What is the Volitional Form?
The volitional form is the casual way to say "let's" in Japanese. It's what you use with friends, family, and anyone you're comfortable speaking casually with. Want to suggest grabbing food? 食べよう. Wanna head out? 行こう.
The polite equivalent is ましょう, which you'd use in formal settings. Our lesson on making invitations covers both ましょう and casual suggestion patterns together.
It also expresses personal intention. Talking to yourself about what you'll do: よし、やろう (alright, I'll do it).
Conjugation Rules
U-verbs (Group I)
Change the final kana from the う-row to the お-row, then add う:
| Dictionary | Volitional |
|---|---|
| 行く (iku) | 行こう |
| 話す (hanasu) | 話そう |
| 飲む (nomu) | 飲もう |
| 買う (kau) | 買おう |
| 待つ (matsu) | 待とう |
| 遊ぶ (asobu) | 遊ぼう |
The shift: く→こ, す→そ, む→も, う→お, つ→と, ぶ→ぼ, ぐ→ご, る→ろ. Then add う.
Ru-verbs (Group II)
Drop る, add よう:
| Dictionary | Volitional |
|---|---|
| 食べる (taberu) | 食べよう |
| 見る (miru) | 見よう |
| 起きる (okiru) | 起きよう |
Irregular Verbs
| Dictionary | Volitional |
|---|---|
| する | しよう |
| 来る (kuru) | こよう |
Uses of the Volitional Form
1. Casual "Let's ~" (suggestion to others)
- 帰ろう (let's go home)
- 外に出よう (let's go outside)
- 何か食べよう (let's eat something)
2. Personal Intention ("I think I'll ~")
- 早く寝よう (I'll go to bed early)
- もう少し頑張ろう (I'll try a bit harder)
- やめよう (I'll quit / let's stop)
3. Questions with か
Unlike most plain forms, adding か to the volitional is NOT rude:
- 今日は何をしようか (What shall we do today?)
- どこに行こうか (Where shall we go?)
- 何を食べようか (What should we eat?)
This is perfectly natural and polite even in casual speech.
Volitional + と思う
To express a plan or intention more carefully, pair with と思う:
- 明日早く起きようと思う (I'm thinking of waking up early tomorrow)
- 日本語をもっと勉強しようと思っている (I'm thinking of studying Japanese more)
This softens the volitional into "I'm thinking of doing ~" rather than a firm declaration.