Japanese Te-Form: How to Make It and When to Use It

Quick answer: The te-form is the verb form that ends in て or で, like たべて (eat) or のんで (drink). Ru-verbs simply swap る for て. U-verbs change their last sound by a fixed rule: う/つ/る → って, む/ぶ/ぬ → んで, く → いて, ぐ → いで, す → して. The two irregular verbs become して (する) and きて (くる), and 行く becomes いって.

Why the te-form matters so much

On its own, the te-form doesn't mean much. But it's the base for a huge number of patterns: polite requests, "doing now," "may I," "must not," linking actions in a sequence, and dozens of N4 and N3 grammar points. If your te-form is shaky, a lot of later grammar will feel harder than it is.

It's one of the core building blocks in our Japanese grammar guide. To make it correctly, you first need to know which group a verb belongs to, so if that part is new, read Japanese verb groups first.

How do you make the te-form of ru-verbs?

Ru-verbs (group 2) are the easy ones. Drop the final る and add て.

• たべる (eat) → たべて
• みる (see, watch) → みて
• おきる (get up) → おきて
• ねる (sleep) → ねて

How do you make the te-form of u-verbs?

U-verbs (group 1) change depending on their final sound. This is the part to memorize. Many learners sing it to a tune; any rhyme that helps is fine.

Dictionary form ends in	Te-form ending	Examples
う, つ, る	って	かう → かって (buy), まつ → まって (wait), かえる → かえって (go home)
む, ぶ, ぬ	んで	のむ → のんで (drink), あそぶ → あそんで (play), しぬ → しんで (die)
く	いて	かく → かいて (write), きく → きいて (listen)
ぐ	いで	およぐ → およいで (swim), いそぐ → いそいで (hurry)
す	して	はなす → はなして (speak), かす → かして (lend)

The one exception: 行く

いく (go) ends in く, so you'd expect いいて. It's actually いって. This is the only common u-verb that breaks the rule, and it shows up constantly, so learn it as its own word.

How do you make the te-form of irregular verbs?

There are only two:

• する (do) → して, including compounds like べんきょうする → べんきょうして
• くる (come) → きて

Note the vowel change in くる: the te-form is きて, not くて.

Te-form conjugation table

Verb	Group	Meaning	Te-form
たべる	Ru-verb	eat	たべて
みる	Ru-verb	see	みて
かう	U-verb	buy	かって
まつ	U-verb	wait	まって
かえる	U-verb	go home	かえって
のむ	U-verb	drink	のんで
あそぶ	U-verb	play	あそんで
しぬ	U-verb	die	しんで
かく	U-verb	write	かいて
いく	U-verb (exception)	go	いって
およぐ	U-verb	swim	およいで
はなす	U-verb	speak	はなして
する	Irregular	do	して
くる	Irregular	come	きて

What about adjectives and nouns?

The te-form isn't only for verbs. Adjectives and nouns have a "te-form" too, used mainly to join descriptions together, like "and" between them.

• い-adjectives: drop い, add くて. おおきい → おおきくて. The irregular いい becomes よくて.
• な-adjectives: add で. しずか → しずかで.
• Nouns: add で. がくせい → がくせいで.

この へやは ひろくて あかるいです。
Kono heya wa hirokute akarui desu. This room is big and bright.

この まちは しずかで きれいです。
Kono machi wa shizuka de kirei desu. This town is quiet and pretty.

ちちは いしゃで、ははは きょうしです。
Chichi wa isha de, haha wa kyōshi desu. My father is a doctor, and my mother is a teacher.

When do you use the te-form?

These are the uses you'll meet first, all of them N5 to N4 level.

1. Polite requests: 〜てください

ちょっと まってください。
Chotto matte kudasai. Please wait a moment.

ここに なまえを かいてください。
Koko ni namae o kaite kudasai. Please write your name here.

2. Linking actions in order

The te-form joins actions like "and then." The tense comes from the last verb in the sentence.

あさ おきて、シャワーを あびて、がっこうに いきます。
Asa okite, shawā o abite, gakkō ni ikimasu. In the morning I get up, take a shower and go to school.

To stress "after doing A," use 〜てから:

しゅくだいを してから、テレビを みます。
Shukudai o shite kara, terebi o mimasu. I'll watch TV after I do my homework.

3. Ongoing actions and states: 〜ている

With action verbs, 〜ている usually means something is happening now:

いま テレビを みています。
Ima terebi o mite imasu. I'm watching TV now.

With some verbs, it describes a state that resulted from a change:

あねは けっこんしています。
Ane wa kekkon shite imasu. My older sister is married.

In casual speech, 〜ている often shrinks to 〜てる (みてる).

4. Permission: 〜てもいいです

しゃしんを とっても いいですか。
Shashin o totte mo ii desu ka. May I take a photo?

5. Prohibition: 〜てはいけません

ここで たばこを すっては いけません。
Koko de tabako o sutte wa ikemasen. You must not smoke here.

Common te-form mistakes

• Forgetting the 行く exception. ✗ いいて → ✓ いって
• Treating ru-ending u-verbs as ru-verbs. ✗ かえて (from 帰る) → ✓ かえって. Watch out: 変える (change) is a ru-verb, so its te-form really is かえて.
• Mixing up the two きる verbs. 着る (wear) → きて, but 切る (cut) → きって.
• Getting くる wrong. ✗ くて → ✓ きて
• Using くて on な-adjectives. ✗ きれいくて → ✓ きれいで. きれい ends in い but it's a な-adjective.

Quick quiz

Give the te-form:

1. のむ
2. かく
3. いく
4. はなす
5. くる
6. まつ
7. およぐ
8. はいる

Answers: 1. のんで · 2. かいて · 3. いって · 4. はなして · 5. きて · 6. まって · 7. およいで · 8. はいって (はいる is a u-verb)

Frequently asked questions

Is the te-form on the JLPT N5?

Yes. The te-form itself and basic patterns like 〜てください and 〜ている are standard N5 material, and many N4 patterns (〜てしまう, 〜ておく, 〜てみる) build on it. You won't be asked to "conjugate" in a table, but you'll need it to pick the right answer in grammar questions.

How is the ta-form related to the te-form?

The plain past (ta-form) follows exactly the same sound changes. Swap て for た and で for だ: のんで → のんだ, かいて → かいた, いって → いった. Learn one and you get the other free.

Why do some te-forms end in で instead of て?

It's a sound change. Verbs ending in む, ぶ, ぬ and ぐ become voiced: のんで, あそんで, しんで, およいで. That's why it helps to learn the endings in their groups rather than verb by verb.

What's the fastest way to memorize te-form rules?

Learn the five ending groups, then drill real verbs until the answer comes without thinking. Saying the forms out loud helps more than reading the table again.

Make it automatic

Knowing the rules is the first step; producing the form instantly is what helps on test day. Kantan JLPT's grammar cards keep bringing back the verbs you get wrong, like 帰る or 行く, until the right te-form comes out on its own. Next, see how particles work with these verbs in に vs で.