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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
だん
means ‘one level', because every conjugated form is made by simply replacing る with the correct ending ('masu', negative, past, etc.).
Using
べる (to eat) as an example:
FormExampleMeaning
plainたべ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
to see, to watch
to leave, to exit
いれ入れto put in, to insert
あけ開けto open
しめ閉めto close
おしえ教えto teach, to inform (tell)
かんがえ考えto think
to sleep
おき起きto wake up
かり借りto borrow
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

イチ   イツ   ひと    ひと- one   
ダン    grade, step, stairs   
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ショク   ジキ    food   たべる to eat   く to eat   
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ケン   み to see   みえる to be seen; to appear   みせる to show   
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シュツ   スイ   だ to take out, to put out   で to go out, to exit   
ニュウ   い to enter   はい to enter   いれる to put in   
カイ   あ to (be) open   あける    ひら to open (something)   ひらける to open out (eg view)   
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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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キョウ   おしえる to teach   おそわる to be taught   
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コウ   かんがえる to think about, consider   
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シン   ねかす to lay down   ね to sleep, to lie down   
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キ   おきる to wake up, to get up   おこる to happen   おこす to rouse   
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シャク   かりる to borrow   
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チャク   ジャク   つ to arrive   つける to attach   き to wear   きせる to make wear   
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ゴ   いつ-    いつ five   
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