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It’s Imperative That You Learn These 10 Ways to Form Japanese Commands
“Don’t touch my mustache!” I just had it waxed.
Sorry, was I too blunt? Let me try again: “Don’t touch my mustache, jerk.”
Or, perhaps something more polite is in order: “Please, sir, kindly refrain from touching my mustache!”
I apologize for before. It wasn’t my place to order you around, but, you see, mustache waxing is a very expensive and painstaking process and I would hate for you to have to pay for my untidy ‘stache. And you would pay for it, you know.
To make up for being so bossy, let me teach you some commands in Japanese. Then you can tell anyone to do something—or not do something—in your target language.
You’ll also be pleasantly surprised to learn that you probably already know some Japanese commands, even at a basic level of Japanese.
Even my mustache-related commands are easy to learn and remember in Japanese. どういたしまして, which equates to “you’re welcome,” is, in fact, an obscure imperative form and sounds just like “don’t (どうい) touch my (たし) mustache (まして.)” Therefore, the command itself is a mnemonic device.
And a pun. Bazinga.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
What’s the “Imperative Form”?
“Imperative” means “coming from authority,” or “vital,” and in regards to grammar, it means “commands.” The imperative has many functions:
- Suggestions or exhortations
今日、海へ行きましょう！(きょう、うみへいきましょう! )
Let’s go to the beach today!
- Some Instructions
左手を入れて、振る。 (ひだりてをいれて、ふる。)
Put your left hand in, and shake it all about.
- Commands
ひげを触るな！ (ひげをさわるな！)
Don’t touch my mustache!
ファラオ、私達を放してください！(ふぁらお、わたしたちをはなしてください！)
Pharaoh, please let my people go!
Today, we’ll focus on asking and telling other people to do things, so that mainly means giving commands—and command-like requests, and request-like commands. Exhortations and suggestions are a whole other beach day.
In many languages, there’s one way to make the imperative and a few different ways to change the verbs to fit the situation.
In Japanese, depending on who’s speaking and to whom they’re speaking, there are easily a dozen different styles for each form of the verb. Japanese only has one person (“I,” “you,” “they,” etc., all share one verb conjugation), and no change between singular (“I do”) and plural (“We do”), so verbs are relatively simple to learn.
On the other hand, politeness is key, and what Japanese lacks in basic verb forms, it makes up in its spread of “vulgar,” “casual,” “plain,” “polite” and “humble/honorific” forms. The difficulty in learning Japanese verbs is learning each level of politeness.
When we get to the verbs below, we’ll learn them in order of blunt/vulgar, casual and polite.
When Not to Use the Japanese Imperative
Often, instances in which imperatives are used in Japanese are the same as in English.
However, there are some common situations in which Japanese does not use command forms where English does. Some examples include instructions, recipes and giving travel directions.
In these cases, the assumed meaning is “You do [action],” rather than the imperative, “Do [action.]”
卵を混ぜる。(たまごをまぜる。)
Mix the eggs.
二番目の信号で曲がる。(にばんめの しんごうで まがる。)
Turn at the second light.
ゴムベラで生地を広げる。(ごむべらで きじをひろげる。)
Using a rubber spatula, spread the batter.
お婆さんとぶつからないで、まっすぐ行く。(おばあさんと ぶつからないで、ますっぐ いく。)
Without hitting the old lady, go straight down the street.
10 Powerful Forms of Japanese Commands
1. The Blunt Command Form
This is the bluntest form of the imperative, used between friends or enemies, or when a person is angry/desperate. It’s usually the equivalent of swearing and yelling, though sometimes not as forceful, and it has two easy patterns:
る-verbs
Pattern: ~る becomes ~ろ
Examples:
- 入れる (いれる): To put in → 入れろ (いれろ): Put in
手を入れろ！(てをいれろ！)
Put your damn hand in!
