Forms
意向形 (ikou kei - volitional form)
volitional form; let's do ~
使い方
る-verbs
Remove the final る (ru) syllable and replace it with よう (you).
食べる → 食べよう (taberu → tabeyou) let’s eat
To be more polite, add ましょう (mashou) instead.
食べる → 食べましょう (taberu → tabemashou) let’s eat
う-verbs
Change the final vowel to (o) and add a singular (u) to the end.
読む → 読もう (yomu → yomou) let’s read
買う → 買おう (kau → kaou) let’s buy
To be more polite, change the final vowel to (i) and add ましょう (mashou) to the end.
読む → 読みましょう (yomu → yomimashou) let’s read
買う → 買いましょう (kau → kaimashou) let’s buy
Irregular Verbs
する → しよう (suru → shiyou) let’s do..
する → しましょう (suru → shimashou) let’s do..
来る → 来よう (kuru → koyou) let’s come/go
来る → 来ましょう (kuru → kimashou) let’s come/go
例文
| 例文 | 訳 |
|---|---|
| 今日から自転車で出勤しよう。 | Let's start commuting by bicycle from today! |
| もう11時だ。早く寝よう。 | It's already 11pm, let's hurry and go to sleep. |
| 重たそうだね。手伝おうか。 | That looks heavy, shall I give you a hand? |
| 今日は食堂で昼食を食べよう。 | Let's eat lunch at the dining room today. |
| 図書館で一緒に勉強しよう。 | Let's study together at the library. |
| 明日は週末ですから、飲みに行こう。 | Tomorrow is the end of the week, so let's go out for some drinks. |
| 雨が降っているよ。駅まで送ってあげようか？ | It's raining... Shall I give you a lift to the station? |
可能形 (kanoukei - potential form)
potential form; ability or inability to do something
使い方
Ru-verb : る -> られる
U-verb : change "u" to "e" + る
やる : やれる
する : できる
くる : こられる
You can use either を (o/wo) or が (ga) with most verbs, but when used with できる (dekiru), you must always use が (ga).
Be careful to not confuse this with 受身形 (ukemi) passive voice, where many conjugations may be similar.
例文
| 例文 | 訳 |
|---|---|
| そんなことを信じられない。 | I am not able to believe such a story. |
| そこにあるいちごはすべて食べられる。 | You can eat any of the strawberries in there. |
| 今日は忙しすぎて、朝ごはんを食べられなかった。 | Today I was so busy and wasn't able to eat breakfast. |
| 納豆が食べられるの？ | Are you able to eat natto? (fermented soybeans) |
| 夜は寒くて寝られない。 | The nights are too cold to sleep. |
| 私はここにあまり長くいられない。 | I can't stay here for too long. |
| 私たちがここで何を見つけられるか見に行ってみましょう。 | Let's go to see what we can find here. |
| 私がやれる限りの事をしたい。 | I want to do everything that I can. |
受身形 (ukemi kei - passive form)
passive form; passive voice
使い方
Ru-verb : る -> られる
U-verb : (ない form) ない -> れる
する : される
くる : こられる
Passive verbs are verbs that are done to the (passive) subject.
例文
| Ru-verbs | |
|---|---|
| 食べる | -> 食べられる (taberareru) |
| 出る | -> 出られる (derareru) |
| 寝る | -> 寝られる (nerareru) |
| 起きる | -> 起きられる (okirareru) |
| 着る | -> 着られる (kirareru) |
| U-verbs | |
|---|---|
| 聞く | -> 聞かれる (kikareru) |
| 待つ | -> 待たれる (matareru) |
| 飲む | -> 飲まれる (nomareru) |
| 買う | -> 買われる (kawareru) |
| 話す | -> 話される (hanaseru) |
Be careful to not confuse this with られる (rareru) potential form, meaning the ability or inability to do something.
| 例文 | 訳 |
|---|---|
| ケーキが誰かに食べられた！ | The cake was eaten by somebody! |
| みんなに変だと言われます。 | Everyone tells me that I am strange. |
| この本は多くの人に読まれている。 | This book is being read by many people. |
| 私は先生にほめられました。 | I was praised by the teacher. |
| こんな遅い時間に来られても困ります。 | It's a bit inconvenient for me if you come over this late. |
| 友人に彼氏を取られた。 | My boyfriend was stolen by my best friend. |
| 今日は先輩に２回を注意されました。 | I was warned twice today by my senior. |
| 姉に部屋の掃除を頼まれました。 | I was asked by my older sister to clean the room. |
使役形 (shieki kei - causative form)
This can mean either:
-
to make somebody do something.
