The て-Form and Polite Requests
The て-form is the Swiss Army knife of Japanese verbs: one conjugation that lets you make polite requests, chain actions together, and unlock dozens of later patterns. In this chapter you'll learn the sound-change rules once — and then use them forever.
One form, endless uses
Until now every verb you've met has ended its sentence: 食べます、行きます、見ます。 The て-form is the opposite — it's the shape a verb takes when the sentence isn't finished yet. It can't stand alone; instead it plugs the verb into something else: a request ("please wait"), the next action in a sequence ("I get up, drink coffee and leave"), and — from N4 onwards — dozens more patterns.
At N5 you need exactly two uses: ～てください for polite requests, and linking actions in order. The only real work is making the form, because group 1 verbs change their sound when て attaches. Japanese verbs fall into three groups — group 1 (most verbs), group 2 (the る-verbs that conjugate by simply dropping る), and the two irregulars する and 来る — and each group builds its て-form differently. We'll take them one at a time.
Group 1 verbs: the five sound changes
Group 1 verbs change their final syllable before て. There are only five patterns, and verbs with the same ending always behave the same way — learn this table once and you can convert every group 1 verb in the language. Start from the dictionary form (the form you find in word lists) and swap the last syllable:
| Dictionary form ends in | て-form ends in | Example |
|---|---|---|
| う・つ・る | って | 待つ → 待って |
| む・ぶ・ぬ | んで | 飲む → 飲んで |
| く | いて | 書く → 書いて |
| ぐ | いで | 泳ぐ → 泳いで |
| す | して | 話す → 話して |
One single exception in the whole language: 行く (to go) becomes 行って, not いいて — it behaves like a つ-verb here. (And ぬ covers exactly one verb: 死ぬ, "to die" — you'll rarely need it at N5.) Generations of learners chant the endings out loud — って・んで・いて・いで・して — and it genuinely sticks.
座る → 座って
suwaru → suwatte
to sit → sitting
う・つ・る all become って. You'll hear 座ってください constantly in classrooms.
読む → 読んで
yomu → yonde
to read → reading
む・ぶ・ぬ become んで — note the voiced で.
書く → 書いて
kaku → kaite
to write → writing
く becomes いて; its voiced twin ぐ becomes いで.
行く → 行って
iku → itte
to go → going
The exception! 行く takes って, not いて.
Group 2 verbs and the two irregulars
Group 2 verbs are the easy ones: drop る, add て. No sound changes, ever. (Reminder: group 2 verbs end in る with an i or e sound before it — 見る、食べる、開ける. If the sound before る is a, u or o, it's group 1 and takes って.)
The two irregular verbs keep their reputation: する (to do) becomes して, and 来る (to come) becomes 来て — same kanji, new reading.
見る → 見て
miru → mite
to see → seeing
開ける → 開けて
akeru → akete
to open → opening
Chop る, add て. Done.
する → して
suru → shite
to do → doing
来る → 来て
kuru → kite
to come → coming
Watch the reading: く in 来る changes to き in 来て.
～てください — making polite requests
Add ください to a て-form and you have a polite request: 待って → 待ってください ("please wait"). You'll hear this everywhere — teachers, station announcements, shop staff, recorded messages. It's polite, but it is still literally an instruction; the culture note below shows how to soften things further when you're the one asking the favour.
ちょっと待ってください。
chotto matte kudasai.
Please wait a moment.
Probably the single most useful request in Japanese.
これを見てください。
kore o mite kudasai.
Please look at this.
ここに名前を書いてください。
koko ni namae o kaite kudasai.
Please write your name here.
すみません、ゆっくり話してください。
sumimasen, yukkuri hanashite kudasai.
Excuse me, please speak slowly.
Opening with すみません makes any request gentler.
Do this, then that — linking actions
String て-forms together to narrate a sequence: "do A, do B, then C". The actions come in chronological order, and only the final verb carries the tense and politeness — everything before it stays in the bare て-form. This is how Japanese describes routines, directions and stories without saying "and then" over and over.
朝起きて、コーヒーを飲んで、出かけます。
asa okite, kōhī o nonde, dekakemasu.
I get up in the morning, drink coffee, and go out.
図書館へ行って、本を読みます。
toshokan e itte, hon o yomimasu.
I go to the library and read books.
晩ご飯を食べて、テレビを見て、寝ます。
bangohan o tabete, terebi o mite, nemasu.
I eat dinner, watch TV, and go to bed.
Swap the final verb to 寝ました and the whole chain becomes past tense.
A preview: ～ています
You don't need this for N5, but you'll hear it constantly: て-form + います means an action is in progress or an ongoing state — close to English "-ing". File it under recognition for now; it gets the full treatment at N4.
今、雨が降っています。
ima, ame ga futte imasu.
It is raining right now.
田中さんは本を読んでいます。
tanaka-san wa hon o yonde imasu.
Mr/Ms Tanaka is reading a book.
Chapter vocabulary
Twelve verbs from the game — each note gives you the て-form, ready to drop into てください.
Tap ► to hear the native audio from the game, or tap a word to open its dictionary entry.
Three ways to ask for a coffee
～てください is polite, but it is still an instruction — perfect from a teacher to a class, slightly bossy when you're the one asking the favour. Real-life Japanese has a ladder of softness:
- noun + ください — 「コーヒーをください。」 "Coffee, please." Direct but completely standard shop Japanese.
- noun + お願いします — 「コーヒーをお願いします。」 Literally "I request it" — softer and warmer, and it also works when handing things over or asking someone to take care of something.
- Just naming the thing — 「コーヒーを一つ。」 "One coffee." In a café or restaurant this is perfectly natural; the request is understood.
When in doubt, お願いします never offends. And opening any request to a stranger with すみません ("excuse me") does half the politeness work for you.
Test yourself
Eight questions: convert verbs to the て-form and pick the correct requests.
8 quick questions on this chapter.
Your score
Common questions
Quick answers about this chapter's grammar.
How do I tell group 1 and group 2 apart when both end in る?
Look at the sound before る. An i or e sound usually means group 2 — 見る、食べる、開ける → みて、たべて、あけて. An a, u or o sound means group 1 — 座る → すわって. A handful of i/e verbs are secretly group 1, though: 帰る (to return) → かえって and 入る (to enter) → はいって are the most common at N5, so check a dictionary when in doubt.
Is ～てください rude?
No — it's polite Japanese, and it's exactly right when giving instructions or asking staff for help. But it is still an instruction, so for personal favours Japanese speakers soften it: open with すみませんが ('excuse me, but…'), or skip the verb entirely and use noun + お願いします. You'll never go wrong starting a request with すみません.
Does the て-form itself have a tense?
No — the て-form is tense-neutral. In a chain of actions, the final verb sets the tense for everything: 起きて、コーヒーを飲んで、出かけました is entirely past, even though the first two verbs look unchanged. That's why only the last verb in a sequence carries ます or ました.
How can I memorise the て-form sound changes?
Chant them. Generations of learners recite the endings rhythmically — う・つ・る→って, む・ぶ・ぬ→んで, く→いて, ぐ→いで, す→して — often to a simple tune, until the pattern is automatic. There are only five rules plus one exception (行く→いって), and the verbs you use most, like まって and みて, cement themselves within days once you start using てください in real sentences.
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