うつ)す(utusu,四段活用)	移(うつ)す(utsusu)
	intrans.	移(うつ)る(uturu,四段活用)	移(うつ)る(utsuru)
to stray	trans.	外(はづ)す(fadusu,四段活用)	外(はず)す(hazusu)
	intrans.	外(はづ)る(faduru,下二段活用)	外(はず)れる(hazureru)
to move close	trans.	寄(よ)す(yosu,下二段活用)	寄(よ)せる(yoseru)
	intrans.	寄(よ)る(yoru,四段活用)	寄(よ)る(yoru)
to erase	trans.	消(け)す(kesu,四段活用)	消(け)す(kesu)
	intrans.	消(き)ゆ(kiyu,下二段活用)	消(き)える(kieru)

These are the basic forms of verbs as taught in Japan. Verbs have six associated stem forms; three of these each appear in two different ways that are not given separate names, but are used in disjoint contexts. Theizenkei (已然形, classical perfective form) is also called thekateikei (仮定形, hypothetical form in modern Japanese). Theshūshikei (終止形, terminal form) andrentaikei (連体形, attributive form) are identical for verbs in modern Japanese.

Theren'yōkei (連用形, -i form),shūshikei (終止形, terminal form),rentaikei (連体形, attributive form), andmeireikei (命令形, imperative form) can appear on their own. The other inflections require suffixes.

There are several suffixes that attach to the continuative (-i) form. These are some of the most common: