Japanese reference
沿う
そう
to follow along
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 | そう (sou)follow along |
| Polite, masu | そいます (soimasu)follow along |
Negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Negative, nai | そわない (sowanai)do not follow along |
| Polite negative | そいません (soimasen)do not follow along |
Past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Past, ta | そった (sotta)followed along |
| Polite past | そいました (soimashita)followed along |
Past negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Past negative | そわなかった (sowanakatta)did not follow along |
| Polite past negative | そいませんでした (soimasendeshita)did not follow along |
Linking
Te form
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Te-form | そって (sotte)following along (and then) |
| Polite te-form | そいまして (soimashite)following along (and then) |
Te iru
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Te-iru: ongoing action / resulting state | そっている (sotteiru)be following along |
| Polite te-iru | そっています (sotteimasu)be following along |
Conditional, ba
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Conditional, ba | そえば (soeba)if you follow along |
| Rare literary polite conditional | そいますれば (soimasureba)if you follow along (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 | そったら (sottara)if you follow along |
| Polite conditional, tara | そいましたら (soimashitara)if you follow along |
Mood
Potential
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Potential | そえる (soeru)can follow along |
| Polite potential | そえます (soemasu)can follow along |
Volitional
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Volitional | そおう (soou)let's follow along! |
| Polite volitional | そいましょう (soimashou)let's follow along! |
Desire, tai
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Desire, tai | そいたい (soitai)want to follow along |
| Polite desire, tai | そいたいです (soitaidesu)want to follow along |
Voice
Passive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Passive | そわれる (sowareru)be affected when someone follows along |
| Polite passive | そわれます (sowaremasu)be affected when someone follows along |
Causative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Causative | そわせる (sowaseru)make or let someone follow along |
| Polite causative | そわせます (sowasemasu)make or let someone follow along |
Causative passive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Causative-passive | そわせられる (sowaserareru)be made to follow along |
| Polite causative-passive | そわせられます (sowaseraremasu)be made to follow along |
Commands
Negative imperative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Negative imperative | そうな (souna)do not follow along! |
| Polite negative request | そわないでください (sowanaidekudasai)please do not follow along |
Polite
Polite non past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite non-past form | そいます (soimasu)follow along |
Polite negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite negative form | そいません (soimasen)do not follow along |
Polite past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite past form | そいました (soimashita)followed along |
Polite past negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite past negative form | そいませんでした (soimasendeshita)did not follow along |
Requests
Request with kudasai
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Request with kudasai | そってください (sottekudasai)please follow along |
Negative request
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Request not to act | そわないでください (sowanaidekudasai)please do not follow along |
Invitation with mashou
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Invitation with mashou | そいましょう (soimashou)let's follow along! |
Permission
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Permission | そってもいい (sottemoii)may follow along |
| Polite permission | そってもいいです (sottemoiidesu)may follow along |
Not allowed
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Not allowed | そってはいけない (sottehaikenai)must not follow along |
| Polite prohibition | そってはいけません (sottehaikemasen)must not follow along |
Instruction with nasai
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Instruction with nasai | そいなさい (soinasai)follow along (instruction) |
Aspect
Try doing
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Try doing | そってみる (sottemiru)try to follow along |
| Polite try doing | そってみます (sottemimasu)try to follow along |
Completion or regret
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Completion or regret | そってしまう (sotteshimau)follow along completely or regrettably |
| Polite completion or regret | そってしまいます (sotteshimaimasu)follow along completely or regrettably |
Preparation
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Preparation | そっておく (sotteoku)follow along in advance |
| Polite preparation | そっておきます (sotteokimasu)follow along in advance |
Past experience
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Past experience | そったことがある (sottakotogaaru)have the experience of: followed along |
| Polite past experience | そったことがあります (sottakotogaarimasu)have the experience of: followed along |
Conditions
Automatic result, to
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Automatic result, to | そうと (souto)whenever you follow along |
| Polite automatic result | そいますと (soimasuto)whenever you follow along |
Given that, nara
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Given that, nara | そうなら (sounara)if you mean to follow along |
Probability
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Probability | そうだろう (soudarou)probably follow along |
| Polite probability | そうでしょう (soudeshou)probably follow along |
Additional forms
Strong command
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Imperative | そえ (soe)follow along! |
| Polite request | そってください (sottekudasai)please follow along |
Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all Japanese entries.