- 見る (みる): To watch → 見ろ (みろ): Watch
ウィップを見ろ！じゃ、ネイネイも見ろ！(うぃっぷをみろ！じゃ、ねいねいも みろ！)
Watch me whip! Now, watch me nae-nae.
う-verbs
Pattern: ~う becomes ~え
- 嗅ぐ (かぐ): To smell → 嗅げ (かげ): Smell
バラを嗅げ。(ばらをかげ。)
Smell the roses.
- 待つ (まつ ): To wait → 待て (まて): Wait
待て、待て！(まて、まて！)
Wait, wait!
- 噛む (かむ): To bite → 噛め (かめ): Bite
ピカチュウ、そいつを噛め！(ぴかちゅう、そいつをかめ!)
Pikachu, bite them!
Irregular
Patterns: 来い (こい), “Come”; せよ、しろ, “Do.”
Note: “Do” has two interchangeable forms in the imperative
Examples:
- 来る (くる): To come → 来い (こい): Come
こっち来い！(こっち こい！)
Come here!
- する: To do → せよ: Do
おいおい、勉強せよ！(おいおい、べんきょうせよ！)
Hey, hey, hey! Do your studying!
- する (To do) → しろ (Do)
もう一度しろ！(もう いちど しろ！)
Do it again!
2. The ~な Command Form
This is less abrupt than the previous form, and is made by attaching ~な to the 連用形 (れんようけい, stem form) which is the polite form of the verb minus ます.
The first way to find the 連用形 is to:
- Look at the polite form.
For example, the polite form will look like 泳ぎます (およぎます – swim), 運びます (はこびます – carry) or 書きます(かきます – write)
2. Remove the ~ます ending.
泳ぎます → 泳ぎ
運びます → 運び
書きます → 書き
3. Now, we add our command, ~な, to the stem:
泳ぎ → 泳ぎな
運び → 運びな
書き → 書きな
る-verbs
Pattern: ~る becomes ~な
Examples:
- 食べる (たべる): To eat → 食べな (たべな): Eat
僕の短パン食べな! (ぼくの たんぱん たべな!)
Eat my shorts!
- 煮る (にる): To boil → 煮な (にな):Boil
卵、全部煮な。(たまご、ぜんぶにな。)
Boil all of the eggs.
う-verbs
Pattern: ~う becomes ~いな
It’s extra easy to convert う-verbs into this form, because rather than finding the 連用形 form, you can simply change the ending う sound to an い.
- 歌う (うたう): To sing → 歌いな (うたいな): Sing
もっと大きい声で歌いな。(もっと おおきい こえで うたいな。)
Sing louder.
- 行く (いく): To go → 行きな (いきな): Go
先に行きな。(さきに いきな。)
Go first.
Irregular
- 来る (くる): To come → 来な (きな): Come
お前、こっち来な*。(おまえ、こっち きな。)
Hey, you. Come here.
- する (To do) → しな (Do)
部屋を掃除しな。(へやをそうじしな。)
Clean your room.
*One thing to note is Japanese leans towards word forms that are easier to hear and pronounce. Since 来な doesn’t stand out when surrounded by other words, 来い (こい), 来なさい (きなさい) and 来て (きて) are more common.
Finally, due to the casual and expressive nature of this imperative, it’s most often used with the sentence ending particle よ, which denotes surprise and/or exclamations:
部屋を掃除しなよ！(へやをそうじ しなよ！)
Clean your room!
It also sounds more natural to finish those sentences with the particle instead of the imperative, so go ahead and slap on よ liberally!
3. て形 (てけい)、The ~て Form
て形 has a few different functions, but for the purposes of this article, we’re only focusing on giving orders.
Of all of the imperative forms, this is the standard.
It’s more polite than the 命令形, more casual than any of the polite commands and it serves as the backbone for many other grammatical structures.
The て形 has a sort of gravitational pull. This is the structure you’ll find yourself using most of the time. It can be used among friends, strangers, family members or by a superior towards their inferior. It’s common between parents and children, or teachers and students.
