There are even a few pairs of verbs with plain forms that sound exactly the same, but follow different conjugation patterns! For example:
変える[kaeru](to change), is a ru-verb.
But 帰る[kaeru](to return), is a u-verb!
Japanese Articles
What are the verb groups in Japanese?
By: Sachiko Dorsey Tue Jun 09 2026
JapaneseVerbs
In Japanese, all belong to one of three verb groups:
Ru-verbs (or “Ichidan verbs”) → all end with る[ru]
U-verbs (or “Godan verbs”) → mostly do not end with る[ru]
verbs
A verb’s group will tell you about how it is conjugated, or put into different forms to show formality or . Compare the endings in these two examples:
Ru-verb | U-verb | |
|---|---|---|
Plain Form | 食べる taberu | 行く iku |
Polite Form | 食べます tabemasu | 行きます ikimasu |
English | to eat | to go |
In this post, we’ll teach you the rules for creating the most basic forms of Japanese verbs in these different categories and direct you towards resources where you can learn about more Japanese conjugation rules. Ready to have a look? Let’s have a look at these three Japanese verb groups!
What are ru-verbs in Japanese?
In Japanese, ru-verbs are a group of verbs that all have a plain form ending in る[ru]. For example:
Ru-verbs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
食べる taberu to eat | 起きる okiru to get up | 見る miru to see | 寝る neru to sleep |
All ru-verbs end in る[ru], but not all verbs that end in る[ru] are ru-verbs! Some u-verbs also take this ending.
Can you tell which verbs that end in る[ru] are actually ru-verbs? Usually. If the pronunciation ends in “iru” or “eru”, you can usually guess it’s a ru-verb. Be careful though, since there are some exceptions, like 帰る[kaeru](to return) and 入る[hairu](to enter)!
Polite (masu) form of ru-verbs
To put any ru-verb into its polite, or “masu” form, all you need to do is to replace the る[ru] ending with ます[masu].
Plain Form | Polite Form | English |
|---|---|---|
食べる taberu | 食べます tabemasu | to eat |
起きる okiru | 起きます okimasu | to get up |
見る miru | 見ます mimasu | to see, to watch |
寝る neru | 寝ます nemasu | to sleep |
Here are a couple of example sentences using the masu form of ru-verbs:
私は毎日ケーキを食べます。
Watashi wa mainichi kēki o tabemasu.
I eat cake every day.
母は土曜日に映画を見ます。
Haha wa doyōbini eiga o mimasu.
My mother watches a movie on Saturdays.
Negative form of ru-verbs
To make a Japanese ru-verb negative, just replace the る[ru] ending with either ない[nai], for the plain negative form, or ません[masen], for the polite negative form. Both represent present tense forms.
Plain Form | Casual Negative | Polite Negative | English |
|---|---|---|---|
食べる taberu | 食べない tabenai | 食べません tabemasen | to (not) eat |
起きる okiru | 起きない okinai | 起きません okimasen | to (not) get up |
見る miru | 見ない minai | 見ません mimasen | to (not) see |
寝る neru | 寝ない nenai | 寝ません nemasen | to (not) sleep |
You can use these forms to make negative sentences:
私は肉を食べません。
Watashi wa niku o tabemasen.
I don’t eat meat.
私はこわい映画を見ません。
Watashi wa kowai eiga o mimasen.
I don’t watch scary movies.
What are u-verbs in Japanese?
U-verbs are the second major group of Japanese verbs, which always end with a “u” sound. This can mean that they end with the hiragana う[u], but they can also be spelled using other characters, even る[ru] — it’s the sound of the ending that matters! Here are a few examples.
U-verbs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
行く iku to go | 買う kau to buy | 話す hanasu to speak | 帰る kaeru to return |
With u-verbs, it’s best to look at the pronunciation. The following will usually be u-verbs:
Verbs that end in “-u” but not “-ru”
Verbs that end in “-aru,” “-uru,” or “-oru”
A few verbs ending in “-iru” or “-eru” can also be u-verbs!
Tip
Polite (masu) form of u-verbs
To form the polite form of u-verbs, replace the ending “-u” with the ending “-imasu”.
Plain Form | Polite Form | English |
|---|---|---|
行く iku | 行きます ikimasu | to go |
買う kau | 買います kaimasu | to buy |
話す hanasu | 話します hanashimasu | to speak |
帰る kaeru | 帰ります kaerimasu | to return |
The pronunciation change is quite simple, but unfortunately in the spelling it’s not as easy as exchanging one hiragana for another, so you might need to make some additional Japanese spelling changes to capture this pronunciation difference.
