Japanese Te-Form: Master This Essential Verb Conjugation

Look, you're probably here because the Japanese te-form keeps showing up in your textbook, Anki deck, or whatever you're using to learn Japanese, and you're like "what the hell is this thing and why are there so many conjugation rules?"

Here's the thing: Japanese te-form looks intimidating. You've got different verb conjugation patterns for different verb groups, exceptions that make no sense, and then once you finally learn how to conjugate verbs into te-form, you find out this verb form has like ten different uses. It's a lot.

But also? The te-form is probably the single most useful conjugation in the Japanese language. You'll use this verb form in basically every conversation you have. Native speakers use te-form constantly to connect clauses, make requests, and create the present progressive tense.

So we're going to break down Japanese verb conjugation for te-form—what it is, how to conjugate it properly, and why it actually matters for speaking Japanese naturally.

What the Japanese Te-Form Actually Is

The te-form (て form) changes Japanese verbs so they end with て (te) or で (de). That's it. The name literally comes from the ending.

But why does this verb conjugation exist? In English, we connect two actions with words like "and" or "then"—"I woke up and ate breakfast." Japanese grammar doesn't really work that way. Instead, you modify the first verb into te-form: "I woke up-て, ate breakfast." It's basically the conjunctive form that links clauses together.

The te-form is also what creates the "-ing" present progressive form in Japanese. When you combine the te form with いる (to exist), you get "I'm doing" something. So 食べている (tabete iru) means "I'm eating" or "I eat regularly."

This verb form shows up everywhere because it's basically Japanese's way of connecting actions and creating more complex sentences. Once you know how to use the te form, you stop speaking in choppy, beginner sentences and start sounding like actual native speakers.

Understanding Japanese Verb Groups Before You Conjugate

Before we get into the conjugation rules, you need to understand that Japanese verbs fall into three groups. Each verb group has different conjugation patterns, which is why the te-form can seem complicated at first.

Group 1 (Godan Verbs / U-verbs): These verbs end with various kana in the う (u) column
Group 2 (Ichidan Verbs / Ru-verbs): These verbs end in る (ru)
Group 3 (Irregular Verbs): Just する (suru) and 来る (kuru)

The verb group determines how you conjugate to te-form. Let's break down each one.

How to Conjugate Group 2 Verbs (Ru-Verbs) — The Easy Japanese Verb Conjugation

If a Japanese verb ends in る (ru), it's probably a Group 2 verb. These ru-verbs are stupid simple to conjugate: just replace る with て.

Done. That's the whole conjugation rule for ru-verbs. The verb stem stays the same, you just swap the ending.

How to Conjugate Group 1 Verbs (U-Verbs) — The Tricky Japanese Verb Conjugation Patterns

These Japanese verbs end in different syllables from the う-column, and the conjugation pattern depends on what that ending kana is. This is the part everyone struggles with because the conjugation rules aren't intuitive at all.

Verbs Ending in う, つ, or る

Replace with って (tte)

Note: When I say う (u), つ (tsu), or る (ru) endings, I mean verbs where the final kana is from those hiragana rows—not ru-verbs (which are Group 2).

Verbs Ending in む, ぶ, or ぬ

Replace with んで (nde)

Verbs Ending in く

Replace く with いて (ite)

Exception: 行く (iku, to go) becomes 行って (itte). No idea why. It just does. This is the one verb that breaks the conjugation pattern for く-ending verbs.

Verbs Ending in ぐ

Replace ぐ with いで (ide)

Verbs Ending in す

Replace す with して (shite)

Why are there so many different conjugation patterns? Apparently it's because of some historical sound changes called 音便 (onbin). Neat. Doesn't make it easier to remember, but at least there's a reason the te form verb conjugation rules are so varied.

How to Conjugate Group 3 Irregular Verbs — Just Memorize These Two

There are only two irregular Japanese verbs:

Learn these verb conjugations. Move on.

Te-Form Conjugation for Adjectives and Nouns

Yeah, it's not just verbs. You can also conjugate adjectives and connect them with the て-form.

For い-adjectives (i-adjectives): Remove い and add くて

For な-adjectives (na-adjectives) and nouns: Just add で (the て-form of the auxiliary verb だ)

This lets you connect two adjectives or describe something with multiple qualities: "It's cheap and good" → 安くて良い.

What You Actually Use Te-Form For (The Grammar Patterns)

This is where the Japanese te-form gets interesting. It's not just one thing—it's a building block for tons of different grammar patterns. Here are the main ones you'll see constantly:

1. Connecting Sequential Actions (Conjunctive Use)

When you want to say you did multiple things in order, you put the first verbs in te-form and leave the last verb in whatever tense you want:

朝ご飯を食べて、シャワーを浴びて、学校に行きました。 (I ate breakfast, took a shower, and went to school.)

