2.1.1. What Japanese verbs are irregular?
It is quite often claimed that Japanese has only two irregular
verbs. However, this is a myth.
The irregular verbs of modern Japanese are
Suru and kuru
Both suru (to do) and kuru (to come) are highly
irregular verbs. None of their conjugations follow the standard
patterns.
Conjugation of suru and kuru
| Plain
| suru
| kuru
|
| Negative | shinai
| konai
|
| Past | shita
| kita
|
| Imperative |
shiro
seyo (formal)
| koi
|
| te form | shite | kite
|
See a textbook or reference book for full details.
In Japanese grammar, suru is called a sahen (サ変) verb,
and kuru is called a kahen (カ変) verb. There are no other
sahen or kahen verbs.
Iku
iku (to go) has irregular -te, -ta forms itte,
itta: if it were regular, they would be iite,
iita.
Honorific verbs
The honorific verbs irassharu, ossharu, kudasaru,
gozaru, nasaru (see 13.1. What is Japanese respect language?) all have an
irregular stem, where the ru ending conjugates as i rather
than ri. For example, the gozaimasu of arigatou gozaimasu, "thank you". If this conjugated as a regular verb it would
conjugate as gozarimasu.
Kureru
Kureru has an irregular imperative form kure.
Aru
Aru, "to have", "to be", is mostly regular, but for its
negative nai is used, rather than aranai.
iu
Iu is irregular in its pronunciation, varying between yuu
and iu.
Some suru verbs such as aisuru
Some suru verbs (see 2.1.7. What is a suru verb?), verbs made by adding
suru to a noun, conjugate as if they were two verbs. For example,
aisuru "to love" (see 13.3. How can I say "I love you" in Japanese?) may conjugate as
aisuru and aisu, depending on the form. aisu is used
for the potential form aiseru "can love", instead of
aidekiru. Similarly for verbs such as yakusu (translate).
sci.lang.japan FAQ
/ 2. Grammar
/ 2.1. Verbs
Copyright © 1994-2013 Ben Bullock
If you have questions, corrections, or comments, please contact
Ben Bullock
or use the discussion forum / Privacy
