Japanese verbs go at the end of a sentence, which means you may not know whether the context is in the past, present, or future right away. The same is often true for adjectives, which get conjugated in Japanese. Although it takes some work, it’s especially vital that you understand the Japanese past tense verb conjugation when it finally arrives so you can piece the sentence together.
No matter what character a verb or adjective ends in, discover the rules to conjugate it in this guide. Keep these charts handy as you learn Japanese and become a conjugation master.
Table of Contents
Is there a past tense in Japanese?
Japanese has a past tense for both verbs and adjectives. While the adjective conjugations are easy to implement, past tense verbs in Japanese have a lot of variation in their conjugations. Fortunately, the rules are formulaic, so once you know what the rule is, you’ll find very few exceptions.
Although the past and non-past tense conjugations are different from each other, having a basic understanding of Japanese verb conjugation rules will help you comprehend.
Charts for polite past tense verb conjugations
Japanese verbs come in two broad categories: polite form and plain form. Understanding when to use formal vs. informal speech in Japanese is critical in social situations. As the name implies, polite form is generally used for daily conversation as a go-to level of formality. On the other hand, plain can be used for casual speech, but you can also find it in the middle of sentences when it’s not the main verb.
Japanese has three types of verbs, all of which have slightly different conjugation rules:
- Ichidan (一段): Verbs that end in the character ru (る).
- Godan (五段): Verbs that end in a character with an “u” sound, sometimes including ru.
- Irregular: Verbs for “to do” and “to come.”
The verb (or copula) for “to be” has unique conjugation rules.
These charts start with the polite form conjugations, also known as masu-form (based on its affirmative present tense form).
Ichidan verbs
Verbs that end in ru have the simplest conjugation rules.
- Affirmative past: Drop the ru and add –mashita (～ました).
- Negative past: Drop the ru and add –masen-deshita (～ませんでした).
If you’re already familiar with present tense conjugations, you’ll recognize that the negative past is the negative present conjugation plus -deshita (～でした).
| Dictionary Form | Affirmative Past | Negative Past | English |
| 見る miru | 見ました mimashita | 見ませんでした mimasen-deshita | saw/didn’t see |
| 食べる taberu | 食べました tabemashita | 食べませんでした tabemasen-deshita | ate/didn’t eat |
| 寝る neru | 寝ました nemashita | 寝ませんでした nemasen-deshita | slept/didn’t sleep |
Remember that, in Japanese word order, verbs go at the end of a sentence rather than in the middle (sometimes followed by a particle).
- Sandoicchi o rokko tabemashita ne.（サンドイッチを六個食べましたね。）= You ate six sandwiches!
Godan verbs
Godan verb conjugations all have a slightly unique variation. Before adding the standard conjugation ender, the final character of the dictionary form (which ends in an “u” sound) is changed to the character in the same consonant row that ends in an “i” sound.
- Affirmative past: Change the final “u” sound to an “i” sound and add –mashita (～ました).
- Negative past: Change the final “u” sound to an “i” sound and add –masen-deshita (～ませんでした).
| Dictionary Form | Affirmative Past | Negative Past | English |
| 読む yomu | 読みました yomimashita | 読みませんでした yomimasen-deshita | read/didn’t read |
| 立つ tatsu | 立ちました tachimashita | 立ちませんでした tachimasen-deshita | stand/didn’t stand |
| 座る suwaru | 座りました suwarimashita | 座りませんでした suwarimasen-deshita | sat/didn’t sit |
- Oyogimashita ka.（泳ぎましたか。）= Did you swim?
- Lie, oyogimasen-deshita. Hashirimashita.（いいえ、泳ぎませんでした。走りました。）= No, I did not swim. I ran.
Irregular verbs
Japanese only has two irregular verbs. Although the way the first character changes is unique to each of them, the enders are the same as any other verb.
| Dictionary Form | Affirmative Past | Negative Past | English |
| する suru | しました shimashita | しませんでした shimasen-deshita | did/didn’t |
| 来る kuru | 来ました kimashita | 来ませんでした kimasen-deshita | came/didn’t come |
“To do” is extremely versatile, and you can pair it with all kinds of activities to create a specific verb.
