What is the Masu Form?
The ます form is your default mode in Japanese. It's polite enough for any situation. Talking to strangers, your boss, shop staff, or anyone you're not close friends with. If you're ever unsure how casual or formal to be, ます form is your safe bet. Our lesson on verb conjugation basics introduces ます form step by step, and it's one of the first items on the JLPT N5 grammar list.
It expresses present tense ("I do") and future tense ("I will do"). Japanese doesn't distinguish between these two. Context handles it.
The Polite Conjugation Table
Once you know the ます form, you unlock the entire polite verb system:
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-past | stem + ます | stem + ません |
| Past | stem + ました | stem + ませんでした |
Four forms, one stem. That's the beauty of polite Japanese.
How to Make the Verb Stem
The verb stem is everything. It's the base you attach ます (and all its variants) to.
U-verbs (Group I)
Change the final う-row sound to its い-row equivalent, then that's your stem:
| Dictionary Form | Stem | Masu Form |
|---|---|---|
| 書く (kaku) | 書き | 書きます |
| 読む (yomu) | 読み | 読みます |
| 話す (hanasu) | 話し | 話します |
| 待つ (matsu) | 待ち | 待ちます |
| 泳ぐ (oyogu) | 泳ぎ | 泳ぎます |
| 買う (kau) | 買い | 買います |
The pattern: う→い, く→き, ぐ→ぎ, す→し, つ→ち, ぬ→に, ぶ→び, む→み, る→り.
Ru-verbs (Group II)
Just drop the る. Done.
| Dictionary Form | Stem | Masu Form |
|---|---|---|
| 食べる (taberu) | 食べ | 食べます |
| 見る (miru) | 見 | 見ます |
| 起きる (okiru) | 起き | 起きます |
| 寝る (neru) | 寝 | 寝ます |
Irregular Verbs (Group III)
Just memorize these two:
| Dictionary Form | Stem | Masu Form |
|---|---|---|
| する | し | します |
| 来る (kuru) | き | きます |
When to Use Masu Form
- Talking to anyone you don't know well
- Work/professional settings
- Customer service interactions
- Formal writing
- When in doubt
You do NOT need ます form with close friends or family. That's where plain form takes over. Using ます with your best friend sounds weirdly stiff, like speaking in a job interview at a barbecue.
Subject Doesn't Matter
Unlike English (I eat / she eats / they eat), Japanese verbs stay the same regardless of subject:
食べます = I eat / you eat / he eats / she eats / we eat / they eat
Context and particles tell the listener who's doing what.