50 Most Common Japanese Verbs Every Beginner Needs

Verbs are the engine of Japanese sentences — you cannot form a single complete sentence without one. According to corpus analysis of conversational Japanese, just 50 verbs account for over 80% of all verb usage in daily conversation. Master these 50 verbs with their conjugations, and you have the foundation for fluent basic communication.

The 25 Most Essential Verbs (Must-Know)

These are the verbs you will use in virtually every Japanese conversation. Learn them first, and practice each one through polite, negative, past, and te-form.

#	Verb	Group	Meaning	Polite Form
1	する	G3	to do	します
2	ある	G1	to exist (things)	あります
3	いる	G2	to exist (living)	います
4	行く (いく)	G1	to go	行きます
5	来る (くる)	G3	to come	来ます
6	見る (みる)	G2	to see/watch	見ます
7	食べる (たべる)	G2	to eat	食べます
8	飲む (のむ)	G1	to drink	飲みます
9	言う (いう)	G1	to say	言います
10	思う (おもう)	G1	to think	思います
11	書く (かく)	G1	to write	書きます
12	読む (よむ)	G1	to read	読みます
13	聞く (きく)	G1	to listen/ask	聞きます
14	話す (はなす)	G1	to speak	話します
15	買う (かう)	G1	to buy	買います
16	分かる (わかる)	G1	to understand	分かります
17	知る (しる)	G1	to know	知ります
18	会う (あう)	G1	to meet	会います
19	待つ (まつ)	G1	to wait	待ちます
20	使う (つかう)	G1	to use	使います
21	帰る (かえる)	G1⚠	to return home	帰ります
22	出る (でる)	G2	to leave/exit	出ます
23	入る (はいる)	G1⚠	to enter	入ります
24	寝る (ねる)	G2	to sleep	寝ます
25	起きる (おきる)	G2	to wake up	起きます

⚠ marks verbs that end in -iru/-eru but are Group 1 (exceptions to memorize).

15 Daily Life Verbs

Verb	Group	Meaning	Example Sentence
作る つくる	G1	to make	晩ごはんを作ります (I make dinner)
働く はたらく	G1	to work	毎日働きます (I work every day)
歩く あるく	G1	to walk	公園を歩きます (I walk in the park)
走る はしる	G1⚠	to run	毎朝走ります (I run every morning)
乗る のる	G1	to ride	電車に乗ります (I ride the train)
教える おしえる	G2	to teach/tell	日本語を教えます (I teach Japanese)
覚える おぼえる	G2	to memorize	漢字を覚えます (I memorize kanji)
忘れる わすれる	G2	to forget	名前を忘れました (I forgot the name)
遊ぶ あそぶ	G1	to play/hang out	友達と遊びます (I hang out with friends)
持つ もつ	G1	to hold/have	傘を持っています (I have an umbrella)
開ける あける	G2	to open	窓を開けます (I open the window)
閉める しめる	G2	to close	ドアを閉めます (I close the door)
住む すむ	G1	to live (reside)	東京に住んでいます (I live in Tokyo)
着る きる	G2	to wear	シャツを着ます (I wear a shirt)
洗う あらう	G1	to wash	手を洗います (I wash my hands)

10 Essential する Compound Verbs

する (to do) combines with nouns to create compound verbs. These are some of the most frequently used:

All する compounds conjugate exactly like する: 勉強します (polite), 勉強しない (negative), 勉強した (past), 勉強して (te-form). Learn する's conjugation once and it applies to hundreds of compound verbs.

Quick Conjugation Reference

Form	飲む G1	食べる G2	する G3
Polite	飲みます	食べます	します
Negative	飲まない	食べない	しない
Past	飲んだ	食べた	した
Te-form	飲んで	食べて	して
Potential	飲める	食べられる	できる

Use our Verb Conjugator to look up all forms for any verb instantly.

Transitive vs Intransitive Verb Pairs

Japanese has paired verbs where one is transitive (takes an object) and one is intransitive (no object). These are essential for describing actions vs states:

Transitive (を)	Intransitive (が)	Meaning
開ける あける	開く あく	open (someone opens) / (it opens)
閉める しめる	閉まる しまる	close (someone closes) / (it closes)
つける	つく	turn on / (it turns on)
消す けす	消える きえる	turn off, erase / (it goes out)
出す だす	出る でる	take out / (it comes out)

Knowing these pairs prevents common errors. You say ドアを開ける (I open the door — transitive) but ドアが開く (The door opens — intransitive). The particle changes along with the verb.

