Understanding Japanese Verbs: A Beginner's Guide

If you're just beginning your Japanese journey, verbs are one of the most important things you'll learn. Verbs allow you to describe actions, express ideas, and build complete sentences. The good news is that Japanese verbs are much more consistent than English verbs. Unlike English, Japanese verbs do not change depending on the subject. Whether you're talking about "I," "you," or "they," the verb stays the same and is instead changed through conjugation to express tense, politeness, or meaning.

For example:

• 私は日本へ行きます。(I go to Japan.)

• 田中さんは日本へ行きます。(Mr. Tanaka goes to Japan.)

Notice that 行きます (ikimasu) stays exactly the same, even though the subject changes.

Why Are Verbs Important?

Nearly every Japanese sentence ends with a verb. This means learning verbs will allow you to talk about your daily life, ask questions, make plans, describe experiences, and communicate with confidence.

As you continue studying, you'll learn how to change verbs to express:

• Present and past tense

• Negative forms

• Polite and casual speech

• Ability ("can do")

• Desire ("want to do")

• Commands and requests

• Ongoing actions ("is doing")

Don't worry—you don't need to master all of these at once. Start by becoming comfortable with a handful of common verbs, and you'll be surprised how many sentences you can already make.

The Three Japanese Verb Groups

Japanese verbs are divided into three groups:

Group 1 (Godan Verbs)

These are the most common verbs in Japanese. They follow predictable conjugation patterns once you learn the rules.

Examples:

• 書く — to write

• 話す — to speak

• 飲む — to drink

• 待つ — to wait

Group 2 (Ichidan Verbs)

These verbs are generally easier to conjugate because they follow a very regular pattern.

Examples:

• 食べる — to eat

• 見る — to see

• 起きる — to wake up

Group 3 (Irregular Verbs)

There are only two commonly used irregular verbs, making them easy to remember.

• する — to do

• 来る（くる）— to come

You'll encounter these two verbs constantly, so it's worth learning them early.

Dictionary Form vs. Polite Form

When you look up a verb in the dictionary, you'll usually find it in its dictionary form.

For example:

• 食べる

• 行く

• 見る

In polite conversation, you'll often use the ます form instead.

• 食べます

• 行きます

• 見ます

As a beginner, you'll likely use the polite form most often, especially when speaking with teachers, new acquaintances, or people you don't know well.

Tips for Learning Verbs

• Learn verbs in context rather than memorizing long lists.

• Say each verb aloud to practice pronunciation.

• Make simple sentences using new verbs.

• Review a few verbs every day instead of trying to memorize dozens at once.

• Don't worry about every conjugation yet—focus on recognizing and using the most common forms first.

The more frequently you encounter a verb, the more naturally you'll remember it.

Starter Verbs Every Beginner Should Know

Here are some of the most useful verbs to learn early in your Japanese studies.

行く (いく) - to go

来る (くる) - to come

食べる (たべる) - to eat

飲む (のむ) - to drink

見る (みる) - to see, watch

聞く(きく) - to listen, ask

話す (はなす) - to speak

読む (よむ) - to read

書く (かく) - to write

買う (かう) - to buy

会う (あう) - to meet

する - to do

勉強する (べんきょうする) - to study

寝る (ねる) - to sleep

起きる (おきる) - to wake up

帰る (かえる) - to return home

What's Next?

Now that you understand the basics of Japanese verbs, you're ready to begin learning how to conjugate them. In the next lesson, we'll explore the three verb groups in more detail and learn how to change verbs into the polite ます form, allowing you to start creating natural, everyday Japanese sentences.