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Grammar detail: Ichidan 一段 (いちだん) 'る' form verbs

Ichidan 一段 (いちだん) 'る' form verbs
196 words
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Ichidan verbs, also known as ‘る-Verbs’, always end with る in their plain form. The name Ichidan
いち
一
だん
段
means ‘one level', because every conjugated form is made by simply replacing る with the correct ending ('masu', negative, past, etc.).
Using
た
食
べる (to eat) as an example:
FormExampleMeaning
plainたべるeat
masuたべますeat
negativeたべないdoesn't eat
conditionalたべればif I eat
passiveたべられるis eaten
potentialたべられるcan eat
volitionalたべましょうlet's eat
Note that the passive form and the potential form are identical, so the intended form must be determined from the context.
Other Common Ichidan verbs/‘る-Verbs’
VerbVerb in KanjiMeaning
みる見るto see, to watch
でる出るto leave, to exit
いれる入れるto put in, to insert
あける開けるto open
しめる閉めるto close
おしえる教えるto teach, to inform (tell)
かんがえる考えるto think
ねる寝るto sleep
おきる起きるto wake up
かりる借りるto borrow
きる着るto wear
IMPORTANT: Not all verbs ending in る are Ichidan/る-Verbs. A few are "Godan"
ごだん
五段
verbs, so their conjugation is different. See Godan 五段(ごだん)'う' form verbs for details.
Identifying an Ichidan Verb
If the part before る ends in an 'i' or 'e' sound, it’s usually an Ichidan/る-verb.
たべる → たべ (e-sound) → Ichidan
おきる → おき (i-sound) → Ichidan
There are exceptions, so it is important to take note when encountering verbs that don't fit this pattern.
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Kanji used in this grammar

一
イチ   イツ   ひとつ    ひと- one   
段
ダン    grade, step, stairs   
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食
ショク   ジキ    food   たべる to eat   くう to eat   
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見
ケン   みる to see   みえる to be seen; to appear   みせる to show   
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出
シュツ   スイ   だす to take out, to put out   でる to go out, to exit   
入
ニュウ   いる to enter   はいる to enter   いれる to put in   
開
カイ   あく to (be) open   あける    ひらく to open (something)   ひらける to open out (eg view)   
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閉
ヘイ   closed   しまる to be closed   しめる to close   とじる to close, to finish   とざす to shut, to lock   
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教
キョウ   おしえる to teach   おそわる to be taught   
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考
コウ   かんがえる to think about, consider   
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寝
シン   ねかす to lay down   ねる to sleep, to lie down   
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起
キ   おきる to wake up, to get up   おこる to happen   おこす to rouse   
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借
シャク   かりる to borrow   
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着
チャク   ジャク   つく to arrive   つける to attach   きる to wear   きせる to make wear   
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五
ゴ   いつ-    いつつ five   
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