Negative form of u-verbs
To form negative u-verbs, just replace the “-u” ending in the plain form with either ない[-anai] (casual) or ません[imasen] (polite).
Plain Form | Casual Negative | Polite Negative | English |
|---|---|---|---|
行く iku | 行かない ikanai | 行きません ikimasen | to (not) go |
買う kau | 買わない kawanai → When the verb ends with a vowel う[u], we add a “w” between that and the negative ending! | 買いません kaimasen | to (not) buy |
話す hanasu | 話さない hanasanai | 話しません hanashimasen | to (not) speak |
帰る kaeru | 帰らない kaeranai | 帰りません kaerimasen | to (not) return |
The “non-past” tense
The Japanese present tense can also be used to talk about the future. For example, we can use the present tense negative forms from the table above to say:
私は行かない。
Watashi wa ikanai.
I won’t go.
For this reason, the present tense is sometimes called the “non-past” tense. Check out our post on the Japanese present tense to learn more!
What are the irregular verbs in Japanese?
In Japanese, there are two main verbs that don’t follow either of the verb patterns above. We call these the irregular verbs. The two irregular Japanese verbs are する[suru](to do) and 来る[kuru](to come). You’ll have to memorize these, so let’s have a look!
What about “to be”?
In a lot of languages, the verb “to be” is irregular as well, so why not in Japanese? Because Japanese doesn’t have a proper verb meaning “to be”! If you want to form sentences like “He is a good student,” or “She was tired,” check out our posts on Japanese adjectives and the state-of-being in Japanese!
する (suru)
The basic forms of the verb する[suru](to do) are given below.
Plain | Affirmative | する suru |
|---|---|---|
Negative | しない shinai | |
Polite | Affirmative | します shimasu |
Negative | しません shimasen |
As you can see, the pattern looks a lot like an ru-verb conjugate, except that the stem, or the part that usually stays unchanged, changes from す[su] to し[shi] in all the forms but the plain affirmative.
You’ll need to use the verb する a lot in Japanese, because many actions are captured by combining nouns with the する. To conjugate these verbs, you’ll need to pick the right form for the する part. For example:
Suru-verbs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
勉強する benkyō suru to study | 洗濯する sentaku suru to do laundry | 心配する shinpai suru to worry | 準備する junbisuru to prepare |
Now, let’s look at the other irregular verb!
来る (kuru)
While 行く[iku](to go) is a u-verb, its counterpart 来る[kuru](to come) is an irregular verb. The basic forms of 来る are illustrated below.
Plain | Affirmative | 来る kuru |
|---|---|---|
Negative | 来ない konai | |
Polite | Affirmative | 来ます kimasu |
Negative | 来ません kimasen |
Notice that like the last irregular verb we looked at, the endings are the same as those used by ru-verbs, but the stem changes. Here though, there are three stems to keep track of! The kanji 来 stays the same, but the reading of it changes!
Like する[suru](to do), 来る is a often used to build larger verbs, like 持ってくる[mottekuru](to bring). All these verbs are also conjugated according to the pattern above.
What are some other Japanese verb forms where verb group matters?
In the sections above, we’ve looked only at the most basic forms for Japanese verbs, but a verb’s group matters in a lot of other verb forms as well. For example, you’ll need the verb group to correctly form:
The ta-form → broadly, the past tense
The te-form → a form used to link two sentences, a little like verb + “and”
The conditional form → the Japanese form used in “if” + verb
The potential form → the Japanese equivalent of “can” + verb
The passive form → the Japanese equivalent of “be” + verbed
And more! Follow the links above to find out more about each of these verb forms!
To sum up
Here are the main take-aways to remember about Japanese verb groups:
Japanese has three verb groups:
Ru-verbs (or “Ichidan verbs”) → all end with る[ru]
U-verbs (or “Godan verbs”) → mostly do not end with る[ru]
verbs → する[suru] and 来る[kuru]
These are the most basic forms of each verb:
Plain form → The form from a dictionary. Negate this form by replacing the ending with "-(a)nai".
Polite form → A form used for polite interactions which ends in "-(i)masu". Negate this form by replacing the ending with "-(i)masen".
Ready to practice? Check out these Japanese verb group activities to test your skills! Happy learning!
