What is the Masen Form?
The ません form is the polite way to say "don't" or "won't" in Japanese. It's the negative counterpart of ます. If ます means "do/will do" (politely), then ません means "don't/won't do" (politely).
Use it in the same situations where you'd use ます form: with strangers, at work, in shops, with people older than you or above you in social hierarchy. Our lesson on verb conjugation basics covers ません alongside the full ます conjugation set.
How to Conjugate
If you know the ます form of a verb, making ません is trivial:
Remove ます → add ません
That's it. The verb stem stays exactly the same.
| Masu-Form | Masen-Form |
|---|---|
| 食べます | 食べません |
| 飲みます | 飲みません |
| 行きます | 行きません |
| 話します | 話しません |
| 見ます | 見ません |
| します | しません |
| きます | きません |
The Complete Polite Set
ません is one of four polite conjugations built on the same stem:
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-past | stem + ます | stem + ません |
| Past | stem + ました | stem + ませんでした |
Once you have the stem, you can build any of these four forms instantly.
Masen vs Nai-Form
Both mean "don't do," but the register is different:
- 食べません — polite, safe for any situation
- 食べない — casual, for friends and close relationships
In subordinate clauses (even within polite sentences), you'll usually see the ない form: 食べないと思います (I think I won't eat). Not 食べませんと思います.