Japanese Imperative Form: 命令形 Conjugation Guide in Japanese Grammar

So you want to boss people around in Japanese? Here's what makes this tricky: Japanese culture values politeness and indirect communication. Using the bare imperative form can sound pretty harsh, even rude, in most everyday situations. You'll hear it between close friends, in sports contexts, from parents to young children, or in emergency situations. But walking up to a stranger and using the imperative form? That's going to raise some eyebrows. I'm going to walk you through every detail on how to make requests properly when learning Japanese!

How to form the imperative with different verb types

Let's break down the conjugation rules for each verb group. Japanese verbs fall into three categories, and each one handles the imperative differently.

Godan Verbs (Group 1 Verbs)

Godan verbs, also called u-verbs, are the largest verb group. To form the imperative, you take the dictionary form and change the final u-sound to an e-sound.

Take (yomu) which means "to read." The final sound is "mu," so you change it to "me": (yome), meaning "Read!"

More examples:

The pattern holds across all godan verbs. Whatever the final syllable is in dictionary form, just shift it to the e-column of the hiragana chart.

Ichidan verbs (Group 2 verbs)

Ichidan verbs, also called ru-verbs, have a simpler conjugation pattern. You drop the る (ru) ending and add ろ (ro).

Take (taberu) meaning "to eat." Drop the る and add ろ: (tabero) - Eat!

More examples:

Pretty straightforward once you can identify ichidan verbs correctly.

Irregular verbs

Japanese has two main irregular verbs that you'll use constantly: する (suru) meaning "to do" and (kuru) meaning "to come." These have special imperative forms you just need to memorize.

These irregular forms show up all the time in manga, anime, and casual speech between friends. You'll hear しろ particularly often because it combines with noun+suru verbs. For example, (benkyou suru) meaning "to study" becomes (benkyou shiro) - Study!

When you’d use the imperative in Japanese grammar

The bare imperative form carries a strong, direct tone. You'll encounter it in several specific contexts:

In daily life with people you've just met, coworkers, service staff, or anyone you need to show respect to? Skip the bare imperative entirely. You'd sound like you're picking a fight.

Polite alternatives to the harsh imperative

Since the bare imperative sounds rough, Japanese has several softer ways to give commands or make requests.

Using なさい (Nasai)

The なさい (nasai) form adds a layer of politeness while still being a command. You'll hear parents use this with children or teachers with students. It maintains authority but sounds less aggressive.

Formation is similar to the imperative:

Examples:

This form still carries authority, but you can use it in more situations without sounding hostile.

Using ください (Kudasai)

For actual polite requests, you'll use the te-form plus ください (kudasai). This is what you'd use with strangers, in business settings, or anytime you want to be respectful.

Examples:

This construction is your bread and butter for everyday situations. Learn this pattern first before you even think about using bare imperatives.

The negative imperative form

Telling someone NOT to do something uses a completely different structure. You take the dictionary form of any verb and add な (na) to the end. That's it.

Examples:

The negative imperative with な carries the same rough, direct tone as the positive imperative. You'll use it in emergencies, close relationships, or when you need to stop someone immediately. Yelling (sawaru na) - Don't touch! makes sense if someone's about to grab something dangerous.

How do I use negative imperative in plain form

The な form IS the plain negative imperative. There's no other plain form version. When you see dictionary form + な, that's already the casual, direct way to tell someone not to do something.

For polite negative requests, you'd use ないでください (naide kudasai):

This polite form works in normal conversations where you want to be respectful.

Imperative sentences in Japanese context

When you construct imperative sentences in Japanese, the verb typically comes at the end, just like in regular Japanese sentence structure. You can add objects, time expressions, or other elements before the imperative verb.

Examples:

That last example is super common. (shizuka ni shiro) literally means "Do quietness" and you'll hear it when someone wants others to shut up.

You can also add particles like よ (yo) to soften the tone slightly or add emphasis:

The particle よ adds a bit of emotional nuance, making the command feel less like an order and more like strong encouragement between friends.

Learning Japanese command forms effectively

When you learn Japanese, you'll probably encounter polite request forms long before you need to use actual imperatives. That's fine.

If you want to practice recognizing these forms in real Japanese content, Migaku's browser extension and app let you look up any word or grammar pattern instantly while watching shows or reading articles. Makes it way easier to learn from native material. There's a 10-day free trial if you want to check it out.

Why do you need to know the imperative form (命令形)

One mistake I see learners make: they avoid learning imperatives entirely because they hear "it's rude." But understanding the form helps you comprehend native content and recognize when characters or real people are being forceful, casual, or urgent. You need to know what you're hearing, even if you won't use it often yourself. Understanding imperative forms helps you decode Japanese media and recognize different levels of politeness in speech.

This grammar is a big helper, especially in an emergency!