る-verbs
Pattern: ~る becomes ~て
- 教える (おしえる): To teach, to tell → 教えて (おしえて): Teach, tell
名前を教えて。(なまえをおしえて。)
Teach me (tell me) your name.
- 見る (みる): To look → 見て (みて): Look
ほら、見て！(ほら、みて！)
Hey, look!
う-verbs
This is where it gets difficult, and it pays to group verbs into small categories:
~う, ~つ and ~る become ~って
- 打つ (うつ): To hit → 打って (うって): Hit
拳で顔を打って！(こぶしで かおをうって！)
Hit his face with your fists!
~く becomes ~いて
- 書く (かく): To write → 書いて (かいて): Write
名前をはっきり書いて。(なまえをはっきり かいて。)
Write your name clearly.
~ぐ becomes ~いで
- 泳ぐ (およぐ): To swim → 泳いで (およいで): Swim
ちゃんと泳いで。(ちゃんと およいで。)
Swim properly.
~ぬ, ~む and ~ぶ become ~んで
- 遊ぶ (あそぶ): To play → 遊んで (あそんで): Play
安全に遊んで。(あんぜんに あそんで。)
Play safely.
~す becomes ~して
- 落とす (おとす): To drop → 落として (おとして): Drop
汚れた衣類をシュートに落として。(よごれた いるいをしゅーとに おとして。)
Drop your dirty clothes into the chute.
Irregular
- 来る (くる): To come → 来て (きて): Come
七時頃に来て。(しちじごろに きて。)
Come around 7:00.
- する (To do) → して (Do)
廊下を掃除して。 (ろうかをそうじ して。)
Clean the hallway.
Telling someone to “go”: In this case, 行く is irregular. Instead of becoming 行いて, following the rules above, it becomes 行って.
ゆっくり歩いて行って。(ゆっくり あるいて いって。)
Go/walk slowly.
Like with よ and the な-forms before this, the て形 also has a fondness for sentence ending particles, specifically ね, the solicitation particle.
安全に遊んでね！(あんぜんに あそんでね！)
Y’all play safely now!
The particle softens the command and makes most (not all) imperative sentences of this type sound more natural. It’s the “I-need-to-command-you-but-don’t-want-to-sound-harsh” or “You-should-already-know-this-but-I’m-telling-you-anyway” particle. Learn more about sentence ending particles with this handy guide.
4. なさい、The Tough Love Form
I call this the “tough love form” because it’s gentle like the word “please,” but it’s not rude like the first imperative mentioned here. It’s stern but it cares about you. It’s only telling you to eat your vegetables because it knows fiber is good for growing children.
This is the imperative of the verb なさる, an honorific verb meaning “to do,” and is thus more respectful than any of the previous imperatives.
Moreover, because you’ve already learned 連用形 + な, this imperative is easier to learn. Just add water…I mean…just add ~さい.
る-verbs
Pattern: ~る becomes ~なさい
- つける (To attach, engage, turn on) →つけなさい (Turn on, attach, engage)
電気をつけなさい。(でんきをつけなさい。)
Turn on the lights.
- 起きる (おきる): To wake up → 起きなさい (おきなさい): Wake up
さきちゃん、早く起きなさい。(さきちゃん、はやく おきなさい。)
Saki-chan, hurry and wake up.
う-verbs
Pattern: ~な Form + ~さい
- 踏む (ふむ): To step → 踏みなさい (ふみなさい): Step
軽く踏みなさい。(かるく ふみなさい。)
Step lightly.
- 歌う (うたう): To sing → 歌いなさい (うたいなさい): Sing
もっと大きな声で歌いなさい。(もっと おおきな こえで うたいなさい。)
Sing louder.
To make these phrases softer, add お~ before the verb. The phrase then becomes honorific imperative.
- 座る (すわる): To sit →お座りなさい (おすわりなさい): Please sit
こちらにお座りなさい。(こちらにおすわりなさい。)
Please sit here.
