Volitional Form | Let's Do ~ in Japanese (Casual)

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(た)べよう. Wanna head out? 行(い)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(い)く (iku)	行(い)こ��
話(はな)す (hanasu)	話そう
飲(の)む (nomu)	飲(の)もう
買(か)う (kau)	買おう
待(ま)つ (matsu)	待(ま)とう
遊(あそ)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(た)べる (taberu)	食(た)べよう
見(み)る (miru)	見よう
起(お)きる (okiru)	起(お)きよう

Irregular Verbs

Dictionary	Volitional
する	しよう
来(く)る (kuru)	こよう

Uses of the Volitional Form

1. Casual "Let's ~" (suggestion to others)

帰(かえ)ろう (let's go home)
外(そと)に出よう (let's go outside)
何(なに)か食(た)べよう (let's eat something)

2. Personal Intention ("I think I'll ~")

早(はや)く寝よう (I'll go to bed early)
もう少し頑張(がんば)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(きょう)は何(なに)をしようか (What shall we do today?)
どこに行(い)こうか (Where shall we go?)
何(なに)を食(た)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(おも)う:

明日(あした)早(はや)く起(お)きようと思(おも)う (I'm thinking of waking up early tomorrow)
日本語(にほんご)をもっと勉強(べんきょう)しようと思(おも)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.

Example Sentences

外(そと)に出ようよ。 (soto ni deyou yo.) — Let's go outside.
さてどうしよう。 (sate dou shiyou.) — Now what shall I do?
今日(きょう)は何(なに)をしようか。 (kyou wa nani wo shiyou ka.) — What shall we do today?
もう寝よう。 (mou neyou.) — I'm gonna go to sleep.
映画(えいが)でも見よう。 (eiga demo miyou.) — Let's watch a movie or something.
一緒(いっしょ)に帰(かえ)ろう。 (issho ni kaerou.) — Let's go home together.
来週(らいしゅう)から運動(うんどう)しようと思(おも)う。 (raishuu kara undou shiyou to omou.) — I'm thinking of starting to exercise next week.
よし、やろう！ (yoshi, yarou!) — Alright, let's do it!