- Kinō, kanojo wa tenisu o shimashita.（昨日、彼女はテニスをしました。）= She played tennis yesterday. (Literally: She did tennis yesterday.)
‘To be’ verb
The “to be” verb desu is exceedingly common, but its conjugation rules are unique.
| Dictionary Form | Affirmative Past | Negative Past | English |
| です desu | でした deshita | じゃありませんでしたja arimasen-deshita | was/wasn’t; were/weren’t |
Desu actually has several negative Japanese past tense conjugations. For the polite form, de wa arimasen-deshita（ではありませんでした) is also acceptable.
- Watashi wa gakusei deshita.（私は学生でした。）= I was a student.
- Watashi wa gakusei ja arimasen-deshita.（私は学生じゃありませんでした。）= I wasn’t a student.
Charts for plain past tense verb conjugations
While ichidan verbs are simple to conjugate into plain Japanese past tense, godan verbs are considerably more involved. As you see in Japanese te-form conjugations, the final character of the dictionary form changes the Japanese past tense conjugation.
Ichidan verbs
Like polite form, the plain form conjugation for past tense is straightforward for ichidan verbs.
- Affirmative past: Drop the ru and add –ta (～た).
- Negative past: Drop the ru and add –nakatta (～なかった).
| Dictionary Form | Affirmative Past | Negative Past | English |
| 見る miru | 見た mita | 見なかった minakatta | saw/didn’t see |
| 着る kiru | 着た kita | 着なかった kinakatta | wore/didn’t wear |
| 始める hajimeru | 始めた hajimeta | 始めなかった hajimenakatta | started/didn’t start |
- Kirei na yama mo mita.（きれいな山も見た。）= I saw some beautiful mountains.
Godan verbs that end in u, tsu, or ru
The first set of godan verbs—those that end in u (う), tsu (つ), or ru (る)—is similar to ichidan verbs. All plain negative Japanese past tense conjugations for godan verbs involve changing the final “u” sound to an “a” sound, but those that end in the character u change to wa (わ) instead of a (あ).
- Affirmative past: Drop the final character and add –tta (～った).
- Negative past: Change the final “u” sound to an “a” sound and add –nakatta (～なかった).
| Dictionary Form | Affirmative Past | Negative Past | English |
| 買う kau | 買った katta | 買わなかった kawanakatta | bought/didn’t buy |
| 持つ motsu | 持った motta | 持たなかった motanakatta | held/didn’t hold |
| 走る hashiru | 走った hashitta | 走らなかった hashiranakatta | ran/didn’t run |
- Kanojo wa fuku o katta.（彼女は服を買った。）= She bought clothes.
Godan verbs that end in mu, bu, or nu
When a godan verb ends in mu (む), bu (ぶ), or nu (ぬ), the affirmative conjugations start to get a little more different.
- Affirmative past: Drop the final character and add –nda (～んだ).
- Negative past: Change the final “u” sound to an “a” sound and add –nakatta (～なかった).
| Dictionary Form | Affirmative Past | Negative Past | English |
| 飲む nomu | 飲んだ nonda | 飲まなかった nomanakatta | drank/didn’t drink |
| 遊ぶ asobu | 遊んだ asonda | 遊ばなかった asobanakatta | played/didn’t play |
| 死ぬ shinu | 死んだ shinda | 死ななかった shinanakatta | died/didn’t die |
- Kanojo wa mō gyūnyū o sanbun no ichi nonda.（彼女はもう牛乳を三分の一飲んだ。）= She already drank a third of the milk.
Godan verbs that end in ku
With one exception, verbs that end in ku (く) have their own conjugation.
- Affirmative past: Drop the final character and add –ita (～いた).
- Negative past: Change the final “u” sound to an “a” sound and add –nakatta (～なかった).
