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Why are Group I verbs named Godan-doushi and Group II verbs named Ichidan-doushi?
Verbs in Japanese are organized into groups because each group follow a certain
set of conjugation rules to form complete verbs.
Group 1 Verbs: Godan-doushi, Verbs Ending in “U”
The godan-doushi, “five step verbs,” refers to the way in which the verbs are conjugated.
There are five “verb form stems” that are used when conjugating Group 1 Verbs:
- a negative form stem
- i infinitive form stem
- u dictionary form
- e conditional form stem or imperative form
- ou volitional form
Simply remove the “u” in the dictionary form of the verb and replace it with “a,”
“i,” “e,” or “ou” to get the form or form stem of the verb you need.
(“Verb form stems” indicate that it is necessary to add something else to get the
form of the verb”)
Group 2 Verbs: Ichidan-doushi, Verbs Ending in “Ru”
Group 2 Verbs are distinguished as ichidan-doushi or “one step verbs.” As the name implies, Group 2 Verbs are easier to conjugate than Group 1 Verbs because they are conjugated in “one step” instead of “five steps.” There is only one “verb form stem” when conjugating, which you get simply by dropping the “ru” and adding the rest of the conjugation stem.
Group 3 Verbs: Irregular Verbs
Group 3 Verbs do not follow the simple “drop the ‘u’” or “drop the ‘ru’” conjugation patterns as seen in Group 1 and Group 2 Verbs. The dictionary form of these verbs must be changed right after the first letter, and these verbs follow an irregular pattern that can be mastered best through memorization. You’ll learn more about conjugating these verbs in a future lesson.
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