Japanese Te Form (て) | Complete Explanation

Q: What is the 'te' form for う、つ、or る verbs?

For group 1 verbs which end up with the words う (u), つ (tsu) or る (ru) , replace these words with って (tte) .

Q: What is the 'te' form for ぬ、ぶ、or む verbs?

For verbs which end up with the words ぬ (nu), ぶ (bu) or む (mu) , replace the words with んで (nde) .

Q: How do I make the 'te' form for く verbs?

For group 1 verbs which end up with the word く (ku) , change the word to いて (ite) .

Q: How do I make the 'te' form for ぐ verbs?

For those which end up with the word ぐ (gu) , change it to いで (ide) .

Home A1 How to make the Japanese Te form (て)

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JAPANESE TE て FORM

As you might already know, the て-form (te-form) of Japanese verbs is multifunctional.

As its main usage, the ‘te’ form is the Japanese present progressive.

Basically, it is known as the ‘te’ form because you change the verbs to end with the Japanese ‘te’ (て) or ‘nde’ (んで). We’ll teach you how to convert it in ‘te’ form in a moment.

‘Te’ form is used to turn a verb into “-ing” form

INTRODUCTION

‘Te’ form is used to turn a verb into “-ing” form, like this:

食べる　→　食べて (taberu → tabete) “I eat” / “I will eat” → “I’m eating”

Japanese has the same verb form for the future tense and the present tense, as well as general statements. So, it can be a bit confusing as to whether you mean “I eat (right now)” or “I will eat (in the future).”

That’s what you understand by using ‘te’ form. Isn’t it so powerful?

The ‘Te’ form makes it crystal clear that an action is not in the future, but an action you’re working on at this moment.

‘Te’ form can also be used with different tenses. Just combine it with other verbs to create other verb tenses.

For Example:

EXAMPLE	ROMAJI	MEANING
その本を読んでいた。	Sono hon wo yonde ita.	I had been reading the book.

Okay, now you understand its importance. But how do you make it?

Today we are going to teach you how to make this て-form (‘te’ form).

TE FORM OF JAPANESE VERBS || GROUP 1

As we have learned, group 1 verbs come with various endings.

These are う (u)、つ (tsu)、る (ru)、ぬ (nu)、ぶ (bu)、む (mu)、く (ku)、ぐ (gu)、and す (su)。
‘Te’ form changes these endings of verbs.

Let’s see what to replace these endings with!

For group 1 verbs which end up with the words う (u), つ (tsu) or る (ru), replace these words with って (tte).
For verbs which end up with the words ぬ (nu), ぶ (bu) or む (mu), replace the words with んで (nde).
For group 1 verbs which end up with the word く (ku), change the word to いて (ite).
For those which end up with the word ぐ (gu), change it to いで (ide).
And for those which end up with the word す (su), change it to して (shite).

Exception!!

For the japanese verb いく (iku) which means “to go”, the te-form is いって (itte).

Here are some examples:

DICTIONARY FORM	MEANING	‘TE’ FORM
ある	Exist (Thing)	あって
かかる	Hang/Take	かかって
よむ	Read	よんで
かう	Buy	かって
きく	Listen/Ask	きいて

VIEW MORE EXAMPLES

DICTIONARY FORM	MEANING	‘TE’ FORM
あそぶ	Play	あそんで
はなす	Speak/Talk	はなして
まつ	Wait	まって
およぐ	Swim	およいで
しぬ	Die	しんで

TE FORM OF JAPANESE VERBS || GROUP 2

‘Te’ form for Group 2 and Group 3 verbs is very easy.

Group 2 verbs always end with the word る (ru). So, you just need to replace る (ru) with て (te).

Take a look at some examples:

DICTIONARY FORM	MEANING	‘TE’ FORM
いる	Exist (Human/Animal)	いて
たべる	Eat	たべて
みる	See	みて
ねる	Go to Bed	ねて
おきる	Wake Up/Rise/Happen	おきて

TE FORM OF JAPANESE VERBS || GROUP 3

There are only two Group 3 verbs! So remembering the ‘te’ form of these verbs won’t be a problem for you.

The te-form of する (suru) is して (shite) and the te-form of くる (kuru) is きて (kite).

Examples:

DICTIONARY FORM	MEANING	‘TE’ FORM
する	Do/Execute/Play	して
くる	Come/Arrive	きて
べんきょうする	Study	べんきょうして
さんぽする	Walk/Stroll	さんぽして

USING THE て FORM TO CONNECT SENTENCES

Another way you can use the ‘te’ form is to connect verb sentences.

When two or more actions take place in order, the actions are mentioned in the sequence by using the te-form.

It is kind of similar to the function of the English word “then”.

Here, no past tense is used for ‘te’ form.

The tense of the sentence is determined by the tense form of the last verb in the sentence.

For example:

EXAMPLE	ROMAJI	MEANING
朝パンを食べて、コーヒーを飲んで、会社へ行きました。	Asa pan wo tabete, ko-hi- wo nonde, kaisha e ikimashita.	In the morning, I ate bread, drank coffee and went to my workplace.

You will have to use this form regularly and at various places. It also has importance in different grammar patterns.

So keep practicing till you can use it fluently in conversations.