The tense of the whole sentence comes from the final verb. Everything before it is just te-form. This is the most basic use of te-form—connecting two verbs together in sequence.

2. The Present Progressive "-ing" Form

Combine the te-form with いる (to exist) to say you're currently doing something. We actually have a whole post about the Japanese verb いる if you want more detail, but the basic grammar pattern is:

勉強している (benkyou shite iru) = "I'm studying" or "I study regularly"

This is the Japanese present progressive. You'll use this verb form constantly. It's how you express ongoing action in Japanese.

3. Making Requests (Te-Form + ください)

Add ください (kudasai) after te-form to make a polite request. This adds politeness to what would otherwise be a command:

静かにしてください。(Be quiet, please.) ちょっと待ってください。(Please wait a moment.)

Without ください, ending a sentence with te-form is more casual and direct—basically a command form.

4. Asking Permission (Te-Form + もいい)

Te-form + もいい (～てもいい, te mo ii) asks if something's okay:

写真を撮ってもいいですか？(Is it okay if I take a photo?)

5. Prohibition (Te-Form + はいけない)

Te-form + はいけない (wa ikenai) tells someone not to do something:

ここで食べてはいけません。(You must not eat here.)

You'll see this Japanese grammar pattern on signs all over Japan.

These aren't all the uses—there are more advanced grammar patterns like て形 + しまう (indicating completion or regret) or て形 + おく (doing something in advance)—but these five conjugated forms will get you through most everyday conversations.

From Dictionary Form to Te-Form: The Conjugation Process

When you're learning Japanese verb conjugation, you'll usually start with the dictionary form (the plain, present tense infinitive form). This is the base form you find in dictionaries and what Japanese language textbooks usually teach first.

The process of conjugating from dictionary form to te-form involves identifying which verb group the verb belongs to, then applying the right conjugation rule. For common verbs, this becomes automatic after you've seen them enough times.

For example, let's take the verb 食べる (taberu):

Compare this to a Group 1 verb like 書く (kaku):

Understanding this conjugation process helps you systematically work through new verbs instead of memorizing each conjugated form individually.

Why Te-Form Matters for Present and Past Tense

Here's something important about how tense works with te-form: the te-form itself has no tense. When you use the te form to connect two actions, the tense is determined by the final verb in the sentence.

朝ご飯を食べて、学校に行った。(ate breakfast and went to school - past tense) 朝ご飯を食べて、学校に行く。(eat breakfast and go to school - present/future tense)

The te-form 食べて stays the same in both sentences. Only the last verb changes to show whether you're talking about present tense or past tense.

This is different from the past tense form (た-form), which has similar conjugation patterns but explicitly shows past action.

The Real Problem With Learning Japanese Verb Conjugation

Here's what actually makes te-form hard: it's not that the conjugation rules are complicated. Most of them are pretty straightforward once you see them a few times. The problem is that you need to use this verb form constantly, which means you need to have it internalized to the point where you're not stopping to think about conjugation patterns mid-sentence.

And that doesn't happen from drilling conjugation tables with verbs you'll never actually use. It happens from seeing and using te-form in actual context thousands of times until your brain just knows the conjugated forms automatically.

This is where most textbooks fail you. They give you the conjugation rules, maybe some practice sentences with common verbs, and then expect you to magically be able to use te-form naturally in Japanese grammar. But learning Japanese grammar from textbooks means you're studying isolated examples instead of seeing how native speakers actually use these verb conjugation patterns in real conversation.

You need exposure. Lots of it. Watch Japanese shows, read manga, listen to podcasts—whatever content you're into. Pay attention when you hear te-form (which will be constantly). Notice which grammar patterns show up most often in the contexts you care about. That's how you internalize the Japanese conjugation system.

The Japanese particles work the same way—you don't really learn them from charts, you learn them from seeing how they function in actual sentences thousands of times.

If you want to actually get good at using the Japanese te-form without spending months drilling verb conjugation tables, you need to learn it from real Japanese content. That's what Migaku does—it lets you learn from Netflix shows, YouTube videos, manga, whatever you're actually interested in watching or reading.

The browser extension works with any website, so when you're watching something and you hear a te-form construction you don't recognize, you can instantly look it up and add it to your spaced repetition reviews. You're not memorizing abstract Japanese grammar rules or random conjugated forms. You're learning actual sentences that native speakers say, in the contexts where they say them.

And because it's all synced—your browser extension, mobile app, and flashcard reviews—you can keep reinforcing these verb conjugation patterns wherever you are. The more you see て形 + いる or て形 + ください in actual use with common verbs, the faster the Japanese conjugation system becomes automatic.

There's a 10-day free trial if you want to try it out. No credit card needed.