Japanese
See also: Japanese verb conjugations#NegativeThe basic pattern is u becomes anai.
| Type | Negative | Examples | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irregular verbs | |||
| suru | shinai | benkyō suru | benkyō shinai |
| kuru | konai | ||
| aru | nai | ||
| da | de wa nai ja nai |
||
| masu stem | masen | ikimasu (go, polite) | ikimasen |
| Regular verbs | |||
| u | wanai | tsukau (use) | tsukawanai |
| ku | kanai | yaku (burn) | yakanai |
| gu | ganai | oyogu (swim) | oyoganai |
| su | sanai | hanasu (speak) | hanasanai |
| tsu | tanai | matsu (wait) | matanai |
| nu | nanai | shinu (die) | shinanai |
| bu | banai | yobu (call) | yobanai |
| mu | manai | yomu (read) | yomanai |
| ru (consonant stem) | ranai | hashiru (run) | hashiranai |
| iru, eru (vowel stem) | inai, enai | kaeru (change) | kaenai |
| Adjectives | |||
| i adjectives | ku nai | itai (painful) | itaku nai |
| na adjectives | de wa nai ja nai |
kantan da | kantan de wa nai kantan ja nai |
- The nai ending conjugates in two ways.
- As an i adjective. For example the past tense of tabenai is tabenakatta and the te form is tabenakute.
- There is a special te form made by adding de. For example, tabenaide. This is used, for example, in tabenaide kudasai: "Please don't eat (this)".
Read more about this topic: Negative Verb
Famous quotes containing the word japanese:
“In fact, the whole of Japan is a pure invention. There is no such country, there are no such people.... The Japanese people are ... simply a mode of style, an exquisite fancy of art.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“The Japanese are, to the highest degree, both aggressive and unaggressive, both militaristic and aesthetic, both insolent and polite, rigid and adaptable, submissive and resentful of being pushed around, loyal and treacherous, brave and timid, conservative and hospitable to new ways.”
—Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)
“A pragmatic race, the Japanese appear to have decided long ago that the only reason for drinking alcohol is to become intoxicated and therefore drink only when they wish to be drunk.
So I went out into the night and the neon and let the crowd pull me along, walking blind, willing myself to be just a segment of that mass organism, just one more drifting chip of consciousness under the geodesics.”
—William Gibson (b. 1948)