Verb Groups: Ru, U, and Irregular
- Sort verbs into the three groups: ru-verbs, u-verbs, and irregulars
- Recognize why group membership determines conjugation
- Apply the group rules to form the polite ます form
Three verb groups
Every Japanese verb belongs to one of three groups, and the group decides how it conjugates. Group 2 — ru-verbs (ichidan): end in -eru or -iru and conjugate by simply dropping る, e.g. 食べる (taberu, “eat”), 見る (miru, “see”). Group 1 — u-verbs (godan): end in various -u sounds and conjugate by changing that final sound, e.g. 飲む (nomu, “drink”), 書く (kaku, “write”), 話す (hanasu, “speak”). Group 3 — irregular: just two, する (suru, “do”) and 来る (kuru, “come”). Almost all conjugation rules branch on this grouping.
Telling ru-verbs from u-verbs
The tricky part: some verbs look like ru-verbs (ending in る) but are actually u-verbs. If a verb ends in -eru or -iru, it is usually a ru-verb (食べる taberu, 起きる okiru), but there are exceptions you must memorize: 帰る (kaeru, “return”), 入る (hairu, “enter”), and 走る (hashiru, “run”) all end in -eru/-iru yet are u-verbs. A verb ending in any other -u sound (む, く, す, ぐ, ぶ, つ, う) is always a u-verb. When in doubt, learn the group with the word.
Why the group matters
Group membership drives the ます form, negative, te-form, past, and more — get the group wrong and every conjugation is wrong. Polite ます form: ru-verbs drop る + ます (食べる → 食べます); u-verbs shift final -u to -i + ます (飲む → 飲みます, 書く → 書きます); irregulars are memorized (する → します, 来る → 来ます, kimasu). Because so much depends on it, identifying the group is the first step in any conjugation.
Put these three verbs into their polite ます forms: 見る (miru, “see”), 話す (hanasu, “speak”), and 来る (kuru, “come”). Identify each verb’s group first.
- 1.見る (miru) ends in -iru and is a ru-verb (Group 2): drop る, add ます → 見ます (mimasu).
- 2.話す (hanasu) ends in -su, so it is a u-verb (Group 1): change -su to -shi, add ます → 話します (hanashimasu).
- 3.来る (kuru) is one of the two irregulars (Group 3): its ます form is memorized as 来ます (kimasu) — note the reading changes to ki.
- 4.Confirm each ending is ます (polite non-past affirmative).
Which of these verbs is an u-verb (Group 1) even though it ends in る?
Store each new verb with its group tag: “飲む — u-verb,” “食べる — ru-verb.” Since group determines the ます form, te-form, and negatives, this one label saves you from cascading conjugation mistakes down the line.
What is the polite ます form of the u-verb 書く (kaku, “to write”)?
Speaking and writing tasks demand fast, accurate conjugation. Drill a core set of verbs across all three groups until the ます, ない, and te-forms are automatic — hesitation over conjugation is one of the biggest fluency drains on the timed sections.
Answer the 2 checkpoints as you read.
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