As ‘ichidan’ verbs end in ‘eru’ the way to conjugate them into a ‘~te’ form is a snap. Simply replace their ‘ru’ ending with a ‘te’.

Let’s take a look at some ‘ichidan’ examples:

For ‘yodan’ verbs, there are some rules that need to be used when conjugating them from their dictionary form to their ‘-te’ form.

Here are the rules for each type of ‘yodan’ verb ending:

End in a vowel + u - the final ‘u’ is replaced with ‘tte’

End in a 'ku' - the ’ku’ is replaced with ‘ite’ (‘iku’ is the exception - ‘itte’)

End in 'gu' - the ‘gu’ is replaced with ‘ide’

End in a vowel + ‘su’ - the ‘su’ is replaced with ‘shite’

End in ‘tsu’ - the ‘tsu’ is replaced with ‘tte’

End in ‘bu’ - the ‘bu’ is replaced with ‘nde’

End in ‘mu’ - the ‘mu’ is replaced with ‘nde’

End in ‘ru’ - the ‘ru’ is replaced with ‘tte’

There is only one 'yodan' verb that ends with ‘nu’ - replace ‘nu’ with ‘de’

* As you can imagine you probably won’t be using the ‘~te’ form of this verb unless you are in the habit of asking people to die!

So, that is your introduction to the ‘~te’ form of Japanese verbs. Before you get overwhelmed by the variations listed above, just remember to start small and slowly build on your knowledge. Trying to memorize these rules in one sitting might lead to some frustration.

Helpful Hint: Perhaps the most important and useful of the verbs is ‘do’ (‘suru’). It is used in lots of situations and can help you convey your meaning without necessarily being used in the correct manner. Remember, learning anything is about making mistakes.