Lesson 55
Te Form + kudasai

Since kudasai is one of the most useful Te Form endings, one that is indispensable for polite and proper speech, I have decided to begin the Te Form with it. But first we need to get a better look at this Te Form and see what it does to verbs.

As you have most likely guessed, the Te Form changes verbs so they end in te, but there are also some that are "softened" to de instead. Ichidan verbs are a snap because you just change the final ru to te, but the yodans can be tricky and may take some time to memorize. Let's take a look at the following tables and see how verbs change into the Te Form:

Yodan verbs:

Ichidan verbs:

Irregular verbs:

Those yodans look pretty scary, right? I still remember the headache I got trying to sort them out. Let's take a closer look:

Yodan verbs that end in a vowel + u, like au (to meet), kau (to buy), nuu (to sew): replace the final u with tte — atte, katte, nutte.

Yodan verbs that end in ku, like aruku (to walk), kiku (to listen; to ask), hataraku (to work): replace the final ku with ite — aruite, kiite, hataraite. Please note this one important exception: iku. It's important because it's used a lot. The Te Form of iku (to go) is itte, not iite. We'll cover pronunciation a little later.

Yodan verbs that end in gu, like isogu (to hurry), tsunagu (to connect), nugu (to take off [clothing or accessories]): replace the final gu with ide — isoide, tsunaide, nuide.

Yodan verbs that end in a vowel + su (not tsu), like kasu (to lend), kesu (to turn off; to put out [a fire]), tasu (to add): replace the final su with shite — kashite, keshite, tashite.

Yodan verbs that end in tsu, like matsu (to wait), motsu (to hold), katsu (to win): replace the final tsu with tte — matte, motte, katte.

The only yodan verb that ends in nu, shinu (to die): replace the final u with de — shinde.

Yodan verbs that end in bu, like asobu (to play), yobu (to call out), tobu (to fly): replace the final bu with nde — asonde, yonde, tonde.

Yodan verbs that end in mu, like yomu (to read), momu (to massage), tsutsumu (to wrap): replace the final mu with nde — yonde, monde, tsutsunde.

Yodan verbs that end in ru, like kaeru (to return), hairu (to enter), toru (to take): replace the final ru with tte — kaette, haitte, totte. Please remember that while most verbs that end in eru or iru are ichidans, there are some yodan exceptions like the two used here.

As already mentioned and shown, the ichidans are easy. And there are only the two irregulars to memorize.

Now we'll add kudasai for a polite request:

• Douzo, tabete kudasai. (Go ahead, please eat.)
• Chotto matte kudasai. (Please wait a bit.)
• Rokuji ni kite kudasai. (Please come at six o'clock.)

Kudasai not only adds a "please"-like effect, it also puts the person you're talking to above yourself. When you start learning kanji, you'll soon run into the very simple one from which kudasai was hatched. It means "under," "to go down," "to lower (something)," etc. So when you say chotto matte kudasai, technically you're saying something like: "Please bring yourself down to wait a bit for lowly, humble me."

There are several handy variations of kudasai. Kudasai itself is actually a mild command form used to ask or even tell someone to do something, depending on the tone of voice used. It combines the elements of its plain form kudasaru and the order-giving nasai, which was introduced back in Lesson 10. Adding masu or masen further softens it and gives the listener room to reply. These examples should clearly illustrate the possibilities:

• Rokuji ni kite kudasai. (Please come at six o'clock.)
• Rokuji ni kite kudasaru? (Will you please come at six o'clock? [plain])
• Rokuji ni kite kudasaimasu ka. (Will you please come at six o'clock? [polite])
• Rokuji ni kite kudasaimasen ka. (Won't you please come at six o'clock?)

I must add here that verbs in the Te Form can also be used without kudasai or anything else for plain, mild commands in familiar settings:

• Rokuji ni kite. (Come at six o'clock.)
• Matte. (Wait.)
• Douzo, tabete. (Go ahead and eat.)

In English we thankfully don't have to give any attention to double vowels or consonants, but in Japanese we do. The basic rule is simple: give each sound equal time. For practice let's use kuru (to come), kiku (to listen), and kiru (to cut). Put these three verbs into the Te Form and they become kite, kiite, and kitte:

• Koko ni kite. (Come here.)
• Kore o kiite. (Listen to this.)
• Kore o kitte. (Cut this.)

The pronunciation goes like this: kite (KEE-TEH), while making each syllable as short as possible (some Japanese make them so short they're barely discernible); kiite (KEE-EE-TEH), just like counting 1-2-3, giving each equal time while making them short; and kitte (KEET-TEH), while holding the tongue silently for a half second in the "T position" between syllables.

For negative requests with kudasai, add de to verbs in their plain negative form (Base 1 + nai), then add kudasai:

• Terebi o minaide kudasai. (Please don't watch the TV.)
• Ikanaide kudasai. (Please don't go.)

As with positive requests, kudasai can also be omitted here to make simple mild commands:

• Terebi o minaide. (Don't watch the TV.)
• Ikanaide. (Don't go.)

Please note that the Te Form is also sometimes called Base 6. I believe that I have heard it referred to as the Te Form more often, so that's what I've decided to call it throughout these lessons.

Word Check

douzo: go ahead (used as a polite gesture)
chotto: a little; a moment
rokuji: six o'clock (roku [six] + ji [hour])

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