Japanese reference
触る
さわる
to touch
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 | さわる (sawaru)touch |
| Polite, masu | さわります (sawarimasu)touch |
Negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Negative, nai | さわらない (sawaranai)do not touch |
| Polite negative | さわりません (sawarimasen)do not touch |
Past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Past, ta | さわった (sawatta)touched |
| Polite past | さわりました (sawarimashita)touched |
Past negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Past negative | さわらなかった (sawaranakatta)did not touch |
| Polite past negative | さわりませんでした (sawarimasendeshita)did not touch |
Linking
Te form
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Te-form | さわって (sawatte)touching (and then) |
| Polite te-form | さわりまして (sawarimashite)touching (and then) |
Te iru
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Te-iru: ongoing action / resulting state | さわっている (sawatteiru)be touching |
| Polite te-iru | さわっています (sawatteimasu)be touching |
Conditional, ba
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Conditional, ba | さわれば (sawareba)if you touch |
| Rare literary polite conditional | さわりますれば (sawarimasureba)if you touch (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 | さわったら (sawattara)if you touch |
| Polite conditional, tara | さわりましたら (sawarimashitara)if you touch |
Mood
Potential
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Potential | さわれる (sawareru)can touch |
| Polite potential | さわれます (sawaremasu)can touch |
Volitional
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Volitional | さわろう (sawarou)let's touch! |
| Polite volitional | さわりましょう (sawarimashou)let's touch! |
Desire, tai
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Desire, tai | さわりたい (sawaritai)want to touch |
| Polite desire, tai | さわりたいです (sawaritaidesu)want to touch |
Voice
Passive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Passive | さわられる (sawarareru)be affected when someone touches |
| Polite passive | さわられます (sawararemasu)be affected when someone touches |
Causative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Causative | さわらせる (sawaraseru)make or let someone touch |
| Polite causative | さわらせます (sawarasemasu)make or let someone touch |
Causative passive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Causative-passive | さわらせられる (sawaraserareru)be made to touch |
| Polite causative-passive | さわらせられます (sawaraseraremasu)be made to touch |
Commands
Negative imperative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Negative imperative | さわるな (sawaruna)do not touch! |
| Polite negative request | さわらないでください (sawaranaidekudasai)please do not touch |
Polite
Polite non past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite non-past form | さわります (sawarimasu)touch |
Polite negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite negative form | さわりません (sawarimasen)do not touch |
Polite past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite past form | さわりました (sawarimashita)touched |
Polite past negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite past negative form | さわりませんでした (sawarimasendeshita)did not touch |
Requests
Request with kudasai
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Request with kudasai | さわってください (sawattekudasai)please touch |
Negative request
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Request not to act | さわらないでください (sawaranaidekudasai)please do not touch |
Invitation with mashou
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Invitation with mashou | さわりましょう (sawarimashou)let's touch! |
Permission
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Permission | さわってもいい (sawattemoii)may touch |
| Polite permission | さわってもいいです (sawattemoiidesu)may touch |
Not allowed
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Not allowed | さわってはいけない (sawattehaikenai)must not touch |
| Polite prohibition | さわってはいけません (sawattehaikemasen)must not touch |
Instruction with nasai
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Instruction with nasai | さわりなさい (sawarinasai)touch (instruction) |
Aspect
Try doing
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Try doing | さわってみる (sawattemiru)try to touch |
| Polite try doing | さわってみます (sawattemimasu)try to touch |
Completion or regret
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Completion or regret | さわってしまう (sawatteshimau)touch completely or regrettably |
| Polite completion or regret | さわってしまいます (sawatteshimaimasu)touch completely or regrettably |
Preparation
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Preparation | さわっておく (sawatteoku)touch in advance |
| Polite preparation | さわっておきます (sawatteokimasu)touch in advance |
Past experience
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Past experience | さわったことがある (sawattakotogaaru)have the experience of: touched |
| Polite past experience | さわったことがあります (sawattakotogaarimasu)have the experience of: touched |
Conditions
Automatic result, to
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Automatic result, to | さわると (sawaruto)whenever you touch |
| Polite automatic result | さわりますと (sawarimasuto)whenever you touch |
Given that, nara
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Given that, nara | さわるなら (sawarunara)if you mean to touch |
Probability
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Probability | さわるだろう (sawarudarou)probably touch |
| Polite probability | さわるでしょう (sawarudeshou)probably touch |
Additional forms
Strong command
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Imperative | さわれ (saware)touch! |
| Polite request | さわってください (sawattekudasai)please touch |
Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all Japanese entries.