How to Practice Verbs Effectively

1. Learn in sentences, not isolation. Instead of memorizing 飲む = drink, learn 毎日水を飲みます (I drink water every day). The sentence teaches you the verb, its particle (を), and a useful phrase all at once.

2. Practice conjugation chains. Take one verb and conjugate through all forms: 飲む → 飲みます → 飲まない → 飲んだ → 飲んで → 飲める. Do this with 5 verbs per day until the patterns are automatic.

3. Use spaced repetition. Add verbs (with example sentences) to an SRS system. Review daily to prevent forgetting.

4. Group by ending pattern. Practice all む-ending verbs together (飲む, 読む, 住む), then all く-ending verbs (書く, 歩く, 聞く). This reinforces the conjugation patterns.

Resources and Next Steps

• Conjugation practice: Verb Conjugator — look up any verb's complete conjugation
• Vocabulary building: JLPT Vocabulary Browser — verbs organized by JLPT level
• Grammar context: Learn how verbs work with particles and in conjugation patterns
• Exam preparation: See our JLPT study guide for level-specific verb requirements

For additional verb lists, see Tofugu's verb guide and JLPT Sensei's N5 vocabulary list.

The 20 most useful verbs for daily life: These verbs cover an enormous range of everyday situations: する (do), 行く (go), 来る (come), 見る (see/watch), 食べる (eat), 飲む (drink), 言う (say), 思う (think), 買う (buy), 書く (write), 読む (read), 話す (speak), 聞く (listen/ask), 作る (make), 使う (use), 待つ (wait), 知る (know), 分かる (understand), ある (exist, for objects), いる (exist, for living things). Master these 20 verbs in all their basic conjugations (masu-form, te-form, nai-form, ta-form) and you can express yourself in a surprisingly wide range of situations. Each verb also appears in dozens of compound expressions that expand your expressive range exponentially.

Transitive vs intransitive verb pairs: Japanese has a systematic pattern of paired verbs where one is transitive (takes an object, someone does the action) and the other is intransitive (no object, something happens on its own). 開ける/開く (akeru/aku — to open something / to open by itself), 閉める/閉まる (shimeru/shimaru — to close something / to close by itself), つける/つく (tsukeru/tsuku — to turn on / to turn on by itself), 始める/始まる (hajimeru/hajimaru — to start something / to start by itself). This distinction does not exist in English ("the door opened" vs "I opened the door" use the same verb), so it requires conscious practice. The general pattern: -eru endings tend to be transitive, -aru endings tend to be intransitive.

Compound verbs — doubling your vocabulary: One of Japanese's most productive patterns is compound verbs, where two verbs combine to create a new meaning. 食べ始める (tabe-hajimeru — start eating), 読み終わる (yomi-owaru — finish reading), 持って行く (motte-iku — take/bring, literally carry-go), 飲み過ぎる (nomi-sugiru — drink too much), 書き直す (kaki-naosu — rewrite). The second verb adds meaning: 始める (start), 終わる (finish), 続ける (continue), 過ぎる (too much), 直す (redo), 出す (start suddenly), 合う (mutually). Learning these modifier verbs lets you combine them with any verb you already know, instantly multiplying your vocabulary. This pattern is why Japanese learners often experience a "vocabulary explosion" once they understand compound verbs.

Verb Groups and Conjugation Foundations

Japanese verbs fall into three conjugation groups, and correctly identifying which group a verb belongs to is the foundation of all Japanese grammar. Group 1 (godan/u-verbs) includes most verbs ending in う-row sounds: 書く (kaku, write), 話す (hanasu, speak), 読む (yomu, read), 飲む (nomu, drink). Group 2 (ichidan/ru-verbs) includes verbs ending in -iru or -eru: 食べる (taberu, eat), 見る (miru, see), 起きる (okiru, wake up). Group 3 contains only two irregular verbs: する (suru, do) and 来る (kuru, come). The trick is that some Group 1 verbs look like Group 2 verbs because they end in -iru or -eru — 帰る (kaeru, return), 走る (hashiru, run), and 切る (kiru, cut) are all Group 1 despite their endings.

Mastering conjugation for the most common thirty verbs gives you the ability to express an enormous range of ideas. Focus first on four essential conjugation forms: masu-form (polite present), te-form (connecting and requesting), nai-form (negative), and ta-form (past). With just these four forms applied to common verbs like 行く (iku, go), 来る (kuru, come), ある (aru, exist for objects), いる (iru, exist for living things), and できる (dekiru, can do), you can handle most basic Japanese conversations. Practice conjugating these verbs until the forms come automatically without conscious thought.