The verb “to go” (iku, 行く) is the exception and has a unique affirmative conjugation.
| Dictionary Form | Affirmative Past | Negative Past | English |
| 書く kaku | 書いた kaita | 書かなかった kakanakatta | wrote/didn’t write |
| 行く iku | 行った itta | 行かなかった ikanakatta | went/didn’t go |
- Sūpā ni itta toki ni, ninjin o katta.（スーパーに行った時に、にんじんを買った。）= I bought carrots when I went to the grocery store.
Godan verbs that end in gu
Because gu (ぐ) is the voiced version of ku (く), their conjugations are very similar, only changing the final ta (た) to its voiced version, da (だ).
- Affirmative past: Drop the final character and add –ida (～いだ).
- Negative past: Change the final “u” sound to an “a” sound and add –nakatta (～なかった).
| Dictionary Form | Affirmative Past | Negative Past | English |
| 泳ぐ oyogu | 泳いだ oyoida | 泳がなかった oyoganakatta | swam/didn’t swim |
| 急ぐ isogu | 急いだ isoida | 急がなかった isoganakatta | hurried/didn’t hurry |
- Senshū no kayōbi ni, watashi wa ichi kiro oyoida.（先週の火曜日に、私は一キロ泳いだ。）= I swam a kilometer last Tuesday.
Godan verbs that end in su
Verbs that end in su (す) feel like they resemble masu-form because they also appear to change the final “u” sound to the corresponding “i” sound, but the ender is ultimately different.
- Affirmative past: Drop the final character and add –shita (～した).
- Negative past: Change the final “u” sound to an “a” sound and add –nakatta (～なかった).
| Dictionary Form | Affirmative Past | Negative Past | English |
| 話す hanasu | 話した hanashita | 話さなかった hanasanakatta | spoke/didn’t speak |
| 落とす otosu | 落とした otoshita | 落とさなかった otosanakatta | dropped/didn’t drop |
- Yonjūgofunkan hanashita.（四十五分間話した。）= He spoke for forty-five minutes.
Irregular verbs
The irregular verbs continue to have their own rules, but it’s worth pointing out the plain negative Japanese past tense conjugation of kuru in particular. Instead of changing to ki, the first character changes to ko.
| Dictionary Form | Affirmative Past | Negative Past | English |
| する suru | した shita | しなかった shinakatta | did/didn’t |
| 来る kuru | 来た kita | 来なかった konakatta | came/didn’t come |
- Kanojo wa shigoto ni hayaku kita.（彼女は仕事に早く来た。）= She came early for work.
‘To be’ verb
The plain Japanese past tense conjugations for desu are also unique, but similar enough to other verbs that you’ll find them relatively simple to remember.
| Dictionary Form | Affirmative Past | Negative Past | English |
| です desu | だった datta | じゃなかった ja nakatta | was/wasn’t; were/weren’t |
You can also use de wa nakatta (ではなかった) or ja nakatta desu (じゃなかったです) to make the negative past conjugation slightly more polite.
- Jūni doru datta.（十二ドルだった。）= They were twelve dollars.
- Jūni doru ja nakatta.（十二ドルじゃなかった。）= They weren’t twelve dollars.
Japanese past tense adjectives and nouns
Unlike English, Japanese adjectives also conjugate based on politeness and tense. Thankfully, they’re much simpler than verbs and stick to the same conjugation rules.
i-adjectives
Adjectives that end in i (い), with one exception, all conjugate the same way. Polite form dictates that you add desu (the verb for “to be”) to the end of the conjugation.
- Affirmative past: Drop the final i and add –katta desu (～かったです).
- Negative past: Change the final i to ku and add –nakatta desu (～なかったです).
