部
Components

Grammar detail: verb て form

verb て form
imperative, and basis of other constructions
228 words
My current mastery of this grammar point:
LOG IN to view grammar mastery data
The て form of a verb is one of the most useful forms in Japanese. On its own, it functions as the imperative form, i.e. it is used for giving commands. The て form is also the basis of many other common constructions, such as 〜てください (please do ~). The て form can also be used to join two sentences, in which case it functions as 'and'.
How to make the て form
The て form is made from the dictionary form as follows:
Ichidan verbs
た
食
べる (eat)
る ➜ て
た
食
べて
 
み
見
る (see; look)
る ➜ て
み
見
て
 
お
起
きる (wake up)
る ➜ て
お
起
きて
Godan verbsending in う:
あ
会
う (meet)
う ➜ って
あ
会う
って
 ending in う:
か
買
う (buy)
う ➜ って
か
買
って
 ending in つ:
ま
待
つ (wait)
つ ➜ って
ま
待
って
 ending in る:
つく
作
る (make)
る ➜ って
つく
作
って
 ending in く:
か
書
く (write)
く ➜ いて
か
書
いて
 ending in く:
き
聞
く (listen)
く ➜ いて
き
聞
いて
 ending in ぐ:
およ
泳
ぐ (swim)
ぐ ➜ いで
およ
泳
いで
 ending in す:
はな
話
す (speak)
す ➜ して
はな
話
して
 ending in む:
よ
読
む (read)
む ➜ んで
よ
読
んで
 ending in ぶ:
あそ
遊
ぶ (play)
ぶ ➜ んで
あそ
遊
んで
 ending in ぬ:
し
死
ぬ (die)
ぬ ➜ んで
し
死
んで
Irregular verbsする (do) して
 
く
来
る (come)
 
き
来
て
 
い
行
く (go)
 
い
行
って
 です (is) で
Usage examples
As the imperative:
き
聞
いて
、
き
聞
いて
!
Listen to this!
Use with ください:
あした
明日
の
あさ
朝
かいしゃ
会社
に
でんわ
電話
して
ください。
Call me at the office tomorrow morning.
Joining two sentences:
とけい
時計
が
と
止
まって
、
じかん
時間
がわからなくなった。
My watch ran down and I didn't know the time.
More constructions
The て form is the basis of many everyday constructions. Here are some of the common ones.
Please LOG IN for free flashcards

Kanji used in this grammar

食
ショク   ジキ    food   たべる to eat   くう to eat   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
見
ケン   みる to see   みえる to be seen; to appear   みせる to show   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
起
キ   おきる to wake up, to get up   おこる to happen   おこす to rouse   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
会
カイ   エ   あう to meet   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
買
バイ   かう to buy   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
待
タイ   まつ to wait   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
作
サク   サ   つくる to make   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
書
ショ   かく to write   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
聞
ブン   モン   きく to listen, to hear   きこえる to be heard   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
泳
エイ   およぐ swim   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
話
ワ   はなす to talk   はなし talking   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
読
ドク   トク   トウ   よむ to read   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
遊
ユ   ユウ   あそぶ play   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
死
シ   death   しぬ die   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
来
ライ   くる to come   きたる to be forthcoming   きたす to induce   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
行
コウ   ギョウ   アン   ゆく    いく to go   おこなう to take place   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
明
メイ   ミョウ   あかり light   あかるい bright   あかるむ to brighten   あからむ to become luminous (at dawn)   あきらか obvious   あかす to lay bare   あく to open   あける to empty   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
日
ニチ   ジツ   sun; day   ひ    -か    
朝
チョウ   あさ morning   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
社
シャ    company   やしろ Shinto shrine   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
電
デン    electricity   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
時
ジ   とき time, occasion   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
計
ケイ   はからう to arrange   はかる to measure, compute   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
止
シ   とめる to stop   とまる to stop   
間
カン   ケン   あいだ interval, between   ま space, room   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
Problem with this grammar? Question or comment? Please CONTACT US.
Kanshudo is your AI Japanese tutor, and your constant companion on the road to mastery of the Japanese language. To get started learning Japanese, just follow the study recommendations on your Dashboard. You can use Quick search (accessible using the icon at the top of every page) to look up any Japanese word, kanji or grammar point, as well as to find anything on Kanshudo quickly. For an overview, take the tour.
×