Japanese reference
働く
はたらく
to work
Regular · 32 form tables
Rows describe verb forms and levels of politeness. Honorific and humble forms are labeled separately. Strong commands appear under additional forms.
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Basic
Non past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Dictionary form | はたらく (hataraku)work |
| Polite, masu | はたらきます (hatarakimasu)work |
Negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Negative, nai | はたらかない (hatarakanai)do not work |
| Polite negative | はたらきません (hatarakimasen)do not work |
Past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Past, ta | はたらいた (hataraita)worked |
| Polite past | はたらきました (hatarakimashita)worked |
Past negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Past negative | はたらかなかった (hatarakanakatta)did not work |
| Polite past negative | はたらきませんでした (hatarakimasendeshita)did not work |
Linking
Te form
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Te-form | はたらいて (hataraite)working (and then) |
| Polite te-form | はたらきまして (hatarakimashite)working (and then) |
Te iru
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Te-iru: ongoing action / resulting state | はたらいている (hataraiteiru)be working |
| Polite te-iru | はたらいています (hataraiteimasu)be working |
Conditional, ba
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Conditional, ba | はたらけば (hatarakeba)if you work |
| Rare literary polite conditional | はたらきますれば (hatarakimasureba)if you work (rare and literary). In ordinary polite conversation, use the plain conditional and make the main clause polite |
Conditional, tara
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Conditional, tara | はたらいたら (hataraitara)if you work |
| Polite conditional, tara | はたらきましたら (hatarakimashitara)if you work |
Mood
Potential
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Potential | はたらける (hatarakeru)can work |
| Polite potential | はたらけます (hatarakemasu)can work |
Volitional
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Volitional | はたらこう (hatarakou)let's work! |
| Polite volitional | はたらきましょう (hatarakimashou)let's work! |
Desire, tai
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Desire, tai | はたらきたい (hatarakitai)want to work |
| Polite desire, tai | はたらきたいです (hatarakitaidesu)want to work |
Voice
Passive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Passive | はたらかれる (hatarakareru)be affected when someone works |
| Polite passive | はたらかれます (hatarakaremasu)be affected when someone works |
Causative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Causative | はたらかせる (hatarakaseru)make or let someone work |
| Polite causative | はたらかせます (hatarakasemasu)make or let someone work |
Causative passive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Causative-passive | はたらかせられる (hatarakaserareru)be made to work |
| Polite causative-passive | はたらかせられます (hatarakaseraremasu)be made to work |
Commands
Negative imperative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Negative imperative | はたらくな (hatarakuna)do not work! |
| Polite negative request | はたらかないでください (hatarakanaidekudasai)please do not work |
Polite
Polite non past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite non-past form | はたらきます (hatarakimasu)work |
Polite negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite negative form | はたらきません (hatarakimasen)do not work |
Polite past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite past form | はたらきました (hatarakimashita)worked |
Polite past negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite past negative form | はたらきませんでした (hatarakimasendeshita)did not work |
Requests
Request with kudasai
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Request with kudasai | はたらいてください (hataraitekudasai)please work |
Negative request
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Request not to act | はたらかないでください (hatarakanaidekudasai)please do not work |
Invitation with mashou
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Invitation with mashou | はたらきましょう (hatarakimashou)let's work! |
Permission
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Permission | はたらいてもいい (hataraitemoii)may work |
| Polite permission | はたらいてもいいです (hataraitemoiidesu)may work |
Not allowed
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Not allowed | はたらいてはいけない (hataraitehaikenai)must not work |
| Polite prohibition | はたらいてはいけません (hataraitehaikemasen)must not work |
Instruction with nasai
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Instruction with nasai | はたらきなさい (hatarakinasai)work (instruction) |
Aspect
Try doing
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Try doing | はたらいてみる (hataraitemiru)try to work |
| Polite try doing | はたらいてみます (hataraitemimasu)try to work |
Completion or regret
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Completion or regret | はたらいてしまう (hataraiteshimau)work completely or regrettably |
| Polite completion or regret | はたらいてしまいます (hataraiteshimaimasu)work completely or regrettably |
Preparation
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Preparation | はたらいておく (hataraiteoku)work in advance |
| Polite preparation | はたらいておきます (hataraiteokimasu)work in advance |
Past experience
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Past experience | はたらいたことがある (hataraitakotogaaru)have the experience of: worked |
| Polite past experience | はたらいたことがあります (hataraitakotogaarimasu)have the experience of: worked |
Conditions
Automatic result, to
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Automatic result, to | はたらくと (hatarakuto)whenever you work |
| Polite automatic result | はたらきますと (hatarakimasuto)whenever you work |
Given that, nara
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Given that, nara | はたらくなら (hatarakunara)if you mean to work |
Probability
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Probability | はたらくだろう (hatarakudarou)probably work |
| Polite probability | はたらくでしょう (hatarakudeshou)probably work |
Additional forms
Strong command
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Imperative | はたらけ (hatarake)work! |
| Polite request | はたらいてください (hataraitekudasai)please work |
Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all Japanese entries.