Lesson 15: Japanese Godan -う -く Verbs

Objective: Learn to read and write sentences using godan (-う and -く) verbs.

Grammar

Godan verbs are group of Japanese verbs with stems that end in う syllables and terminal stems that don't end in -いる or -える, with the exclusion of a few exceptions. Conjugation of godan verbs involves changing the ending syllable from う to the relevant い syllable.

Conjugating う and く Godan Verbs

Present Tense Positive

To conjugate godan verbs ending in う, simply change the ending う to い and add ます.

Example: あう→い + ます = あいます = meeting

[au→i + masu = aimasu]

To conjugate godan verbs ending in く, simply change the ending く to き and add ます.

Example: かく→き = かきます = writing

[kaku→ki + masu = kakimasu]

Present Tense Negative

To conjugate godan verbs ending in う, simply change the ending う to い and add ません.

Example: あう→い + ません = あいません = not meeting

[au→i + masu = aimasu]

To conjugate godan verbs ending in く, simply change the ending く to き and add ません.

Example: かく→き + ません = かきせん = not writing

[kaku→i + masen = kakimasen]

New Vocabulary

Japanese う Verbs Ending in う

あう = to meet

[au]

かう = to buy

[kau]

つかう = to use

[tsukau]

Japanese う Verbs Ending in く

あるく = to walk

[aruku]

かく = to write

[kaku]

きく = to listen

[kiku]

Examples

  • わたしはききます。= I'm listening.

    [watashi wa kikimasu]

  • わたしはほんをかいません。= I'm not buying a book.

    [watashi wa hon o kaimasen]

Translation Practice

Write the following sentences in Japanese using hiragana or katakana.

  1. I'm not meeting a doctor. I am meeting a teacher.
  2. They are listening to that (over there) bird's song.
  3. A: He's walking. She's walking. Are you walking? B: No, I'm not walking.
  4. A: Are you buying sushi? B: No, I'm not buying sushi. I'm buying tofu.
  5. Are you using that pen? Are you writing this postcard?

Translate the following Japanese sentences to English.

  1. わたしはこのはがきをかきません。
  2. あなたはかれのうたをききますか。
  3. そのがくせいはそのえんぴつをつかいます。かれらはてがみをかきます。
  4. はい、かのじょはあるきます。
  5. わたしはこのピザをかいました。

Review

Translate the sentences below to Japanese using hiragana or katakana.

  1. Is your teacher teaching Japanese?
  2. What is his name? No, his name is not Keiichi.
  3. Nice to meet you. Are you Irish?
  4. No, that (over there) person is not an actress. She is not famous.
  5. This photograph is very interesting. Is this your photograph?
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