5. & 6. 〜てくれ、〜てください、The “Please” Commands
Something in this area feels…familiar…it’s the て形! Specifically, this is a more polite way to make a command, formed by adding the word “please” (specifically, くれ or ください, “hand down to me.”)
Depending on the situation and your relationship with your listener, this can either be more imperative or more a request (eg., you probably wouldn’t command your boss to do…much of anything, but you might command a coworker to be a little quieter in the office.)
くれ is the casual, colloquial “please,” while ください is polite. The former is used with equals and friends, but is less harsh than any of the previous commands. The latter is the standard, basic level of politeness, used with strangers and superiors.
- つける (To attach, engage, turn on) → つけてくれ (Please turn on, attach, engage)
音楽をつけてくれ。 (おんがくをつけてくれ。)
Turn on the music for me (please.)
- 待つ (まつ): To wait → 待ってくれ (まってくれ): Please wait
ちょっと車で待ってくれ。(ちょっと くるま で まってくれ。)
Please wait in the car.
7. ちょうだい、The Colloquial “Please” Form
This is the same as the previous but more colloquial. This form is generally more common among women, but in some areas of Japan it’s standard.
- 座る (すわる): To sit → 座ってちょうだい (すわってちょうだい): Please sit
隣に座ってちょうだい! (となりに すわってちょうだい！)
Pleeeease sit next to me!
- 起きる (おきる): To wake up → 起きてちょうだい (おきてちょうだい): Please wake up
アアアア、もう、早く起きてちょうだい！(ああああ、もう、はよく おきてちょうだい！)
C’mon, wake up, pleeeeeease!
8. The Negative ~な Form
There are fewer negative forms for the imperative than there are affirmative, and each one does slightly more work.
You’ll notice, for example, that there’s no equivalent to the 命令形 (~ろ, ~え) in the negative form, and instead the negative な form is used.
Where one student might say “Shut the hell up!” (黙れ！/だまれ！), another might say, “Don’t f***ing touch me!” (触るな！/さわるな！), each using a totally different form of the imperative.
This is the negative of the な form above (食べな/たべな、書きな/かきな), and all verbs follow the same pattern: 辞書形 (じしょけい, plain/dictionary form) + な.
- 座る (すわる): To sit → 座るな (すわるな): Don’t sit
そっちに座るな！ (そっちに すわるな！)
Don’t sit there!
- 食べる (たべる): To eat → 食べるな (たべるな): Don’t eat
俺の食べ物を食べるな！(おれの たべものをたべるな！)
Don’t eat my food!
- 触る (さわる): To touch → 触るな (さわるな): Don’t touch
ひげ触るな！(ひげ さわるな！)
Don’t touch my mustache!
Easier than pie!
9. ~ないで、The Negative ~て Form
If you know the 否定形 (ひていけい – negative indicative forms) of verbs—e.g., 食べない (たべない – not eat)—then this is an easy one: Negative + で.
As with its positive counterpart, て形, the negative construction also benefits from the particle ね and for the same reasons. It softens the meaning of the command and it sounds natural.
る-verbs
Pattern: For る-verbs, you add the negative ending ~ない to the stem, so ~る becomes ~ない, and then you add the command ending ~で.
- 教える (おしえる): To teach, tell → 教えないで (おしえないで): Don’t teach, tell
進化を教えないで。(しんかをおしえないで。)
Don’t teach evolution.
- 見る (みる): To look → 見ないで (みないで): Don’t look
今、着替えてるから、見ないでね〜。(いま、きがえてるから、みないでね〜。)
I’m changing, don’t look!
- 落ちないで (おちる): To fall → 落ちないで (おちないで): Don’t fall
落ちないでね！(おちないでね！)
Don’t fall!
う-verbs
Let’s review how to make 否定形 with う-verbs: ~う becomes ~あない. You change the last hiragana of the verb to the hiragana with an “a” sound:
- 歌う (うたう): To sing → 歌わない (うたわない*): Does not sing
上手に歌わない。(じょうずに うたわない。)
You don’t sing well.
