Japanese Grammar Bank

JAPANESE COMMAND FORM

The Japanese Command Form will come in handy when making requests are not enough for what you want to obtain!

This lesson will make plenty of references to Japanese verbs, so make sure you review the lesson about plain form verbs, as well as the one about special verbs.

INTRODUCTION TO THE COMMAND FORM

Commands are the more forceful option compared to requests.

Even in its most polite form, using it tends to put you in a position above the person you are speaking to.

When speaking casually, the て (te) form of a verb can act as a command form.

It is more suitable for speaking to equals:

KANJIROMAJIENGLISH
待ってmatteWait
言ってitteTell me
立ってtatteStand up

Verbs also have a command form that we can conjugate them into. This makes any verb into a short quick command.

Now let’s see in the next chapters how to conjugate the Japanese command forms.

JAPANESE COMMAND FORM || GROUP 1 VERBS

Let’s have a look into conjugating group 1 verbs.

PATTERN

Replace the final -u syllable with its corresponding -e syllable

REVIEW || We explain what are group 1 verbs extensively in this lesson.

EXAMPLE 1

書く 書く　→　け 書け
kakukaku → kekake
To writeWrite it!

EXAMPLE 2

待つ 待つ　→　て 待て
matsumatsu → temate
To waitWait!

JAPANESE COMMAND FORM || GROUP 2 VERBS

To conjugate the group 2 verbs and make it a command, you need to:

PATTERN

Remove the final る ru syllable (making the word into its ます masu stem) and add ろ ro

EXAMPLE 1

食べる 食べる　＋　ろ 食べろ
taberutaberu + rotabero
To eatEat!

EXAMPLE 2

逃げる 逃げる　＋　ろ 逃げろ
nigerunigeru + ronigero
To run awayRun away!

JAPANESE COMMAND FORM || IRREGULAR VERBS

Let’s have two examples first, we’ll explain after:

するsuruTo do
しろshiroDo it!
来るkuruTo come
来いkoiCome here!

This form really puts the speaker above the listener, which is why it’s used by people like bosses to sound in control.

To be commanding but in a more polite way, we can use なさい (nasai).

なさい is the honorific form of しろ (shiro), which the imperative form of the verb する (suru). 

To use it, we will attach it to the ます (masu) stem form of the verb we are commanding someone to do:

PATTERN

Verb in ます stem form + なさい

します します　＋　なさい しなさい
shimasushimasu + nasaishinasai
To doDo it please

This way of asking someone to do something still has the nuance of talking to someone of a lower position, like a parent telling a child to do their homework.

It would sound strange and condescending to speak like this to a friend or someone above you!

bangohan wo tabenasai

番ご飯を食べなさい

Eat your dinner
shukudai wo shinasai

宿題をしなさい

Do your homework

The opposite of this form, as in to say “don’t do~!”, would be plain form verb + な

PATTERN

Plain form verb + な

This form, like the command form, puts the speaker in an authority position over the listener.

okureru na

送れるな

Don’t be late
modotte kuru na

戻ってくるな

Don’t come back!

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FAQs

How to make a command in Japanese?

Making a command in Japanese will depend on the verb.

If a verb from group 1: Replace the final -u syllable with its corresponding -e syllable. Ex: 書く (kaku, to write) becomes 書け (kake, write it!)

If a verb from group 2: Remove the final る ru syllable (making the word into its ます masu stem) and add ろ ro. Ex: 食べる (taberu, to eat) becomes 食べろ (tabero, eat!)

If an irregular verb: Attach なさい (nasai) to the ます (masu) stem form of the verb. Ex: します (shimasu, to do) becomes しなさい (shinasai, do it please)

How to make a request in Japanese?

To form a sentence asking someone to do something, we will use the verb in て form of the action we want them to do.

The basic structure is:

Verb て form　＋　ください

ください (kudasai) could be translated by “please give me”.

What are honorifics in Japanese?

Honorifics can be described as multiple levels of politeness or respectfulness. It is used in the Japanese, Korean and Javanese languages.

In Japanese there are three levels of honorifics:

Polite language (丁寧語, teineigo);

Respectful language (尊敬語, sonkeigo);

Humble language (謙譲語, kenjōgo, or “modest language”)

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Where to review the Japanese alphabets?

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– The 3 Japanese alphabets

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