When you’re out with friends, how often do you suggest activities? You might say, “Let’s go to the movies,” or “Let’s eat at that restaurant.” To do this in Japanese, you’ll need the volitional form of Japanese verb conjugation.
Although volitional form adds to the number of necessary conjugations when you learn Japanese, you’ll find that it has refreshing similarities to the most basic Japanese verb conjugations. Refer to the charts and example sentences in this guide to master making invitations and expressing intentions!
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What are Japanese volitional form conjugations?
The volitional form Japanese conjugation is the general equivalent to saying “let’s [verb]” in English. As is typical in Japanese verb conjugations, volitional form has a polite conjugation and a plain conjugation. You’ll use the polite form when talking to strangers or people you want to be more formal with (like coworkers). The plain form is reserved for casual conversation (such as with friends) and certain Japanese grammar structures where the verb in volitional form isn’t the main verb.
You can also use volitional form to make offers and announce decisions. The verb tenses in Japanese (past and non-past) don’t play their usual role in volitional form Japanese, as this conjugation lacks a past tense form entirely.
Polite volitional form Japanese
The conjugation ender for polite volitional form is -mashō (～ましょう). It conjugates almost exactly the same as the polite affirmative non-past conjugation of a verb, also known as masu-form.
The conjugation rules are simple:
- Ichidan (一段) verbs: Drop the final ru (る) and add -mashō.
- Godan (五段) verbs: Change the final “u” sound to an “i” sound and add -mashō.
- Irregular verbs: See the chart for the conjugations of “to come” (kuru, 来る) and “to do” (suru, する).
| Dictionary Form | Volitional Form | Pronunciation | English |
| 食べる taberu | 食べましょう tabemashō | tah-beh-mah-shoh | let’s eat |
| 行く iku | 行きましょう ikimashō | ee-kee-mah-shoh | let’s go |
| 泳ぐ oyogu | 泳ぎましょう oyogimashō | oh-yoh-gee-mah-shoh | let’s swim |
| 話す hanasu | 話しましょう hanashimashō | hah-nah-shee-mah-shoh | let’s speak |
| 待つ matsu | 待ちましょう machimashō | mah-chee-mah-shoh | let’s wait |
| 遊ぶ asobu | 遊びましょう asobimashō | ah-soh-bee-mah-shoh | let’s play |
| 読む yomu | 読みましょう yomimashō | yoh-mee-mah-shoh | let’s read |
| 頑張る ganbaru | 頑張りましょう ganbarimashō | gahn-bah-ree-mah-shoh | let’s do our best |
| 来る kuru | 来ましょう kimashō | kee-mah-shoh | let’s come |
| する suru | しましょう shimashō | shee-mah-shoh | let’s do |
Plain volitional form Japanese
The plain volitional form in Japanese conjugations are slightly more complex, but the general pattern is similar to other plain form conjugations, such as past tense. To make things easier, you can divide the types of Japanese verbs into groups.
Ichidan verbs
To conjugate ichidan verbs—those that end in the character ru—into plain volitional form, drop the ru and add -yō (よう).
| Dictionary Form | Volitional Form | Pronunciation | English |
| 食べる taberu | 食べよう tabeyō | tah-beh-yoh | let’s eat |
| 見る miru | 見よう miyō | mee-yoh | let’s see |
| 寝る neru | 寝よう neyō | neh-yoh | let’s sleep |
Godan verbs
The volitional form Japanese for godan verbs—all others that end in characters with a final “u” sound—requires a little more work. To conjugate godan verbs, change the final “u” sound of the verb to a final “o” sound and add character u (う) to elongate the “o” sound.
| Dictionary Form | Volitional Form | Pronunciation | English |
| 行く iku | 行こう ikō | ee-koh | let’s go |
| 泳ぐ oyogu | 泳ごう oyogō | oh-yoh-goh | let’s swim |
| 話す hanasu | 話そう hanasō | hah-nah-soh | let’s speak |
| 待つ matsu | 待とう matō | mah-toh | let’s wait |
| 遊ぶ asobu | 遊ぼう asobō | ah-soh-boh | let’s play |
| 読む yomu | 読もう yomō | yoh-moh | let’s read |
| 頑張る ganbaru | 頑張ろう ganbarō | gahn-bah-roh | let’s do our best |
Irregular verbs
As usual, “to come” and “to do” have their own conjugations that need to be memorized separately from the standard rules.
| Dictionary Form | Volitional Form | Pronunciation | English |
| 来る kuru | 来よう koyō | koh-yoh | let’s come |
| する suru | しよう shiyō | shee-yoh | let’s do |
Pay close attention to the difference between the spelling of the polite conjugation -mashō (～ましょう) and the plain volitional form of “to do,” shiyō (しよう). The pronunciation is distinct (mah-shoh vs. shee-yoh), but the hiragana (ひらがな) characters are deceptively similar. The size of the character yo is the key. Compare the two:
- ～ましょう vs. しよう
In -mashō, the yo is small and is combined with shi to create the contracted sound sho. Meanwhile, the yo in shiyō is normal sized and is not combined with shi. It’s a tiny difference that makes a huge impact.
