How to Make the Japanese Te-Form
〜てください (please do …), 〜ています (am doing …) and 〜てもいいですか (may I …?) all need the te-form. The rule is shorter than it looks: group 1 verbs change their last kana — う・つ・る → って, む・ぶ・ぬ → んで, く → いて, ぐ → いで, す → して — group 2 verbs just drop る and add て, and group 3 is only two verbs.
喵喵日本語
The whole rule in one chart
The te-form is built from the dictionary form — the plain form you look a verb up with, like 書く (kaku, "write") or 飲む (nomu, "drink"). What you do to it depends on which of the three groups the verb belongs to.
| Group | What to do | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Change the last kana: う・つ・る → って, む・ぶ・ぬ → んで, く → いて, ぐ → いで, す → して | 飲む nomu → 飲んで nonde |
| 2 | Drop る, add て | 食べる taberu → 食べて tabete |
| 3 | Only two verbs, memorize them | する suru → して shite ／ 来る kuru → 来て kite |
Other books call group 1 godan and group 2 ichidan. Those names tell you nothing useful on their own, so don't worry about them — what matters is what each group does to its last kana.
How to tell which group a verb is in
The chart above only pays off once you can tell the groups apart, so this is the part to learn first. Check in this order and stop at the first answer that fits.
- Is the verb する (suru) or 来る (kuru)? Then it is group 3. Only these two verbs are, so get them out of the way first.
- Does the verb end in anything other than る? Then it is group 1: 買う kau (buy), 書く kaku (write), 飲む nomu (drink), 話す hanasu (speak).
- It ends in る, so say the kana just before る out loud and listen to the vowel it ends on. - An a, u or o sound (か, く, と, and the rest of their sets) → group 1: 分かる wakaru (understand; か = ka), 撮る toru (take a photo; と = to). - An i or e sound (き, み, り, け, べ, れ …) → group 2: 見る miru (see; み = mi), 起きる okiru (get up; き = ki), 食べる taberu (eat; べ = be).
Note that it is the vowel that decides, not the consonant in front of it. (Japanese calls each of these sets a 段, dan, and you may see them written as "the あ row", "the い row" and so on in textbooks.)
A small number of i-sound and e-sound verbs are group 1 anyway. There is no rule for them, so they are listed further down under "Group 1 verbs that look like group 2".
Group 1: five endings to learn
For group 1, look at the last kana of the dictionary form and nothing else.
| Last kana | Becomes | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| う・つ・る | って | 買う kau → 買って katte ／ 待つ matsu → 待って matte ／ 帰る kaeru → 帰って kaette |
| む・ぶ・ぬ | んで | 飲む nomu → 飲んで nonde ／ 遊ぶ asobu → 遊んで asonde ／ 死ぬ shinu → 死んで shinde |
| く | いて | 書く kaku → 書いて kaite ／ 聞く kiku → 聞いて kiite |
| ぐ | いで | 泳ぐ oyogu → 泳いで oyoide ／ 急ぐ isogu → 急いで isoide |
| す | して | 話す hanasu → 話して hanashite ／ 貸す kasu → 貸して kashite |
Two kana do a lot of work here, and both are easy to shorten by accident. Japanese is counted in beats, and every kana gets one beat of roughly the same length.
- The small っ in って is a silent beat you actually have to hold, not a decoration: 待って (matte) is three beats — ma · っ · te — not two. → How to pronounce the small っ
- The ん in んで is also a full beat of its own: 飲んで (nonde) is three beats — no · ん · de.
Groups 2 and 3: the easy ones
Group 2: take off the final る and put て there instead.
- 食べる taberu → 食べて tabete (eat)
- 見る miru → 見て mite (see)
- 起きる okiru → 起きて okite (get up)
Group 3: two verbs, no rule.
- する suru → して shite (do)
- 来る kuru → 来て kite (come)
Notice that 来る and 来て use the same kanji with two different readings: く in the dictionary form, き in the te-form.
Group 1 verbs that look like group 2
When the kana before る ends on an i or e sound, the verb is usually group 2 — but a handful are group 1, and there is no rule that tells you which. These you memorize. Their te-form ends in って.
| Verb | Meaning | Te-form |
|---|---|---|
| 帰る kaeru | go home | 帰って kaette |
| 入る hairu | enter | 入って haitte |
| 走る hashiru | run | 走って hashitte |
| 知る shiru | know | 知って shitte |
| 切る kiru | cut | 切って kitte |
The nastiest pair is 切る and 着る, which are both kiru. 切る ("cut") is group 1, so its te-form is 切って (kitte); 着る ("wear") is group 2, so its te-form is 着て (kite). One small っ is the whole difference — and きて is also the te-form of 来る (come), so context does the rest.
Three sentences you can say right away
- 〜てください — please do … ちょっと待ってください。 chotto matte kudasai — "Please wait a moment."
- 〜ています — am / is doing … 今、ご飯を食べています。 ima, gohan o tabete imasu — "I'm eating right now."
- 〜てもいいですか — may I …? 写真を撮ってもいいですか。 shashin o totte mo ii desu ka — "May I take a photo?"
撮る (toru) ends in る and と ends on an o sound, so it is group 1 and the te-form is 撮って (totte). That last sentence is worth memorizing before any trip to Japan.
Quick quiz
What is the te-form of 書く (kaku, "write")?
Show answer
書いて (kaite). Group 1 verbs ending in く become いて.
What is the te-form of 遊ぶ (asobu, "play")?
Show answer
遊んで (asonde). ぶ belongs to the む・ぶ・ぬ set, so it becomes んで.
What is the te-form of 起きる (okiru, "get up")?
Show answer
起きて (okite). き ends on an i sound, so it is group 2: drop る, add て.
What is the te-form of 行く (iku, "go")?
Show answer
行って (itte). It's the one く exception, so いいて (iite) is wrong.
着る (wear) and 切る (cut) are both *kiru*. What are their te-forms?
Show answer
着て (kite, group 2) and 切って (kitte, group 1). Only 切る gets the small っ.
帰る (kaeru) has え before る. Is the te-form 帰て or 帰って?
Show answer
帰って (kaette). It looks like group 2, but it's one of the group 1 verbs you have to memorize.
Practice saying them, not just writing them
A chart is quick to learn and slow to reach your mouth. In a one-on-one lesson you conjugate out loud and get corrected on the spot — including the っ and ん beats that make 待って and 飲んで sound right. → One-on-one lessons / Online lessons
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