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August 25, 2020
The 100+ Most Common
Japanese Verbs

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, and it’s said that verbs are the second
most frequently used words (26%, next to
nouns at 42%) among all other categories of
words in daily Japanese conversations.

It’s always a bit tiring to learn grammatical

rules, 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 has unique rules

from those in English. But don’t worry! Some
features are simpler—there’s no verb
conjugation based on the speaker, such as
singular vs. plural, gender, or the category of
that person grammatically, 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 the top 100
Japanese verbs for beginners, which are most
frequently used. We’ll also give you some tips
about Japanese verb conjugation, though we’ll
have a more in-depth article on this topic later
on. Let’s master Japanese verbs here at
JapanesePod101!

Table of Contents

1. Verb Groups: Different Types of Japanese

Verbs
2. Action Verbs: Physical
3. Action Verbs: Mental
4. Other Verbs
5. Japanese Auxiliary Verbs: 助動詞
(Jodōshi)
6. Verb Usage: How Japanese Verbs Work
7. Conclusion: How JapanesePod101 Can
Help You Learn More Japanese

1. Verb Groups: Different

Types of Japanese Verbs

Japanese verbs always end with u or ru, and

verbs are categorized into three groups:

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

As the conjugation system itself is very simple,

memorizing the patterns and rules will help
you learn how to use Japanese verbs properly.

Japanese verbs consist of two parts: a verb

base (“stem”) and a suffix. A stem doesn’t
change, and a suffix conjugates according to
the forms. These forms include casual vs.
polite and plain vs. negative.

Class 1: U-Verbs

書く (kaku)：write Casual Polite

Stem kak

書-く 書-きます
Basic Form
kak-u kak-imasu

書-かない 書-きません
Negative Form
kak-anai kak-imasen

The verb 書く (kaku), meaning “write,” has the

stem kak and the suffix u. As you can see from
the Japanese verbs chart above, the suffix
conjugates and changes according to the
forms.

However, you have to keep in mind that if a

verb ends with u, it means that the last vowel
is u. Therefore, u-verbs can end with
Hiragana:

う(u)
く (ku)
す(su)
つ (tsu)
ぬ (nu)
む (mu)
る (ru)

U-verb Examples

English Reading Kanji Hiragana

meet au 会う あう

learn manabu 学ぶ まなぶ

push osu 押す おす

pull hiku 引く ひく

Class 2: Ru-Verbs

出る (deru) ：come out Casual Polite

Stem de

出-る 出-ます
Basic Form
de-ru de-masu

出-ない 出-ません
Negative Form
de-nai de-masen

The verb 出る (deru), meaning “come out,” has

the stem de and the suffix ru. The suffix
conjugates and changes as it did above. It’s
similar to u-verbs, but slightly different.

Ru-verb Examples

English Reading Kanji Hiragana

teach oshieru 教える おしえる

exist
iru いる いる
(living things)

sleep neru 寝る ねる

answer kotaeru 答える こたえる

Class 3: Irregular Verbs

Don’t worry too much! There are only two

Japanese irregular verbs.

The stems of the verbs change according to

the conjugating forms. There are only two
verbs, so let’s memorize them!

来る (kuru)：come

来る (kuru) ：come Casual Polite

Stem ku / ko / ki

来-る 来-ます

Basic Form く-る き-ます

ku-ru ki-masu

来-ない 来-ません

Negative Form こ-ない き-ません

ko-nai ki-masen

する (suru)：do

する (suru) ：do Casual Polite

Stem su / shi

す-る し-ます
Basic Form
su-ru shi-masu

し-ない し-ません
Negative Form
shi-nai shi-masen

The Japanese verb する (suru), meaning “do,”

is a very handy word which can often turn a
noun into a verb when it’s added next to the
noun.

For example:

勉強 (benkyō) ＋ する (suru) = to
study

studying (do)

参加 (sanka) ＋ する (suru) = to
participate

participation (do)

感謝 (kansha) ＋ する (suru) = to
thank/appreciate

appreciation/gratitude (do)

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. Action Verbs: Physical

To start, here are the most common Japanese

verbs of motion.

Japanese
English Kanji Hiragana
Reading

see / look / watch miru 見る みる

hear / listen kiku 聞く きく

say iu 言う いう

walk aruku 歩く あるく

run hashiru 走る はしる

eat taberu 食べる たべる

drink nomu 飲む のむ

take toru 取る とる

use tsukau 使う つかう

move ugoku 動く うごく

hold / grab tsukamu 掴む つかむ

stand suwaru 座る すわる

stand tatsu 立つ たつ

wear kiru 着る きる

take off
nugu 脱ぐ ぬぐ
(clothes/shoes)