3 ways to use volitional form in Japanese
Volitional form has relatively limited uses in Japanese, but that doesn’t mean it’s rare! When you’re learning how to speak Japanese, being able to use volitional form will help you be friendly in daily conversations. Here are three common ways you can put volitional form into context.
1. Making invitations
Simply by changing a verb to volitional form, you’ve made the word an invitation equivalent to a “let’s” statement in English. The most common way to use volitional form is to encourage another person to do something with you. In some cases, you don’t even need to add any additional words.
- Ikimashō!（行きましょう！）= Let’s go!
When you want to make the sentence more complex, the usual Japanese word order and other grammar rules apply to the rest of the sentence.
- Nijuppun go ni kōen de aimashō.（ニ十分後に公園で会いましょう。）= Let’s meet at the park in twenty minutes. (Polite)
- Nijuppun go ni kōen de aō.（ニ十分後に公園で会おう。）= Let’s meet at the park in twenty minutes. (Casual)
- Imōto o mitsukemashō.（妹を見つけましょう。）= Let’s find your little sister. (Polite)
- Imōto o mitsukeyō.（妹を見つけよう。）= Let’s find your little sister. (Casual)
By using the volitional form Japanese of the word “to quit” (yameru, やめる), you can also suggest that you not do something.
- Chikatetsu de tabako o suu no wa yamemashō.（地下鉄でタバコを吸うのはやめましょう。）= Let’s not smoke on the subway.
- Kono hanashi wa yameyō yo.（この話はやめようよ。）= Let’s stop talking about this.
2. Extending offers
Adding the Japanese particle ka (か) to the end of a sentence turns a statement into a question. By adding ka to the end of a sentence with the verb in volitional form, you’ve turned the invitation into an offer. Instead of “let’s,” you’re now asking, “shall I?”
- Tetsudaimashō ka.（手伝いましょうか。）= Do you need help? (Literally: Shall I help you?)
- Nimotsu o mochimashō ka.（荷物を持ちましょうか。）= Shall I carry your luggage?
The same structure can be used to ask what you should do. This can be rhetorical, or it can be a genuine question hoping to elicit a suggestion or offer from another person. As with most questions in Japanese, the particle ka can be dropped in favor of a rising intonation if the speaker wishes.
- Dou shiyō?（どうしよう？）= What should we do?
- Terebi o miyō ka?（テレビを見ようか？）= Shall we watch TV?
3. Making decisions
Volitional form can also be combined with the verb “to think” (omou, 思う) to express a decision. All you need to do is follow the below formula:
- [decision with verb in plain volitional form] to omou.（[decision with verb in plain volitional form] と思う。）= I think I’ll [decision].
For example, say you decided to go to bed. The decision is “to sleep” (neru, 寝る) which you would conjugate into the plain volitional form (neyō, 寝よう). Then, you would add “I think” (to omou).
- Neyō to omou.（寝ようと思う。）= I think I’m going to go to sleep.
Even if the sentence is ultimately polite (determined by the conjugation of the verb omou), the verb in the volitional form (the action you’re deciding to do) will remain in plain form. This is something to be particularly aware of when choosing to use formal vs. informal Japanese.
- Motto undō shiyō to omoimasu.（もっと運動しようと思います。）= I think I’ll exercise more.
If your decision is premeditated rather than spontaneous, you’ll use the present progressive form of omou—omotteiru—instead of the standard non-past form.
- Rainen nihon ni ikō to omotteimasu.（来年日本に行こうと思っています。）= I’ve been thinking of going to Japan next year. (Polite)
- Rainen nihon ni ikō to omotteiru.（来年日本に行こうと思っている。）= I’ve been thinking of going to Japan next year. (Casual)
Master Japanese volitional form with Rosetta Stone
A single verb in Japanese can be an entire sentence, and how that verb is conjugated drastically changes the sentence’s meaning. Accordingly, learning how to conjugate verbs correctly is essential! The volitional form of Japanese conjugation won’t be your first priority, but adding it to your vocabulary will expand your ability to interact with others.
The best way to practice Japanese verb conjugations is to consistently use them and immerse yourself in the Japanese language. Make invitations directed at yourself (“Let’s do the laundry.”), or ask a friend to dine with you (“Let’s eat!”). Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method enables you to pick up volitional form conjugations quickly, so hajimemashō (始めましょう, let’s get started)!
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