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Grammar detail: Godan 五段（ごだん）'う' form verbs
My current mastery of this grammar point:
The most common five forms of godan verbs use each of the five Japanese vowel sounds (あ, い, う, え, お) - hence 'five' level - combined with whatever consonant begins the final sound of the plain form. Using
か
書
く (to write) as an example, the consonant is 'k' (from く):| Vowel sound | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| あ | negative | かかない |
| い | masu | かきます |
| う | plain | かく |
| え | potential | かける |
| お | volitional | かこう |
Examples
The following words are all examples of godan words. In each case, the dictionary form ends with the 'u' sound, but the kana used to form it varies based on the sound it is part of - う, く, ぐ etc.
| 言う | いう | to say | 言う inflections | |
| 書く | かく | to write | 書く inflections | |
| 泳ぐ | およぐ | to swim | 泳ぐ inflections | |
| 出す | だす | to take out | 出す inflections | |
| 持つ | もつ | to hold | 持つ inflections | |
| 死ぬ | しぬ | to die | 死ぬ inflections | |
| 読む | よむ | to read | 読む inflections |
Godan exceptions
A small number of verbs ending in る are godan verbs even though their plain form appears to classify them as ichidan. (In other words,
はい
入
る becomes はい
入
ります.)There is no rule which determines whether verbs ending in る are ichidan or godan, so it is best to memorize the exceptions below.
はい 入 る | to enter |
はし 走 る | to run |
い 要 る | to need |
かえ 帰 る | to return |
かぎ 限 る | to limit |
き 切 る | to cut |
しゃべ 喋 る | to chatter |
し 知 る | to know |
つく 作 る | to make |
Kanji used in this grammar
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