i Form
The i form, or ren'yōkei, is very regular, and in almost all cases it is formed by replacing the u with i (and making any necessary phonetic changes: す su to し shi, and つ tsu to ち chi).
Type | i form | Examples | i form |
---|---|---|---|
Irregular verbs | |||
する suru (do) | し shi | 勉強する benkyō suru | 勉強し benkyō shi |
来る kuru | き ki | ||
だ da | であり de ari | ||
Regular consonant stem (v5) verbs | |||
-う -u | -い -i | 使う tsukau (use) | 使い tsukai |
-く -ku | -き -ki | 焼く yaku (grill) | 焼き yaki |
-ぐ -gu | -ぎ -gi | 泳ぐ oyogu (swim) | 泳ぎ oyogi |
-す -su | -し -shi | 示す shimesu (show) | 示し shimeshi |
-つ -tsu | -ち -chi | 待つ matsu (wait) | 待ち machi |
-ぬ -nu | -に -ni | 死ぬ shinu (die) | 死に shini |
-ぶ -bu | -び -bi | 呼ぶ yobu (call) | 呼び yobi |
-む -mu | -み -mi | 読む yomu (read) | 読み yomi |
-る -ru | -り -ri | 走る hashiru (run) | 走り hashiri |
aru special class (v5aru) | |||
-る -ru | -い -i | ござる gozaru | ござい gozai |
Regular vowel stem (v1) verbs | |||
-る -ru | – | 見る miru (see) 食べる taberu (eat) |
見 mi 食べ tabe |
Usage
The i form has many uses, typically as a prefix. These include:
- To form polite verbs when followed by the -ます -masu ending: 行く iku → 行きますikimasu, 使う tsukau → 使います tsukaimasu.
- To express a wish when followed by the ending -たい -tai: 食べたい tabetai: "I want to eat it", 行きたい ikitai: "I want to go". (The -tai ending conjugates as an -い -i adjective.)
- To express a strong negative intention when followed by -はしない -wa shinai: 行きはしないよあんな所 iki wa shinai yo, anna tokoro "no way I'm going someplace like that".
- To form a command when followed by
- -なさい -nasai: これを食べなさい kore o tabenasai: "eat this", あそこへ行きなさい asoko e ikinasai: "go over there".
- -な -na: 真っすぐ帰りな massugu kaerina "go straight home": 仲良く遊びな nakayoku asobina "play nice". (Used with children, etc.)
- To express that something is easy or hard when followed by -易い -yasui or -難い -nikui: したしみ易い shitashimiyasui: "easy to befriend": 分かり難い wakarinikui: "hard to understand".
- To express excessiveness when followed by the verb -過ぎる -sugiru: 飲み過ぎる nomisugiru: "to drink too much". (sugiru can also be used with the stems of adjectives.)
- To express doing something in conjunction with something else. When followed by the suffix -ながら -nagara, the verb becomes an adverb that means doing something while doing something else.
- 歩きながら本を読んだ arukinagara hon o yonda: "I read a book as I walked."
- When followed by the verb -やがる -yagaru in yakuza speech, to express affronted contempt (a conjugation of opposite polarity to the honorifics) showing disrespect in the form of hatred combined with haughty/macho disdain for the doer/subject of the action/verb: 殺しやがる koroshiyagaru: "to have the
gall to kill ___" (e.g. without my permission). (The te form can be substituted for the i form.)
The i form also has some uses on its own, such as:
- To express purpose, with に ni: 食べに行きました tabe ni ikimashita: "I went there to eat". This is called the infinitive of purpose.
- In formal honorifics such as お使い下さい o tsukai kudasai: "Please use this".
- In conjunctions in formal writing.
For some verbs, the i form also forms part of related words in ways that are not governed by any general rules. For example:
- The i form of 食べる taberu (to eat) can prefix 物 mono to form 食べ物 tabemono (food). Similarly with 飲む nomu (to drink) and 買う kau (to buy).
- The i form of 賭ける kakeru (to bet) is a word on its own: 賭け kake, which means "a bet".
- 離す hanasu (to separate) can be suffixed to the i form of kiru (to cut) to form 切り離す kirihanasu (to cut off).
Read more about this topic: Japanese Verb Conjugation
Famous quotes containing the word form:
“Thats one thing I like about Hollywood. The writer is there revealed in his ultimate corruption. He asks no praise, because his praise comes to him in the form of a salary check. In Hollywood the average writer is not young, not honest, not brave, and a bit overdressed. But he is darn good company, which book writers as a rule are not. He is better than what he writes. Most book writers are not as good.”
—Raymond Chandler (18881959)