Japanese reference
言う
いう
to say
Regular · 34 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 | いう (iu)say |
| Polite, masu | いいます (iimasu)say |
Negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Negative, nai | いわない (iwanai)do not say |
| Polite negative | いいません (iimasen)do not say |
Past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Past, ta | いった (itta)said |
| Polite past | いいました (iimashita)said |
Past negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Past negative | いわなかった (iwanakatta)did not say |
| Polite past negative | いいませんでした (iimasendeshita)did not say |
Linking
Te form
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Te-form | いって (itte)saying (and then) |
| Polite te-form | いいまして (iimashite)saying (and then) |
Te iru
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Te-iru: ongoing action / resulting state | いっている (itteiru)be saying |
| Polite te-iru | いっています (itteimasu)be saying |
Conditional, ba
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Conditional, ba | いえば (ieba)if you say |
| Rare literary polite conditional | いいますれば (iimasureba)if you say (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 | いったら (ittara)if you say |
| Polite conditional, tara | いいましたら (iimashitara)if you say |
Mood
Potential
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Potential | いえる (ieru)can say |
| Polite potential | いえます (iemasu)can say |
Volitional
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Volitional | いおう (iou)let's say! |
| Polite volitional | いいましょう (iimashou)let's say! |
Desire, tai
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Desire, tai | いいたい (iitai)want to say |
| Polite desire, tai | いいたいです (iitaidesu)want to say |
Voice
Passive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Passive | いわれる (iwareru)be affected when someone says |
| Polite passive | いわれます (iwaremasu)be affected when someone says |
Causative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Causative | いわせる (iwaseru)make or let someone say |
| Polite causative | いわせます (iwasemasu)make or let someone say |
Causative passive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Causative-passive | いわせられる (iwaserareru)be made to say |
| Polite causative-passive | いわせられます (iwaseraremasu)be made to say |
Commands
Negative imperative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Negative imperative | いうな (iuna)do not say! |
| Polite negative request | いわないでください (iwanaidekudasai)please do not say |
Polite
Polite non past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite non-past form | いいます (iimasu)say |
Polite negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite negative form | いいません (iimasen)do not say |
Polite past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite past form | いいました (iimashita)said |
Polite past negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite past negative form | いいませんでした (iimasendeshita)did not say |
Requests
Request with kudasai
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Request with kudasai | いってください (ittekudasai)please say |
Negative request
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Request not to act | いわないでください (iwanaidekudasai)please do not say |
Invitation with mashou
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Invitation with mashou | いいましょう (iimashou)let's say! |
Permission
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Permission | いってもいい (ittemoii)may say |
| Polite permission | いってもいいです (ittemoiidesu)may say |
Not allowed
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Not allowed | いってはいけない (ittehaikenai)must not say |
| Polite prohibition | いってはいけません (ittehaikemasen)must not say |
Instruction with nasai
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Instruction with nasai | いいなさい (iinasai)say (instruction) |
Aspect
Try doing
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Try doing | いってみる (ittemiru)try to say |
| Polite try doing | いってみます (ittemimasu)try to say |
Completion or regret
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Completion or regret | いってしまう (itteshimau)say completely or regrettably |
| Polite completion or regret | いってしまいます (itteshimaimasu)say completely or regrettably |
Preparation
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Preparation | いっておく (itteoku)say in advance |
| Polite preparation | いっておきます (itteokimasu)say in advance |
Past experience
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Past experience | いったことがある (ittakotogaaru)have the experience of: said |
| Polite past experience | いったことがあります (ittakotogaarimasu)have the experience of: said |
Conditions
Automatic result, to
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Automatic result, to | いうと (iuto)whenever you say |
| Polite automatic result | いいますと (iimasuto)whenever you say |
Given that, nara
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Given that, nara | いうなら (iunara)if you mean to say |
Probability
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Probability | いうだろう (iudarou)probably say |
| Polite probability | いうでしょう (iudeshou)probably say |
Respect
Honorific
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Honorific | おっしゃる (ossharu)say (honoring the subject) |
| Polite honorific | おっしゃいます (osshaimasu)say (honoring the subject) |
Humble
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Humble | もうす (mousu)say (humbly) |
| Polite humble | もうします (moushimasu)say (humbly) |
Additional forms
Strong command
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Imperative | いえ (ie)say! |
| Polite request | いってください (ittekudasai)please say |
Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all Japanese entries.