hashi-ru, sō The verb hashi-ru means run. Like English infinitives, we use hashi-ru in simple sentences such as, “watashi wa hashiru,” meaning, “I run.” Watashi wa means I. I noticed that I haven’t raised the topic of “conjugations” extensively. Conjugations are a troublemaker for any foreign language learners. Like English grammar, the Japanese language has [...]

ku-ru, ko-nai, ki-ta, rai Ku-ru is the verb “to come.” Ko-nai or ki-masen is “not to come.” Ki-ta is “came.” Ku, ko, and ki are verb conjugations. Rai means “to come” or “to come from.” When somebody very famous comes to Japan, the event is reported as rainichi. Ganrai means originally. Yurai is the origin [...]

mayo-u, mei, mai Mayo-u is a verb. If you are in this state, you cannot decide about something. The suffix u is okurigana, which makes a variation of the form of a verb. The conjugation of this verb is as follows. (Let’s suppose the subject is I.) mayo-wanai, (I will not waver. I will not [...]