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Grammar detail: verb ろ / ~え form

verb ろ / ~え form  'command' imperative
243 words
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The standard imperative form, sometimes called the 'command imperative' form because it is the most abrupt form of imperative, is made by replacing the る of an verb with ろ, or the last character of a verb with the equivalent ~え character.
look!
go!
うし

Look behind you!

Get out!
The irregular verb する becomes しろ.
なに
おお
きな
ことしろ
かれ
むすこ
息子
げきれい
激励
した

He encouraged his son to do something great.
The negative imperative form is the same for both verb types - just add な to the plain form.
べる
べるな
don't eat!
はし
はし
るな
don't run!
ふと

Don't write it in thick letters!
The imperative form is a staple of manga and yakuza literature, but you are unlikely to encounter it in daily life, and it is not a form you should use yourself without caution!
Exceptions and alternatives
Other shortened forms of verbs are often used in place of this imperative form.
One common example is ちょっと
って, which means 'wait!'. This is actually not the imperative of 待つ, which would be 待て (without the 'っ') - it is an abbreviation of 待ってください (please wait), so although the ください is missing, it is actually a little politer than a 'command'. In fact, it is even more common to hear ちょっと待ってて, which is an abbreviated form of the progressive 待っていて(again missing the ください), which is softer still.
Another common example is くれ, which is the て stem form (ie, the て form くれて without the て) - this is much more common than the actual imperative form くれろ. For more details see:
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Kanji used in this grammar

イチ   イツ   ひと    ひと- one   
ダン    grade, step, stairs   
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ゴ   いつ-    いつ five   
ケン   み to see   みえる to be seen; to appear   みせる to show   
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コウ   ギョウ   アン   ゆ    い to go   おこな to take place   
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ショク   ジキ    food   たべる to eat   く to eat   
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ソウ   はし run   
タイ   ま to wait   
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ゴ   コウ   のち    あと afterwards   うし behind   おくれる be late   
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シュツ   スイ   だ to take out, to put out   で to go out, to exit   
カ   なに    なん what?   
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ダイ   タイ   おおきい big   おおいに very much   おお-    
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ヒ   かれ he   
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ソク   いき breath   
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シ   ス   こ child   
ゲキ   はげしい violent   
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レイ   はげます to encourage   はげ to strive   
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タ   タイ   ふと fat   ふと to get fat, to put on weight   
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ジ   character   あざ village section   
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ショ   か to write   
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