Polite Form (+ Negative Conjugation)

Introduction

It's time for you to learn the way of the Japanese verb, young padawan pandawan.

You haven’t been taught any verbs yet and it's time to level up from that! We're not babies, we need grown-up things like verbs, and taxes! This is why in this lesson, you'll be learning more about the two types of verbs in Japanese, as well as how to conjugate them into some fundamental forms. I’ll also give you a few basic verbs to practice with, so get excited!

Polite Form

This “polite” form or 丁寧語ていねいご will involve verbs ending in 「ます」 (we will also call this ます form later).

In the Isle of New Beginnings, you learned that the polite form is the most common form because of how important it is to be proper and courteous in Japanese culture. So I’d say it makes total sense for you to learn it first! You’ll of course eventually learn how to speak casually and even rudely (for those people who try to steal your pizza), but first, you need to develop those instinctual good manners. After all, isn't it kind of my fault as your language guide if you ever speak to a lovely, kind おばあさん in a rude way...? (For the love of pandas, please don't!)