Japanese reference
調べる
しらべる
to look up; to investigate
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 | しらべる (shiraberu)look up |
| Polite, masu | しらべます (shirabemasu)look up |
Negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Negative, nai | しらべない (shirabenai)do not look up |
| Polite negative | しらべません (shirabemasen)do not look up |
Past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Past, ta | しらべた (shirabeta)looked up |
| Polite past | しらべました (shirabemashita)looked up |
Past negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Past negative | しらべなかった (shirabenakatta)did not look up |
| Polite past negative | しらべませんでした (shirabemasendeshita)did not look up |
Linking
Te form
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Te-form | しらべて (shirabete)looking up (and then) |
| Polite te-form | しらべまして (shirabemashite)looking up (and then) |
Te iru
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Te-iru: ongoing action / resulting state | しらべている (shirabeteiru)be looking up |
| Polite te-iru | しらべています (shirabeteimasu)be looking up |
Conditional, ba
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Conditional, ba | しらべれば (shirabereba)if you look up |
| Rare literary polite conditional | しらべますれば (shirabemasureba)if you look up (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 | しらべたら (shirabetara)if you look up |
| Polite conditional, tara | しらべましたら (shirabemashitara)if you look up |
Mood
Potential
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Potential | しらべられる (shiraberareru)can look up |
| Polite potential | しらべられます (shiraberaremasu)can look up |
Volitional
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Volitional | しらべよう (shirabeyou)let's look up! |
| Polite volitional | しらべましょう (shirabemashou)let's look up! |
Desire, tai
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Desire, tai | しらべたい (shirabetai)want to look up |
| Polite desire, tai | しらべたいです (shirabetaidesu)want to look up |
Voice
Passive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Passive | しらべられる (shiraberareru)be affected when someone looks up |
| Polite passive | しらべられます (shiraberaremasu)be affected when someone looks up |
Causative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Causative | しらべさせる (shirabesaseru)make or let someone look up |
| Polite causative | しらべさせます (shirabesasemasu)make or let someone look up |
Causative passive
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Causative-passive | しらべさせられる (shirabesaserareru)be made to look up |
| Polite causative-passive | しらべさせられます (shirabesaseraremasu)be made to look up |
Commands
Negative imperative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Negative imperative | しらべるな (shiraberuna)do not look up! |
| Polite negative request | しらべないでください (shirabenaidekudasai)please do not look up |
Polite
Polite non past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite non-past form | しらべます (shirabemasu)look up |
Polite negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite negative form | しらべません (shirabemasen)do not look up |
Polite past
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite past form | しらべました (shirabemashita)looked up |
Polite past negative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Polite past negative form | しらべませんでした (shirabemasendeshita)did not look up |
Requests
Request with kudasai
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Request with kudasai | しらべてください (shirabetekudasai)please look up |
Negative request
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Request not to act | しらべないでください (shirabenaidekudasai)please do not look up |
Invitation with mashou
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Invitation with mashou | しらべましょう (shirabemashou)let's look up! |
Permission
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Permission | しらべてもいい (shirabetemoii)may look up |
| Polite permission | しらべてもいいです (shirabetemoiidesu)may look up |
Not allowed
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Not allowed | しらべてはいけない (shirabetehaikenai)must not look up |
| Polite prohibition | しらべてはいけません (shirabetehaikemasen)must not look up |
Instruction with nasai
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Instruction with nasai | しらべなさい (shirabenasai)look up (instruction) |
Aspect
Try doing
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Try doing | しらべてみる (shirabetemiru)try to look up |
| Polite try doing | しらべてみます (shirabetemimasu)try to look up |
Completion or regret
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Completion or regret | しらべてしまう (shirabeteshimau)look up completely or regrettably |
| Polite completion or regret | しらべてしまいます (shirabeteshimaimasu)look up completely or regrettably |
Preparation
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Preparation | しらべておく (shirabeteoku)look up in advance |
| Polite preparation | しらべておきます (shirabeteokimasu)look up in advance |
Past experience
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Past experience | しらべたことがある (shirabetakotogaaru)have the experience of: looked up |
| Polite past experience | しらべたことがあります (shirabetakotogaarimasu)have the experience of: looked up |
Conditions
Automatic result, to
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Automatic result, to | しらべると (shiraberuto)whenever you look up |
| Polite automatic result | しらべますと (shirabemasuto)whenever you look up |
Given that, nara
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Given that, nara | しらべるなら (shiraberunara)if you mean to look up |
Probability
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Probability | しらべるだろう (shiraberudarou)probably look up |
| Polite probability | しらべるでしょう (shiraberudeshou)probably look up |
Additional forms
Strong command
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| Imperative | しらべろ (shirabero)look up! |
| Polite request | しらべてください (shirabetekudasai)please look up |
Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all Japanese entries.