Transitive and Intransitive Verb Pairs

Japanese has many verb pairs where one is transitive (takes a direct object) and the other is intransitive (describes something happening on its own). Understanding these pairs is crucial for natural Japanese expression. Common pairs include: 開ける/開く (akeru/aku, open something/something opens), 閉める/閉まる (shimeru/shimaru, close something/something closes), 始める/始まる (hajimeru/hajimaru, start something/something starts), and 出す/出る (dasu/deru, take out/go out).

The distinction matters because Japanese speakers choose between these forms based on whether they want to emphasize human agency or describe a natural occurrence. Saying ドアが開いた (doa ga aita, the door opened) describes a neutral event, while ドアを開けた (doa wo aketa, someone opened the door) implies intentional action. In daily conversation, Japanese speakers frequently use intransitive forms even when someone clearly performed the action, creating a softer, less direct expression. This subtlety explains why direct translations from English often sound unnaturally forceful in Japanese — English tends to emphasize the doer while Japanese frequently focuses on the result.

Compound Verbs for Nuanced Expression

Compound verbs (複合動詞) combine two verbs to create new meanings with nuanced implications that single verbs cannot express. The most common patterns add a second verb to modify the first: 食べ始める (tabehajimeru, start eating), 読み終わる (yomiowaru, finish reading), 走り出す (hashiridasu, start running suddenly), 飲みすぎる (nomisugiru, drink too much). Learning these patterns multiplies your expressive range because you can combine any appropriate verb pair rather than memorizing individual vocabulary items.

Some compound verb patterns deserve special attention because they appear constantly in everyday Japanese. The ～てしまう (te shimau, do completely/regrettably) pattern expresses completion or regret: 食べてしまった (tabete shimatta) can mean either "I ate it all" or "I ate it (and regret it)" depending on context. In casual speech, this contracts to ちゃう/じゃう: 食べちゃった (tabechatta). Similarly, ～ておく (te oku, do in advance/leave as is) expresses preparation: 買っておく (katte oku, buy in advance). And ～てみる (te miru, try doing) expresses attempting something: 食べてみる (tabete miru, try eating). These three patterns alone dramatically expand your ability to express attitude and intention alongside basic actions.

Context-Dependent Verb Selection

Japanese often has multiple verbs that translate to the same English word but carry different nuances that native speakers distinguish instinctively. "To wear" alone maps to several Japanese verbs depending on what you are wearing: 着る (kiru) for upper body clothing, はく (haku) for lower body and footwear, かぶる (kaburu) for hats, かける (kakeru) for glasses, and する (suru) for accessories. Using the wrong verb sounds immediately unnatural to native speakers, so learning these distinctions early prevents fossilized errors.

Similarly, "to play" translates differently depending on the activity: 遊ぶ (asobu) for playing in general or having fun, 弾く (hiku) for playing piano or guitar, 吹く (fuku) for playing wind instruments, する (suru) for playing sports, and 遊ぶ (asobu) again for playing games casually. Verbs of seeing also have important distinctions: 見る (miru) for watching or looking at something intentionally, 見える (mieru) for something being visible, 観る (miru, different kanji) for watching performances or movies, and 診る (miru, yet another kanji) for medical examination. Building awareness of these contextual distinctions is an ongoing process that deepens with exposure to authentic Japanese in various situations.

Building Verb Fluency Through Daily Practice

Knowing verb meanings and conjugation rules is different from being able to use verbs fluently in conversation. Bridge this gap through daily sentence-building practice. Each morning, choose three verbs and create five sentences with each using different conjugation forms and contexts. For the verb 食べる (taberu, eat): 朝ごはんを食べた (I ate breakfast), まだ食べていない (I haven't eaten yet), 食べたいけど時間がない (I want to eat but don't have time), 食べすぎた (I ate too much), 一緒に食べよう (Let's eat together). This production practice activates different brain pathways than passive recognition and builds the real-time recall needed for conversation.

Pair your sentence practice with listening exercises that focus on verb usage in natural contexts. When listening to Japanese podcasts, conversations, or drama dialogue, focus specifically on which verbs speakers choose and how they conjugate them. Notice patterns like how Japanese speakers often use the te-form to connect multiple actions in sequence: 起きて、シャワーを浴びて、朝ごはんを食べて、出かけた (I woke up, took a shower, ate breakfast, and went out). This chaining pattern is fundamental to natural Japanese narrative and rarely receives enough attention in textbooks. By simultaneously practicing verb production and observing verb usage in authentic input, you develop both accuracy and naturalness — the combination that defines genuine fluency.