Irregular and uncommon verbs: exceptions in Japanese

Japanese verbs are much simpler than verbs in English. Unfortunately, not every verb is willing to follow the rules, so some become exceptions inside a group and others are irregular verbs.

They are divided into 3 classes called godan, ichidan, and irregular verbs. The verbs of group 1, called godan [五段], end on the u-row in the dictionary form: [う], [く], [ぐ], [す], [つ], [ぬ], [ぶ], [む], or [る]. The verbs of group 2, called ichidan [一段], end in -iru or -eru. A verb with that ending can still be godan. 切る (kiru, to cut) is godan, and 着る (kiru, to wear) is ichidan.

The first group is named godan because the final kana moves through five vowel rows: a, i, u, e, and o. For 書く, those rows show up as 書かない, 書きます, 書く, 書けば, and 書こう. Ichidan keeps one stem: drop [る] and add the ending, as in 食べない, 食べます, 食べる. Below we will give an example of these sound changes using the past tense:

• Godan verbs ending in [~う|~つ|~る] become [~った].
• Godan verbs ending in [~ぬ|~む|~ぶ] become [~んだ].
• Godan verbs ending in [~す] become [~した].
• Godan verbs ending in [~く] become [~いた], except 行く.
• Godan verbs ending in [~ぐ] become [~いだ].
• Ichidan verbs ending in [~る] become [~た].

The third group consists of irregular verbs. These verbs do not follow the rules presented above, and it is worth noting that there are also some godan and ichidan verbs that do not follow the rules of the list above. These verbs are called exceptions or uncommon.

Irregular Verbs in the Japanese Language

Most people say that the Japanese language has only 2 irregular verbs, which are suru [する] and kuru [来る]. Is this really true? Are there other irregular verbs in the Japanese language? In reality, what is an irregular verb?

Irregular verbs are quite flexible regarding the traditional rules of verbs in the Japanese language. Irregular verbs follow their own rules. We mentioned that there are regular verbs with exceptions, but irregular verbs exist on a different level.

In the case of suru [する], its conjugation is completely irregular compared to any godan or ichidan verb. See below:

Dictionary	する	suru
Formal	します	shimasu
Informal Past	した	shita
Formal Past	しました	shimashita
Informal Negative	しない	shinai
Formal Negative	しません	shimasen
Informal Past Negative	しなかった	shinakatta
Formal Past Negative	しませんでした	shimasendeshita
Te-form	して	shite
Conditional	すれば	sureba
Volitional	しよう	shiyou
Passive	される	sareru
Causative	させる	saseru
Potential	できる	dekiru
Imperative	しろ	shiro

The same thing happens with the verb kuru [来る]:

Dictionary	来る	kuru
Formal	来ます	kimasu
Informal Past	来た	kita
Formal Past	来ました	kimashita
Informal Negative	来ない	konai
Formal Negative	来ません	kimasen
Informal Past Negative	来なかった	konakatta
Formal Past Negative	来ませんでした	kimasendeshita
Te-form	来て	kite
Conditional	来れば	kureba
Volitional	来よう	koyou
Passive	来られる	korareru
Causative	来させる	kosaseru
Potential	来られる	korareru
Imperative	来い	koi

To see other irregularities and information about the verb suru, just read the articles listed below:

• Article about the verb suru
• Article about the verb dekiru

Uncommon Verbs and Exceptions in the Japanese Language

One of the first exceptions that a Japanese student notices is the verb to go, pronounced iku [行く]. Being a godan verb ending in [く], according to the rules it should be conjugated as iita [行いた] and iite [行いて], the same pattern as 書く, which becomes 書いた. The forms in use are itta [行った] and itte [行って]. Itta has a doubled t, the same sound as 言った (said). A regular verb ending in [く], such as 聞く, becomes 聞いた (kiita), and that past already contains the two i vowels of iita. The other forms of 行く stay on the regular pattern: 行かない, 行きます, 行こう.

A few other short verbs break only the te-form and the past. 問う (tou, to ask) becomes 問うて (toute), where the regular u-verb pattern would make 問って (totte).

The verb aru [ある] has the negative form nai [ない], and that negative is the irregular part: a regular godan verb would make aranai [あらない].

Imperative verbs often seem to have uncommon and irregular forms, such as the verb kureru [くれる], which in the imperative form simply becomes kure [くれ]. The other forms follow the ichidan line: くれます, くれない, くれた, くれて. A regular ichidan imperative would be kurero [くれろ]. The short kure shows up in blunt requests such as 教えてくれ.

Honorific verbs can be considered as having their own standard, or breaking the rules, as in the case of kudasaru [下さる], which becomes kudasai [下さい]. The same break shows up in nasaru [なさる], irassharu [いらっしゃる], ossharu [仰る], and gozaru [御座る]. Before ます, and in the command, that final る becomes い, which is why the polite forms are くださいます, なさいます, いらっしゃいます, おっしゃいます, and ございます.

We did not discuss each verb or its meaning in detail, but we recommend researching each of them individually using a tool like jisho.

Do you know other verbs that do not follow the rules in the Japanese language?