To communicate in the formal speech, Japanese kids learn the proper Japanese verb forms (MASU form) little by little in their daily lives. They learn the need of shifting their speech level to formal speech. As they speak to neighbors, teachers at school, or parents of their friends, they realize they are not supposed to talk to those people as they talk to their own mother. Then, once they started to communicate with people outside their family circle, they gradually learn to use Formal Speech. That is the speech style we use to converse with our family members. Native Japanese children first learn the Dictionary Form (Informal Speech) at home while they are very young. What Japanese Verb Forms to Use as an AdultĪs you can see below, we have three different verb forms (Speech Styles) in Japanese that we differentiate depending on who we are speaking to. Let me know where I need to send it to you! If you do not want to enroll in the mini-course but just want the Verb List, you can download from below. The Japanese Verb List (14 pages, PDF) is provided inside the course. Simply click the button below and it will take you to the free sign-up page. You can sing up for the free mini-course I mentioned in the video. Learn more about Japanese verb forms in this short video. What is MASU form? That is the polite form of the verb that we use as we interact with others as an adult in Japanese society. Do you know what Japanese verb forms to use when you are speaking (or writing) in Japanese? As a grownup, 80-90% of the time when you are communicating you will need to use MASU form.

3 forms of verb list