-
to let somebody do something.
The difference between these two options is how the actor feels about the action. If it's against their will, 〜させる is like "make someone do something." If it's what they want to do, then 〜させる shows permission, and is the equivalent of "let someone do something." FORCEFUL VS. PERMISSIVE 〜させる
使い方
Ru-verb: る -> させる
U-verb: (ない form) ない -> せる
する: させる
やる: やらせる
くる: こさせる
例文
| Ru-verbs | |
|---|---|
| 食べる | 食べさせる (tabesaseru) |
| 出る | 出させる (desaseru) |
| 寝る | 寝させる (nesaseru) |
| 起きる | 起きさせる (okisaseru) |
| 着る | 着させる (kisaseru) |
| U-verbs | |
|---|---|
| 聞く | 聞かせる (kikaseru) |
| 待つ | 待たせる (mataseru) |
| 飲む | 飲ませる (nomaseru) |
| 買う | 買わせる (kawaseru) |
| 話す | 話させる (hanasaseru) |
| 例文 | 訳 |
|---|---|
| 母は私に自分の部屋を片付けさせた。 | My mother made me clean up my own room. |
| この仕事は部下にやらせます。 | I'll make one of my subordinates do this task. |
| 君を泣かせるつもりはなかった！ | I didn't mean to make you cry! |
| 僕にやらせてください | Please allow me to do it. |
| 息子はアニメを見たがっていますが、宿題が終わっていないので、見させません。 | My son wants to watch anime, but he hasn't finished his homework, so I won't let him watch it. |
THE 〜さす SHORT FORM
Although many textbooks don't cover this, there is another, shorter causative form in Japanese: 〜さす. It isn't always covered in textbooks because it tends to be limited to casual speech or dialects like Kansai-ben. Since the verb in this form ends in 〜さす or あ-column kana plus す, we call it the short causative form. In order to use this form, replace the 〜せる of the normal causative form with 〜す.
| Ru-verbs | |
|---|---|
| 食べる | 食べさす |
| 起きる | 起きさす |
| 閉じる | 閉じさす |
| U-verbs | |
|---|---|
| 会う | 会わす |
| 立つ | 立たす |
| 写す | 写さす |
| 割る | 割らす |
| 書く | 書かす |
| 泳ぐ | 泳がす |
| 死ぬ | 死なす |
| 学ぶ | 学ばす |
| 休む | 休ます |
Irregular
来るく → 来さすこ
する → さす
For example: 泳がす (to let someone swim or move around freely), 寝かす (to put someone to bed, to lay something down), or 沸かす (to boil water). Notice that they all have some causative or permissive meaning built in to them!
させてください (sasete kudasai)
please let me do
〜させて WITH GIVING & RECEIVING VERBS Clearly there is potential for ambiguity between forceful and permissive 〜させる. When you want to emphasize that the meaning is "let someone do something," you can use verbs of giving or receiving to clear this up. These verbs include あげる, やる, くれる and もらう. To use them, you'll need to change 〜させる into the て form, which lucky for you is easy. It conjugates like an ichidan verb, meaning you'll pop the 〜る off and change it to 〜て, then add your chosen giving/receiving verb.
〜させてくれる is used when you are the actor, and you're grateful that the causer has allowed you to do the action. For example: 両親は私を大学に行かせてくれた。My parents let me go to university.
The honorific version of 〜くれる, which is 〜くださる works the same way, while adding an air of formality and politeness:大学に行かせてくださって、有難うございます。Thank you for allowing me to go to university.
You can also use this form to ask for permission:私にもやらせてくれる？Can you let me do that too?
もう少し考えさせてくれますか。Can you let me think about it for a little longer?
Changing the verb to its negative form adds a touch more politeness, kind of like saying "Can't I~?" or "Won't you let me~?" in English:大学に行かせてくれませんか？Would you please allow me to go to university?
