Japanese Verb Groups | U-verbs, Ru-verbs and Irregulars

Understanding Japanese Verb Groups

Before you conjugate anything in Japanese, you need to know which group a verb belongs to. Every single conjugation rule depends on this classification, so getting it down early saves you a ton of headaches later. Our lesson on verb conjugation basics walks through these groups with real practice, and you'll find verb conjugation covered in our JLPT N5 grammar list as well.

Japanese verbs split into three groups:

U-verbs (Group I / 五段動詞(ごだんどうし))

These verbs end in any う-row sound: う, く, ぐ, す, つ, ぬ, ぶ, む, or る. They're called "u-verbs" because the final syllable always sits on the う-row of the hiragana chart. When you conjugate them, you shift that final sound across different rows. Which is why they're also called 五(ご)段(だん) (five-level) verbs.

Common u-verbs: 買(か)う (to buy), 書(か)く (to write), 泳(およ)ぐ (to swim), 話(はな)す (to speak), 待(ま)つ (to wait), 死(し)ぬ (to die), 遊(あそ)ぶ (to play), 飲(の)む (to drink)

Ru-verbs (Group II / 一段動詞(いちだんどうし))

These always end in る, with an い or え sound right before it. They're simpler to conjugate. You just drop the る and add whatever ending you need. That's it. No sound-shifting gymnastics.

Common ru-verbs: 食(た)べる (to eat), 見(み)る (to see), 開(あ)ける (to open), 閉(し)める (to close), いる (to exist), 起(お)きる (to wake up)

The Tricky Part: Not Every る-ending Verb is a Ru-verb

Here's where beginners get tripped up. Some verbs end in る but are actually u-verbs. The rule of thumb:

• If the sound before る is an a, u, or o sound → definitely a u-verb (帰(かえ)る, 走(はし)る, 通(とお)る)
• If the sound before る is an i or e sound → usually a ru-verb, but not always

Exceptions like 切(き)る (to cut), 知(し)る (to know), and 入(はい)る (to enter) end in いる/える but conjugate as u-verbs. You just have to memorize these rebels.

Irregular Verbs (Group III)

Good news: there are only two. する (to do) and 来(く)る (くる, to come). They follow their own rules in every conjugation, but since there's only two of them, it's manageable. する also forms compound verbs with nouns (勉強(べんきょう)する, 料理(りょうり)する), so you'll see it constantly.

Two Tenses, No Subject Conjugation

Japanese verbs have exactly two tenses: non-past (present and future) and past. That's it. No future tense conjugation, no present continuous built into the base form.

Even better. Verbs don't change based on who's doing the action. Whether it's "I eat," "you eat," "she eats," or "they eat," the verb stays the same: 食(た)べる. Coming from English where you juggle eat/eats/ate/eating/eaten, this is a relief.