う-Verb

A う-verb, also called a godan verb, ends in its dictionary form in one of the う-row sounds: う, く, ぐ, す, つ, ぬ, ぶ, む or る. The dictionary form is the plain non-past: it says what you do as a habit or what you will do, in casual speech.

For the ます-form, the last sound moves to the い-row before ます.

• のむ飲む → のみます飲みます, かく書く → かきます書きます, はなす話す → はなします話します
• かう買う → かいます買います, まつ待つ → まちます待ちます, かえる帰る → かえります帰ります

う-verbs that end in る

A verb ending in る is a う-verb whenever the sound before る is in the あ-, う- or お-row: わかる分かる, つくる作る, のる乗る. When that sound is in the い- or え-row, the verb is usually a る-verb, but a handful of common ones are う-verbs and have to be learnt one by one: かえる帰る, はいる入る, はしる走る, きる切る, しる知る, いる要る.

• × 帰ます → 帰ります
• × 作ます → 作ります

Usage notes

These go beyond the verb at the end of a casual sentence.

Inside a longer sentence

The dictionary form also goes in front of nouns and many grammar patterns, such as とおもう思う and ことができる, even when the sentence ends politely.

Casual questions

With a rising tone, the dictionary form asks a casual question.