When 〜させて is combined with あげる (to give), it adds the nuance that the causer is allowing the actor to do the action. 大学に行かせてあげるつもりだ。I'm planning to let you go to university.
いい子にしてないと、パーティに行かせてあげないよ。If you don't behave well, I won't let you go to the party.
やる, the rougher version of あげる, works like this too. It gives a coarse, masculine feel to the sentence: 宝くじが当たったら、ハワイに行かせてやるよ。If I won the lottery, I'd let you travel to Hawaii.
Lastly, when 〜させて is combined with もらう (to receive), it means that the actor was allowed to do something by the causer and they appreciate it. The combination is equivalent to "be allowed to" or "may I?" in English. それでは、ちょっと自己紹介させてもらいます。Now, please allow me to introduce myself.
いただく, the honorific version of もらう, makes it sound more formal and polite:商品の紹介をさせていただきます。Please allow me to introduce our product.
As with くれる, you can use the negative form to ask for permission. Questions formed with もらう are usually more polite than questions formed with くれる:私にもやらせてもらえない？Can you let me do that too?
使い方
Verb(causative て form) + ください
When referring to yourself, you must use 私に (watashi ni) instead of 私は (watashi wa).
例文
| 例文 | 訳 |
|---|---|
| 質問させてください。 | Please allow me to ask you a question. |
| 私のことをあなたに話させてください。 | Please let me tell you about myself. |
| ちょっと調子が悪いので、早く帰らせてください。 | I'm not feeling well, so please let me head home early. |
| 返事をする前にちょっと考えさせてください。 | Please let me think a bit before I give you my answer. |
| 私に何かお手伝いさせてください。 | Please let me help with something. |
| 彼女は今日病気なのでお休みさせてください。 | She is sick today so please allow her to have the day off. |
| 私に私たちの部活動について紹介させてください。 | Please allow me to introduce our club activities. |
| 英語が苦手なので、日本語で話しをさせてください。 | I am not very good at English, so please let me speak in Japanese. |
| この件についてもう一度相談させてください。 | Please let me consult with you once more about this matter. |
使役受け身動形 (causative passive form)
causative-passive form; to be made to do something.
使い方
Verb (causative form させる): られる
くる: こさせられる
やる: やらせられる
First, you must conjugate the させる Causative Form.
Step 2, replace the final る with られる.
食べる → 食べさせる → 食べさせられる
行く → 行かせる → 行かせられる
Common う verbs (a + せられる)
- 飲む -> 飲ませられる (のませられる)
- 書く -> 書かせられる (かかせられる)
- 読む -> 読ませられる (よませられる)
- 帰る -> 帰らせられる (かえらせられる)
- 聞く -> 聞かせられる (きかれせられる)
Common る verbs (させられる)
- 食べる -> 食べさせられる (たべさせられる)
- 起きる -> 起きさせられる (おきさせられる)
- 寝る -> 寝させられる (ねさせられる)
- 見る -> 見させられる (みさせられる)
Shorter version in spoken Japanese
Some verbs may use a shorter version in spoken Japanese.
For example, 飲まされる (のまされる) is commonly used when speaking, while 飲ませられる (のませられる) is more commonly used in written Japanese.
Another example is 待たされる (またされる) for spoken Japanese and 待たせられる (またせられる) for written Japanese.
例文
| 例文 | 訳 |
|---|---|
| 仕事を辞めさせられた。 | I was forced to quit my job. |
| 息子は退学させられた。 | My son was expelled from school. |
| 彼女に2時間も待たせられた。 | She made me wait over 2 hours. |
| その映画は考えさせられる。 | That movie makes you think. |
| 毎日母に野菜を食べさせられる。 | Every day, my mother forces me to eat vegetables. |
| フィアンセのお父さんにお酒を飲ませられた。 | My fiance's father made me to drink alcohol with him. |
| 親に毎日宿題をさせられる。 | I am made to do my homework everyday by my parents. |
| 週末には家族のレストランで手伝わせられる。 | On weekends, I am forced to help out with the family restaurant. |
| 彼は支店から支店へと転勤させられた。 | He was forced to transfer from one company branch to another. |