How many Japanese verbs do you know? When you know the 100 most common Japanese verbs and understand basic Japanese verb conjugation, you can express and understand Japanese much better!

Verbs are one of the most important parts of speech in Japanese. Learning common Japanese verbs gives you the building blocks you need to talk about actions, thoughts, feelings, and everyday activities.

It’s always a bit tiring to learn Japanese grammar, such as the conjugation patterns of verbs. However, it’s easier than you think! Once you have the rules down and become used to using them, all you have to do is apply those rules to new Japanese verbs you learn.

Japanese verb conjugation follows different rules from English. But don’t worry! Some features are simpler—Japanese verbs do not change based on the speaker’s number, gender, or grammatical person, called 人称 (ninshō). This means that in English, verbs change based on who’s speaking:

• I am
• She is
• You are

• I go
• He goes

However, Japanese verbs remain the same regardless of who the speaker is.
In this article, we’ll introduce 100+ common Japanese verbs for beginners. We’ll also give you some tips about Japanese verb conjugation. Let’s master Japanese verbs here at JapanesePod101!

1. Verb Groups: Different Types of Japanese Verbs
2. Common Japanese Action Verbs
3. Mental and Emotional Japanese Verbs
4. Other Common Japanese Verbs
5. Japanese Auxiliary Verbs: 助動詞 (Jodōshi)
6. Japanese Verb Forms and Conjugation
7. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Teaches You Japanese

1. Verb Groups: Different Types of Japanese Verbs

In their dictionary form, Japanese verbs end with a kana from the “u” sound row. Common endings include う, く, ぐ, す, つ, ぬ, ぶ, む, and る. However, not every verb ending in る is a Ru-verb, so learners must check the verb group when learning conjugation patterns.

• Class 1: U-verb
• Class 2: Ru-verb
• Class 3: Irregular verb

As the conjugation system itself is fairly regular, memorizing the main patterns and rules will help you learn how to use Japanese verbs properly.

Many Japanese verb forms can be understood as a stem followed by an ending. The ending changes according to the form, including casual, polite, plain, and negative forms. Irregular verbs such as 来る and する have additional stem changes.

Japanese U-Verbs: Godan Verbs

The verb 書く (kaku), meaning “write,” can be analyzed as the stem kak plus an ending. As you can see from the Japanese verb chart above, the ending changes depending on the grammatical form.

U-verb Examples

Japanese Ru-Verbs: Ichidan Verbs

The verb 出る (deru), meaning “come out,” has the stem de. For Ru-verbs, る is removed before many conjugated endings are added.

Ru-verb Examples

Irregular Japanese Verbs

Don’t worry too much! The two main irregular Japanese verbs beginners need to learn are 来る (kuru), meaning “come,” and する (suru), meaning “do.”

Unlike regular U-verbs and Ru-verbs, these verbs have irregular stem changes when conjugated. Since you’ll use both very often, it’s worth memorizing their main forms.

• 来る (kuru): come

• する (suru): do

The Japanese verb する (suru), meaning “do,” is a very useful verb that can combine with many nouns to form verbs.

For example:

• 勉強 (benkyō) ＋ する (suru) = to study
• 参加 (sanka) ＋ する (suru) = to participate
• 感謝 (kansha) ＋ する (suru) = to thank / appreciate

Now that you have a better idea of how to conjugate different types of verbs, let’s move on to our Japanese verbs list!

2. Common Japanese Action Verbs

Here are common Japanese verbs for movement, daily activities, and other physical actions.

3. Mental and Emotional Japanese Verbs

These everyday Japanese verbs are essential for expressing actions that aren’t physical or immediately tangible. Take a look!

To check your pronunciation of Japanese verbs with audio, see our page about the 25 Most Commonly Used Verbs.

4. Other Common Japanese Verbs

You’re almost done! There are just a few more Japanese language verbs you should know.

5. Japanese Auxiliary Verbs: 助動詞 (Jodōshi)

The Japanese 助動詞 (Jodōshi), which translates as “auxiliary verb,” is a functional type of word with several forms. By adding an auxiliary element, the meaning or grammatical function of the preceding word can be modified.

For example:

• 感じる (kanjiru): “feel” + させる (saseru) [causative]

= 感じさせる (kanjisaseru): “make someone feel”

• 食べる (taberu): “eat” + られる (rareru) [potential or passive]

= 食べられる (taberareru): can eat / can be eaten, depending on context

Here are some common Japanese auxiliary forms and expressions:

6. Japanese Verb Forms and Conjugation

Japanese verbs have several important forms, including the dictionary form, polite form, negative form, past form, te-form, conditional form, imperative form, and volitional form. The exact ending depends on whether the verb is a U-verb, Ru-verb, or irregular verb.

Japanese verb conjugation patterns differ for u-verbs, ru-verbs, and irregular verbs.

Because many frequently used Japanese verbs are U-verbs, let’s take a look at one example.

The conjugation pattern for the verb 書く (kaku), meaning “write,” is as follows:

Use the conjugation table above as a quick reference while practicing Japanese verb forms.

7. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Teaches You Japanese

In this article, we introduced 100+ common Japanese verbs and explained the basics of Japanese verb conjugation. By learning the verb groups and practicing the main forms, you will be able to build useful Japanese sentences and expand your vocabulary faster.

You can learn even more Japanese words and phrases with our Free Japanese Phrasebook.

If you would like to learn Japanese even faster, then sign up for a Free Lifetime Account at JapanesePod101. JapanesePod101 is a comprehensive learning program that gets you speaking Japanese from your first lesson. All you do is press play, listen to a Japanese conversation, then our Japanese teachers explain every word so you understand everything and start speaking that same Japanese you’ve just heard.

Before you go, let us know in the comments if there are any Japanese verbs you still want to know! We’d be glad to help, and look forward to hearing from you!