Ready, Set, Action: 100+ Common Japanese Verbs You Need to Know

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Nouns tell you “who” or “what ” and adverbs tell you “how,” but it’s the verb that tells you what’s happening. Japanese verbs are the key to creating complete sentences. Having a wealth of options at your disposal will broaden both your vocabulary and the topics you can comfortably discuss. 

Put your language skills into action with more than 100 new verbs in Japanese! This guide will prepare you for talking about hobbies, chores, travel, and more with action verbs and grammar tips for using them. For extra practice, join one of Rosetta Stone’s Live Lessons for real-time instruction from a Japanese language expert. Learn about topics of your choice while reinforcing your comprehension and expanding your cultural knowledge.

How to use Japanese verbs

The first thing to remember about using Japanese verbs is that they go at the end of a clause or sentence rather than in the middle due to Japanese following a subject-object-verb (SOV) word order. In some cases, the subject, object, and other parts of the sentence can all be omitted, which results in verbs being a complete sentence all on their own! While every Japanese part of speech is important, verbs are particularly essential.

In writing, all verbs in Japanese include hiragana (平仮名) to some extent, most use kanji (漢字), and a few use katakana (片仮名). Regardless of how the front half of the verb is written, the last character is always in hiragana. The type of verb—and thus its verb conjugation—is determined by this character.

There are three categories of verbs in Japanese: ichidan (一段) verbs, godan (五段) verbs, and irregular verbs. The verbs for “to do” (suru, する) and “to come” (kuru, 来る) are the only verbs in the irregular category, meaning the vast majority belong to the first two groups.

What does ichidan verb mean?

The last character of Japanese ichidan verbs is always ru (る). They are also sometimes called Group 2 or ru-verbs.

To conjugate ichidan verbs, the ru at the end of the word is dropped and then the conjugation ending is added. Because of this, the character before ru remains consistent through all conjugations. This is where the term ichidan comes from: It’ is made of the kanji for “one” (一) and “stage” (段) due to the fact that only one vowel in any given word comes before the conjugation. 

What does godan verb mean?

The last character of Japanese godan verbs can be any character that ends in an “u” sound, sometimes including ru. They are also sometimes called Group 1 or u-verbs.

The kanji that make up godan mean “five” (五) and “stage” (段). This is because, once conjugated, the sound before the conjugation ending can be any of the five vowels: a, i, u, e, or o. Unlike ichidan verbs, their conjugation always results in the last character being changed rather than dropped.

What are Japanese suru verbs?

By attaching the Japanese verb for “to do” to certain nouns, a new subset of verbs called suru verbs is created. These verbs literally mean “to do [noun].” This makes them extremely versatile and you’ will see them throughout this guide identified as an “irregular” verb type.

What are Japanese compound verbs?

Japanese compound verbs are made of two different verbs to create one new one. Usually, this is done by conjugating the first verb into its verb stem (meaning the part of the word that goes before the ender in the masu-form conjugation) and attaching the second verb to the end.

There are over 2,000 compound verbs used in modern Japanese, so learning a few will help add nuance to your vocabulary.

Japanese verbs about thoughts and feelings

Expressing yourself in words is just as important as expressing yourself with feelings. Do both at the same time with these verbs!

Did you know? The character 笑, used in the word for “to laugh,” is one of the Japanese ways of saying the internet slang “lol.” It can also appear as a simple “w” for the first letter of “warai,” the noun version of “warau.”

Japanese verbs about hobbies

When trying to find things in common with others, hobbies are a great place to start. Tell new friends what you like (or don’t like!) to do in Japanese to get in some great language practice.

To say you like something, add the verb to the phrase ~no ga suki desu (～のが好きです). For an activity you dislike, use ~no ga kirai desu (～のが嫌いです) instead. Keep in mind that the latter can come off strongly!

• Kurarinetto o fuku no ga suki desu.（クラリネットを吹くのが好きです。） = I like playing the clarinet.
• Horā eiga o miru no ga kirai desu.（ホラー映画を見るのが嫌いです。）= I hate watching horror movies.

Japanese verbs about work and school

Want to tell someone you’re studying Japanese? With these verbs, you can tell them all about your language learning adventure and how it isn’t as hard to learn Japanese as you had thought.

The difference between the verbs hataraku and tsutomeru is about the kind of work being done. Hataraku is a more general verb for “to work” regardless of the job, whether it’s part-time or full-time, freelance or salaried. Tsutomeru is more formal and is used when speaking about someone’s role as a part of the company, specifically for talking about employment rather than labor. It’s also important to remember that hataraku uses the Japanese particle de (で) after the company or business, while tsutomeru uses the particle ni (に).

• Getsuyōbi kara kinyōbi made makkudonarudo de hatarakimasu.（月曜日から金曜日までマックドナルドで働きます。）= I work at McDonald’s on Monday through Friday.
• Kikai gishi to shite mitsubishi jūkōgyō ni tsutometeimasu.（機械技師として三菱重工業に勤めています。）= I work for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as a mechanical engineer.

Fun fact: Kanji means “Chinese characters,” but some kanji were made in Japan rather than being introduced from China, known as kokuji (国字). The kanji used for “to work” (働く) is one such example, combining the elements meaning “person” and “move” to create “work.”

Japanese verbs about getting ready for the day and for bed

Did you wake up early today? Or did you go to bed late last night? The Japanese verbs in this chart will give you the tools you need to talk about the beginning and end of your day.

Choosing between the three verbs for “to wear” and “to put on” is dependent on the article of clothing. Clothes like shirts and dresses use kiru; pants, skirts, and shoes use haku; and hats use kaburu.

• Kenta wa aoi shatsu o kite jīnzu o haiteimasu. Bōshi mo kabutteimasu.（健太は青いシャツを着てジーンズを履いています。帽子も被っています。）= Kenta is wearing a blue shirt and jeans. He’s also wearing a hat.

Japanese verbs about food and dining

There are so many different ways to enjoy Japanese food, and there are just as many ways to talk about it. Feel confident ordering food in Japanese with these verbs.

Another way to express hunger is to say “onaka ga peko peko” (お腹がぺこぺこ). This is a more casual phrase that falls into the category of reduplicative words that work as Japanese onomatopoeia. Repeating the same sounds creates a lot of cute Japanese words to express all kinds of feelings and conditions!

Japanese verbs about physical activities and sports

These verbs for moving around are no sweat. Whether you’re walking to school or winning a big game, all of these words will come in handy. 

Playing specific sports uses the verbs for “to do” (suru or yaru) rather than a separate word for “to play.” Yaru is only for physical activities (while suru can be used for activities like video games), and it can have a stronger, more forceful tone.

• Musuko wa sakkā o shimasu.（息子はサッカーをします。） = My son plays (literally: does) soccer.
• Doyōbi ni tenisu o yarō!（土曜日にテニスをやろう！）= Let’s play tennis on Saturday!