Japanese Grammar Bank

JAPANESE NEGATIVE FORM

Up until now, we have studied the basic sentence structures. But we also need to understand the basic negations of a sentence to use in simple conversations.

Today, we will study negation in Japanese.

JAPANESE NEGATIVE FORM OF です

です(desu)

This is the most commonly used negation of the Japanese language.

The negation of the です sentence structure is also used for sentences with na adjectives (adjectives ending with な).

HIRAGANAROMAJINEGATIONROMAJI
Present / Future Tenseですdesuではありませんdewa arimasen
Past Tenseでしたdeshitaではありませんでしたdewa arimasen deshita

Here is an example of ONE sentence in different forms:

japaneseromajienglishtense
わたしはがくせいです。watashi wa gakusei desu.I am a student.Present
わたしはがくせいではありません。watashi wa gakusei dewa arimasen.I am not a student.Present negative
わたしはがくせいでした。watashi wa gakusei deshita.I was a student.Past
わたしはがくせいではありませんでした。watashi wa gakusei dewa arimasen deshita.I was not a student.Past negative

JAPANESE NEGATIVE FORM OF ある

ある (aru)

If you’ve been studying Japanese for a bit, you must have gotten used to the verb ある.

The ある ending is used for existence of non-living things.

Here are different forms of ある verb:

HIRAGANAROMAJINEGATIONROMAJI
Present / Future Tenseありますarimasuありませんarimasen
Past Tenseありましたarimashitaありませんでしたarimasen deshita

Here is an example in all forms:

japaneseromajienglishtense
そこにしんぶんがあります。shinbun ga arimasu.There is a newspaper.Present
そこにしんぶんがありません。shinbun ga arimasen.A newspaper is not there.Present negative
そこにしんぶんがありました。shinbun ga arimashita.There was a newspaper.Past
そこにしんぶんがありませんでした。shinbun ga arimasen deshita.A newspaper was not there.Past negative

JAPANESE NEGATIVE FORM OF いる

いる (iru)

The いる ending is used for living things.

This ending is also used for present continuous tense. How?

We will see more of this ending when we learn about the て (Te) form. For now, let’s see some basic negations for いる verbs.

HIRAGANAROMAJINEGATIONROMAJI
Present / Future Tenseいますimasuいませんimasen
Past TenseいましたimashitaいませんでしたImasen deshita

Here is an example:

japaneseromajienglishtense
そこにねこがいます。neko ga imasu.There is a cat.Present
そこにねこがいません。neko ga imasen.A cat is not there.Present negative
そこにねこがいました。soko ni neko ga imashita.There was a cat.Past
そこにねこがいませんでした。soko ni neko ga imasen deshita.A cat was not there.Past negative

JAPANESE NEGATION OF い ADJECTIVES

There are special negations used for ii adjectives (adjectives ending with い).

These are also used in in daily conversations where sentences with です or ます endings are not used, with friends and family for instance.

HIRAGANAROMAJINEGATIVE IN HIRAGANANEGATIVE IN ROMAJI
Present / Future Tense～い～ii～くない～kunai
Past Tense～かった～katta～くなかった～kunakatta

Here is an example:

japaneseROMAJIenglishtense
おいしいすし。oishii sushi.Delicious sushi.Present
おいしくないすし。oishikunai sushi.The sushi is not delicious.Present negative
おいしかったすし。oishikatta sushi.That sushi was delicious.Past
おいしくなかったすし。oishi kunakatta sushi.That sushi was not delicious.Past negative

JAPANESE NEGATION OF VERBS

You will use various verbs in daily conversations. The below table will help you form sentences in the past, present and future tense. 

HIRAGANAROMAJINEGATIONROMAJI
Present / Future Tense～ます～masu～ません～masen
Past Tense～ました～mashita～ませんでした～masen deshita
japaneseromajienglishtense
ほんをよみます。hon wo yomimasu.I read a book.Present
ほんをよみません。hon wo yomimasen.I do not read a book.Present negative
ほんをよみました。hon wo yomimashita.I read a book.Past
ほんをよみませんでした。hon wo yomimasen deshita.I did not read a book.Past negative

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FAQs

How to negate a Japanese verb?

To use the Japanese negation form you have to look at what verb is included in your sentence, as the negation form will depend on it.

For example:

The present/future negation of the verb です (desu), is ではありません (dewa arimasen). This form is the most common.

Let’s take the verb ある (aru). Its present/future tense is あります (arimasu), and its present negation form is ありません (arimasen).

To negate most verbs in present and future tense, you’ll need ～ません (masen). The past tense is ～ませんでした (masen deshita).

Check out our full article for examples and more negation sentence structures.

How to negate a Japanese adjective?

The negation of the です sentence structure is also used for sentences with na adjectives (adjectives ending with な).

The present/future negation of the verb です (desu), is ではありません (dewa arimasen). The past tense negation form is ではありませんでした (dewa arimasen deshita).

There are special negations used for ii adjectives (adjectives ending with い).

The present/future negation of い adjectives is ～くない (～kunai). The past tense negation form is ～くなかった (～kunakatta).

Check out our full article for examples of use.

What is the Japanese negation form?

The most common Japanese negation form is the one with the verb です.

The present/future negation of the verb です (desu), is ではありません (dewa arimasen).

The past tense negation form is ではありませんでした (dewa arimasen deshita).

How to create a sentence with a verb ?

In Japanese, the SOV structure is used:

Subject + Object + Verb.

Remember, all the sentences in Japanese end with a verb.

—

Learn more about verbs in Japanese here.

What is the most basic sentence structure?

The most basic Japanese sentence structure is:

Subject + は + Object + です.

This sentence structure is used for generalised things or stating facts.

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