work hataraku 働く はたらく

wake up okiru 起きる おきる

go iku 行く いく

come kuru 来る くる

bend mageru 曲げる まげる

search sagasu 探す さがす

read yomu 読む よむ

play asobu 遊ぶ あそぶ

get on (vehicle) noru 乗る のる

get off (vehicle) oriru 降りる おりる

start hajimeru 始める はじめる

finish oeru 終える おえる

open akeru 開ける あける

close shimeru 閉める しめる

stop tomeru 止める とめる

put oku 置く おく

wait matsu 待つ まつ

rest yasumu 休む やすむ

learn manabu 学ぶ まなぶ

give ataeru 与える あたえる

visit otozureru 訪れる おとずれる

leave saru 去る さる

出発す しゅっぱつ
depart shuppatsu suru
る する

到着す とうちゃく
arrive tōchaku suru
る する

sell uru 売る うる

buy kau 買う かう

live ikiru 生きる いきる

die shinu 死ぬ しぬ

3. Action Verbs: Mental

These everyday Japanese verbs are essential

for expressing actions that aren’t physical or
immediately tangible. Take a look!

Japanese
know Kanji Hiragana
Reading

know shiru 知る しる

think kangaeru 考える かんがえる

そうぞうす
imagine sōzō suru 想像する
る

feel kanjiru 感じる かんじる

like konomu 好む このむ

dislike kirau 嫌う きらう

love aisuru 愛する あいする

hate nikumu 憎む にくむ

believe shinjiru 信じる しんじる

expect kitai suru 期待する きたいする

understand rikai suru 理解する りかいする

remember omoidasu 思い出す おもいだす

agree dōi suru 同意する どういする

laugh warau 笑う わらう

cry naku 泣く なく

get angry okoru 怒る おこる

feel sad kanashimu 悲しむ かなしむ

wish / hope negau 願う ねがう

get
odoroku 驚く おどろく
surprised

forget wasureru 忘れる わすれる

満足す まんぞくす
satisfy manzoku suru
る る

doubt utagau 疑う うたがう

decide kimeru 決める きめる

notice kizuku 気づく きづく

To check your pronunciation of Japanese

verbs with audio, see our page about the 25
Most Commonly Used Verbs.

4. Other Verbs

You’re almost done! There are just a few more

Japanese language verbs you should know.

English Japanese Reading Kanji Hiragana

appear arawareru 現れる あらわれる

remain kieru 消える きえる

remain nokoru 残る のこる

return kaeru 帰る かえる

check kakunin suru 確認する かくにんする

increase fueru 増える ふえる

decrease heru 減る へる

carry hakobu 運ぶ はこぶ

get dry kawaku 乾く かわく

get wet nureru 濡れる ぬれる

wash arau 洗う あらう

get dirty yogoreru 汚れる よごれる

indicate shimesu 示す しめす

enjoy tanoshimu 楽しむ たのしむ

fall ochiru 落ちる おちる

win katsu 勝つ かつ

lose makeru 負ける まける

break kowasu 壊す こわす

fix naosu 直す なおす

cross wataru 渡る わたる

change kawaru 変わる かわる

send okuru 送る おくる

receive uketoru 受け取る うけとる

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 some variations. By adding
an auxiliary verb, the meaning of the preceding
word will be modified.

For example:

感じる (kanjiru) : “feel” + させる (saseru)

[causative verb]

= 感じさせる (kanjisaseru) : “make (you)

feel”

食べる (taberu) : “eat” + られる (rareru)

[ability]

= 食べられる (taberareru) : edible

Here are some of the Japanese auxiliary

verbs:

Japanese Usage / Meaning /

Hiragana
Reading Example

Causation

(sa)seru (ら)れる 食べさせる

tabesaseru

to make (one) eat

Passive / Ability, etc.

(ra) reru (ら)れる 食べられる

taberareru

edible / being eaten

Negation

nai / nu / n (よ)う 食べない

tabenai

(I do) not eat

Volition

yō (よ)う 食べよう

tabeyō

I will eat / Let’s eat

Desire

たい / たが
tai / tagaru 食べたい
る
tabetai

I want to eat

Similarity

yō da ようだ 食べるようだ

taberu yō da

it looks like (she/he) eats

Hearsay

食べるそうだ
sō da そうだ
taberu sō da

they say that (she/he)

eats

Hearsay / Behavior

食べるらしい
rashii らしい
taberu rashii

they say that (she/he)

may eat

Predication / Politeness

(copula)

だ / です・
da / desu・masu
ます 食べます

tabemasu

(I) eat

6. Verb Usage: How

Japanese Verbs Work

Japanese language verb conjugation patterns

differ for u-verbs, ru-verbs, and irregular
verbs.

Because many frequently used Japanese

words are in this category, let’s take a look at
an example for u-verbs.

The conjugation pattern for the verb 書く

(kaku), meaning “write,” is as follows:

Conjugation Kanji Usage / Meaning

kakAnai 書かない Negative Form

kakImasu 書きます Polite Form

kaIta 書いた Ta- Form

kakU 書く Dictionary Form

kakU toki 書くとき Attributive Form

kakEba 書けば Conditional Form