The one exception is the adjective ii (いい), meaning “good.” In addition to the standard rules, the first i changes to yo (よ). It’s a fairly common word, so you’ll get plenty of practice.
| Dictionary Form | Polite Affirmative Past | Polite Negative Past | English |
| 若い wakai | 若かったです wakakatta desu | 若くなかったです wakakunakatta desu | was young/wasn’t young |
| 暑い atsui | 暑かったです atsukatta desu | 暑くなかったです atsukunakatta desu | was hot/wasn’t hot |
| 小さい chiisai | 小さかったです chiisakatta desu | 小さくなかったです chiisakunakatta desu | was small/wasn’t small |
| いい ii | よかったです yokatta desu | よくなかったです yokunakatta desu | was good/wasn’t good |
For the plain form conjugation, just drop desu and you’re done!
| Dictionary Form | Plain Affirmative Past | Plain Negative Past | English |
| 若い wakai | 若かった wakakatta | 若くなかった wakakunakatta | was young/wasn’t young |
| 暑い atsui | 暑かった atsukatta | 暑くなかった atsukunakatta | was hot/wasn’t hot |
| 小さい chiisai | 小さかった chiisakatta | 小さくなかった chiisakunakatta | was small/wasn’t small |
| いい ii | よかった yokatta | よくなかった yokunakatta | was good/wasn’t good |
- Watashitachi wa wakakatta desu.（私たちは若かったです。）= We were young.
- Watashitachi wa wakakatta.（私たちは若かった。）= We were young.
na-adjectives and nouns
The conjugations for na-adjectives and Japanese nouns are identical because na-adjectives are actually “adjectival nouns.” The na (な) for which na-adjectives are named is only added when they go before a noun.
As a result, the Japanese past tense conjugations for na-adjectives and nouns is really just the past tense conjugation of the “to be” verb, desu (です).
- Affirmative past: Add –deshita (～でした).
- Negative past: Add –ja arimasen-deshita (～じゃありませんでした) or any of its variants.
| Dictionary Form | Polite Affirmative Past | Polite Negative Past | English |
| きれい（な） kirei (na) | きれいでした kirei deshita | きれいじゃありませんでした kirei ja arimasen-deshita | was pretty/wasn’t pretty |
| 元気（な） genki (na) | 元気でした genki deshita | げんきじゃありませんでした genki ja arimasen-deshita | was healthy/wasn’t healthy |
| 誕生日 tanjōbi | 誕生日でした tanjōbi deshita | 誕生日じゃありませんでした tanjōbi ja arimasen-deshita | was a birthday/wasn’t a birthday |
For the plain Japanese past tense conjugations, the corresponding conjugation of desu is added again.
- Affirmative past: Add –datta (～だった).
- Negative past: Add –ja nakatta (～じゃなかった) or any of its variants.
| Dictionary Form | Plain Affirmative Past | Plain Negative Past | English |
| きれい（な） kirei (na) | きれいだった kirei datta | きれいじゃなかった kirei ja nakatta | was pretty/wasn’t pretty |
| 元気（な） genki (na) | 元気だった genki datta | げんきじゃなかった genki ja nakatta | was healthy/wasn’t healthy |
| 誕生日 tanjōbi | 誕生日だった tanjōbi datta | 誕生日じゃなかった tanjōbi ja nakatta | was a birthday/wasn’t a birthday |
- Kinō wa kanojo no tanjōbi deshita.（昨日は彼女の誕生日でした。）Her birthday was yesterday.
- Kinō wa kanojo no tanjōbi datta.（昨日は彼女の誕生日だった。）Her birthday was yesterday.
Put flashcards in the past with Rosetta Stone
There’s no denying that Japanese past tense conjugations are more involved than the present and future (or non-past) conjugations. To complete your mastery of Japanese verbs and adjectives, you’ll need to know how to match the tense to the situation. The more you use them, the faster you’ll be able to use them in conversation.
Although you can readily learn vocabulary with flashcards, conjugations are best studied in context. By using the Rosetta Stone app, you’ll encounter new words and grammar with pictures, native audio, and complete sentences. With this method, you’ll learn Japanese in the same natural way you learned your native language!
0 Commentaires