*~う becomes ~わ, rather than ~あ, though when spoken at a natural speed, the difference isn’t noticeable.
- 行く (いく): To go → 行かない (いかない): Does not go
魔女の所へ行かない。(まじょの ところへ いかない。)
We don’t go to the witch’s house.
- 死ぬ (しぬ): To die → 死なない (しなない): Does not die
彼女は絶対死なない。(かのじょは ぜったい しなない。)
She will never die.
Now, the imperative: ~あない + で
- 縫う (ぬう): To sew → 縫わないで (ぬわないで): Don’t sew
そんなにめちゃくちゃに縫わないで。(そんなに めちゃくちゃに ぬわないで。)
Don’t sew it so messily/carelessly.
- 書く (かく): To write → 書かないで (かかないで): Don’t write
テストに 書かないで。(てすとに かかないで。)
Don’t write on your tests.
- 嗅ぐ (かぐ): To smell → 嗅がないで (かがないで): Don’t smell
毒を持った花を嗅がないでね〜。(どくをもった はなをかがないでね〜。)
Don’t smell poisonous flowers.
10. ~ないでください、”Please Don’t” Negative Commands
This is the negative of the 〜てください, and like that request form, for this one you can use any level of politeness when saying “please.” It’s made in the same way as the 否定形, plus “please.”
- 教える (おしえる): To teach, tell → 教えないでください (おしえないでください): Please don’t teach, tell
スパイだと教えないでください。(すぱい だと おしえないでください。)
Please don’t tell them that you’re a spy.
- 編む (あむ): To knit → 編まないでくれ (あまないでくれ): Please don’t knit
セーターを編まないでくれ。(せーたーをあまないでくれ。)
Please don’t kit a sweater.
- 縫う (ぬう): To sew → 縫わないでください (ぬわないでください): Please don’t sew
不気味な人形を縫わないでください。(ぶきみな にんぎょうをぬわないでください。)
Please don’t sew me a creepy doll.
7 Useful Imperative Phrases You’ll Need to Say All the Time
The following are some common or useful phrases that use the imperative. Some of these are less intuitive (you probably won’t use the same words or phrases other situations, or they’re idiomatic and you wouldn’t think of them organically) and others are just really, really, truly useful or everyday.
1. 腰をかけてください。(こしをかけてください。)
Translation: Sit down.
腰 (こし) means “lower back/butt,” and かける is the verb for “to engage/attach.”
2. お帰りなさい！(おかえりなさい!)
Translation: Return home; Welcome home!
If you’ve studied set phrases and basic greetings, this should be familiar: it’s how you greet someone who has returned home. You’re literally, and humbly, commanding them to return home (Hello, this is the Agency of Redundancy Agency. How may I help you?)
3. 帰れ！(かえれ！)
Translation: Go home, idiot!
4. ___を出してください。(___をだしてください。)
Translation: Please take out your___.
5. 頑張れ！(がんばれ！) or 頑張って！(がんばって！)
Translation: Good luck! (literally, “Try hard!”)
6. 気を付けてね！(きをつけてね！)
Translation: Take care!
7. おやすみなさい！
Translation: Go to sleep; Good night!
Is this deja vu again? This looks familiar, too! Maybe it’s because the common phrase “good night” is, like “welcome home,” an honorific imperative: “Go to sleep.”
Summary
It’s a lot to remember, but you may have noticed that all of the different imperative structures can be boiled down to no more than three verb forms (for each positive and negative).
Positive:
- 命令形 (dictionary form with ending changed)
- 連用形 (verb minus ~ます)
- て形 (conjunctive/request form)
Negative:
- 辞書形 (dictionary form with no change)
- 否定形 (negative indicative form)
After you’ve mastered those forms of the verbs, the rest of the battle is deciding how polite you want to be.
Now, go forth and take control of your life.
Command the world!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
